Brugge : Chocolate Museum!

Brugge : Chocolate Museum!

Wednesday (16th April), I awoke feeling exhausted. Steve hadn't really been completely aware of what had transpired overnight, because like I said I had been as quiet as possible while travelling in and out of the room for my frequent visit to the porcelain room!

I couldn't even consider any breakfast, so I sent Steve downstairs to have his and then asked him to head to the Apotheke and pick up some Imodium in a desperate attempt to rectify my problem and be able to get up and get dressed and head to that Chocolate Museum. By about lunch time, I felt almost well enough to get up and get moving and urged Steve that we should head out and try and see the city.

Brugge, of what we experienced that early afternoon, was just lovely. Peaceful and picturesque. It had a very relaxed feel to it...and weaving through it were a number of canals that just added character to the place. The main language used in Brugge is Flemish - a dialect of Dutch. I have, in my lifetime, heard dribs and drabs of Dutch here and there but never set foot in a city that operated entirely in that language.... or a dialect thereof. Either way, I felt somewhat more relaxed after the horrendous night before and Steve patiently slowed his pace so I could keep up. On our little walk we stopped to have some lunch. I couldn't consider eating really, but I figured that a waffle was in order and Steve gave into the temptation of Frites (Fries). Slowly and surely I demolished my waffle before Steve and I moved on to the Chocolate Museum.

The museum was quite interesting. Steve always enjoys museums at depth as he spends his time taking in the information or history of a city and spends time imagining what life would be like if he was living in that city/society. I tend to just take in the information and selectively absorb what interests me..and filter out the rest... Attention span of a goldfish.... ;o) Still, the history of the use of the cocoa bean and chocolate production was something that appealled to me... so I tried to patiently wander around the museum and absorb what I could. At some point the museum was invaded with a tour group of noisy and inconsiderate teenagers... I found a seat and sat down to ride the noisy crowd out and rest. I was still feeling run down and dehydrated. When satisfied the group had moved out of the way I resumed visiting the rest of the museum. By the end of it I had truly had enough and was feeling knackered.

I got Steve to take me back to the hostel and jumped back into bed for a nap.... as did Steve...for a couple of hours. I was tired and dehydrated so when Steve awoke a couple of hours later he headed out to find himself some dinner and explore the rest of the city by himself. I don't think I even remember him leaving the room...

At this point I will pass on this part of the blog to Steve, so he can talk about his experiences of his little solo walk around the city of Brugge.....

Thanks Ella, so kind of you to let me put my voice into this blog for this first time since we started it. It does say "Steve & Ella's Excellent Adventure" after all? Well, after leaving the patient to get her rest I did indeed head out to see this small part of Belgium. My plan was to walk around the edge of the town along the canals and parks. This was a good choice because I got to see some of the wildlife and locals. Just a few clicks down from our hostel I found an grass area closed off and half a dozen white swans sittings on nests! They were naturally very protective and flapped their wings in anger if you tried to lean over the fence to take a look. After some photos I moved on down the cobble road, sticking to the canal and taking in the evening air.

After a good hour I came across a set of four windmills by the canal, spaced neatly apart. I'm not convinced they were ever used - not in everything in Brugge is "real" - but they were pretty nevertheless. Moving on, and with darkness approaching, I came to a canal T intersection and headed along the route back into town. I was very quite on the streets - everyone was either home or in a restaurant. Peering into one fancy looking restaurant I drooled at the plates of food being dished up, and of course the dedicated glasses of Belgium beer. By the time I got back to the area near our hostel I was starving, but nothing much was open besides the restaurants. By some luck, after drifting aimlessly down some alleyways, I came across a fairground. Everyone knows fairgrounds have food. After a quick bite I headed back to the hostel to find Ella still in bed and feeling terrible, poor girl.

Ta, Steve... I really should share this blog more often... ;o) I was in no condition to accompany Steve on his evening walk...and was very happy to stay curled up in bed nice and warm and try and give my body a chance to recover as we were moving onto Brussels the next day!

I was actually glad to see the back of Brugge after my awful illness there! It was a beautiful town...and if we get the chance I'd like to visit it again someday...so I can truly appreciate it for it uniqueness!

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