Im movin to Brugges

I went on a little day trip yesterday to Brugge, Belgium which is about an hour away from Dunkerque by car. On of my co-workers asked a few weeks ago if I was interested in going, and since I hadn't been yet, I took her up on her offer. Got picked up in the morning from her and another one of the English teachers and then picked up one more. Foggy, foggy day in Dunkerque, on the road and in Belgium.

We (Naima, Christine, Eglantine and I) walked around the town for a while, popping into little shops to look around. We took a tour on a canal boat which was freezing, but well worth it. Brugge is considered the Venice of the north. It is built all along little canals (not as many as venice, but still canals.) Our tour guide was very interesting, giving the tour in flemish, english and french.

Something interesting about belgium is that its split into two parts. The flemish part is in the north where they speak Flemish. (its very similar to dutch.) The southern part is Wallon and thats where they speak french. The country is kind of divided by this fact. And the french that they speak is a little different from "standard french." not that anyone really speaks standard french.

However, I really liked the city. The architecture was beautiful, typical flemish  architecture with these stepped gables. it was really pleasant to walk through. Not a lot of cars and not very much dog shit either. a big change from dunkerque! It reminds me a lot of Amsterdam, almost like a mix between the netherlands and france. two things that i enjoy a lot! there were bikes all around (the little dutchy ones) and everyone was riding around.

three things that brugge smells like :

1. frites. yum yum yum! didn't get a chance to eat fries from a friterie (i had some with lunch, they werent the real thing. ill have to go back to eat some.) however the whole main square smelled like frites. deeeeelicious. plus they fry them in cow fat. so thats even better.

2. chocolate. chocolate in brugge is like what starbucks is to seattle. or what hair salons is to dunkerque. (we've got a lot...) one on every corner. not even every corner. some right next door to each other. And they keep their doors open. to lure you in. not forgetting to mention the visual stimulation (windows filled with little chocolates) its the smell that gets me. walk by a store and you get this whiff of pure chocolate. walk into the store and you're lost. I was able to restrain myself from buying any chocolate. one because i will go back to get some. and two, they all had weight limits. and i know that if i buy as much as they want you to buy, i would eat it all in about 5 minutes.

3. Horses! they had horse carriage rides in the city. You could hear the clip clop of the horse's hooves and as they passed you they left the smell of horse in the air. maybe most people wouldn't have noticed it, or maybe they would have thought it was gross. but for me it was, i dont know. kind of comforting. it made me nostalgic. and i realized that i havent even been around a horse since september. and i miss it so much. it made me a little more homesick (oh, i've been homesick for real finally too) and wonder if i'll ever ride again. We walked by their resting spot, where the horses were having lunch and all i wanted to do was go up and pet one. it made me feel kind of silly. like how i would get so excited by the pony rides at the fair. Christine offered to take a picture of me with one, but i declined for some reason.

i will post pictures once christine sends them to me. it really is a beautiful city and i would love to live their, all of their cute little cobbled streets and chocolate shops and tea rooms. i think it is perfectly me.