Day 2, Brugge, Belgium
The train from Brugge to Lille, France has just chugged off and I must take this time to put down the highlights of day 2.
Since I did my MBA in India, I can only express myself in bullet points, so here we go:
• Boy, did we walk! The cobbled streets which seem so romantic at first glance are so so difficult to walk on! Most parts of Brugge are cobbled and we walked pretty much non stop the whole day, so you can do the math while I rub my legs that are still smarting!
• It was sunny and the city seemed to come alive from the dead. There were people everywhere, dressed in their sunny bests, the duck came out, the musicians sang and the horses clippity clopped happily. The cafes around the main square were overflowing with people laughing and talking….it was a pretty sight
• We walked around the canals soaking in the sunshine and hoping that our bodies were happily churning out the much needed vitamin D ( It is so bleak and grey in London all the time, that most Londoners are deficient in Vitamin D!)
• Instead of doing the usual sit down meal surrounded by 200 pieces of cutlery, we decided to do a cheap take away. Greasy pizza and burger in tow, we had our lunch with trees around us and the canals in front of us. (Side note: it was the first time I actually saw a duck fly!)
• Sid even managed to stretch himself and caught a quick nap on the bench
• A little later, as we walked further, I came across a little river with a cluster of trees beside it. It was so pretty that it seemed like it was a picture in a book. It was fairly deserted, with a boy and agirl in one corner…err…doing their thing. Sid and I steered clear of them giving them the privacy that they did not seem to need and sat down to take in the beauty….It was absolutely heavenly
• I bought, as usual, a hand made painting from a local artist –this time depicting the canals of Brugge
• We resumed our walk a little later and chanced upon a flea market which sold really weird stuff (including Pantene shampoo- why would anyone sell that in a flea market is beyond me!)
• By now we were both very tired and had been walking in the sun for over 6 hours. Exhausted, we headed to our hotel.
• We came out again for dinner (a proper sit down meal in a fancy Italian restaurant that had multiple vegetarian options for me to choose from) and had decided to head back but then again, the pretty little city was screaming out asking us to walk so we started off again..
• The city was even more gorgeous in the night, with the warm glow from lamps lighting the cobbled streets, the canals reflecting the light from the buildings around them and the gentle coolness of the air….i think we walked for over two hours again… and let me rub my feet again!
• There is this portion of the city overlooking the canals (I did not catch the name) that has a HUGE weeping willow tree drooping its melancholy sadness into the still, clean waters. There was something so mesmerising about it particularly in the nights when the buildings around it were reflected dot for dot in the waters….
Today, we spent some more time exploring the city, walking our favourite paths before getting on this train that will take us to Lille for some office work.
Over all, Brugge is more like Amsterdam than Venice. It also reminded me a lot of Prague and Salzbourg. Its quaint, its pretty….there are not many touristy things to do (for that please head to Rome, Paris and London) but it is the right choice for a quick, relaxing get away from the madness of London.
And finally, for the first time in the eight year history of this blog I have finished a travelogue! *victory dance*
Love
PS: Please do not reproduce the pictures without permission.
The train from Brugge to Lille, France has just chugged off and I must take this time to put down the highlights of day 2.
Since I did my MBA in India, I can only express myself in bullet points, so here we go:
• Boy, did we walk! The cobbled streets which seem so romantic at first glance are so so difficult to walk on! Most parts of Brugge are cobbled and we walked pretty much non stop the whole day, so you can do the math while I rub my legs that are still smarting!
• It was sunny and the city seemed to come alive from the dead. There were people everywhere, dressed in their sunny bests, the duck came out, the musicians sang and the horses clippity clopped happily. The cafes around the main square were overflowing with people laughing and talking….it was a pretty sight
• We walked around the canals soaking in the sunshine and hoping that our bodies were happily churning out the much needed vitamin D ( It is so bleak and grey in London all the time, that most Londoners are deficient in Vitamin D!)
• Instead of doing the usual sit down meal surrounded by 200 pieces of cutlery, we decided to do a cheap take away. Greasy pizza and burger in tow, we had our lunch with trees around us and the canals in front of us. (Side note: it was the first time I actually saw a duck fly!)
• Sid even managed to stretch himself and caught a quick nap on the bench
• A little later, as we walked further, I came across a little river with a cluster of trees beside it. It was so pretty that it seemed like it was a picture in a book. It was fairly deserted, with a boy and agirl in one corner…err…doing their thing. Sid and I steered clear of them giving them the privacy that they did not seem to need and sat down to take in the beauty….It was absolutely heavenly
• I bought, as usual, a hand made painting from a local artist –this time depicting the canals of Brugge
• We resumed our walk a little later and chanced upon a flea market which sold really weird stuff (including Pantene shampoo- why would anyone sell that in a flea market is beyond me!)
• By now we were both very tired and had been walking in the sun for over 6 hours. Exhausted, we headed to our hotel.
• We came out again for dinner (a proper sit down meal in a fancy Italian restaurant that had multiple vegetarian options for me to choose from) and had decided to head back but then again, the pretty little city was screaming out asking us to walk so we started off again..
• The city was even more gorgeous in the night, with the warm glow from lamps lighting the cobbled streets, the canals reflecting the light from the buildings around them and the gentle coolness of the air….i think we walked for over two hours again… and let me rub my feet again!
• There is this portion of the city overlooking the canals (I did not catch the name) that has a HUGE weeping willow tree drooping its melancholy sadness into the still, clean waters. There was something so mesmerising about it particularly in the nights when the buildings around it were reflected dot for dot in the waters….
Today, we spent some more time exploring the city, walking our favourite paths before getting on this train that will take us to Lille for some office work.
Over all, Brugge is more like Amsterdam than Venice. It also reminded me a lot of Prague and Salzbourg. Its quaint, its pretty….there are not many touristy things to do (for that please head to Rome, Paris and London) but it is the right choice for a quick, relaxing get away from the madness of London.
And finally, for the first time in the eight year history of this blog I have finished a travelogue! *victory dance*
Love
RP
PS: Please do not reproduce the pictures without permission.
4 comments:
Beautiful pics and I love the way you write!
Am yet to read your book. I read the extracts and really liked it. Will pick it up soon. Keep writing!
Thanks Aarthy :) Let me know what you think of the book when you are done with it...
You don't do lot of pics but whenever you do, they are breath-taking and makes one feel like visiting the place. I soo wish to visit Brugge now. Take Care. :)
thanks a lot Hope! and do visit Brugge when you can, its lovely :)
Post a Comment