BRUGES!

Best weekend ever!! Bruges was amazing! If you have ever been to Venice it was a lot like that, but I thought much much better! The people are friendly, the food is delicious and the views are gorgeous! 

It took us longer to get there than expected, but we have come to realize that with German drivers, traffic and construction you have to add at least two hours to whatever MapQuest directions say. But when we finally made it we had such a great time! :) We walked around for about 30 min to find somewhere to eat and by that time a lot of places had closed (it was like 9:30 or 9:45) so we ate at Pizza Hut! Ha! I wasn't going to tell everyone this because I am a little embarrassed that we went all the way to Bruges to eat at Pizza Hut but it was SO good! Just what we were in the mood for! I have never been a big Pizza Hut fan, but this pizza was better than I ever remember! Todd even said it compared to Mellow Mushroom, which can definitely tell you something if you know him! Which by the way I miss Mellow Mushroom SO much- I have also really wanted Taxco, Tin Lizzy's and Horseradish Grill! Those will be my first couple restaurant visits when I get home! :)

After eating we walked around the city, found a pub and had a beer and just relaxed! It was perfect. The weather was perfect. 

The next day we woke up early, had the free breakfast at the hotel and started exploring! This is the canal right outside our hotel. We stayed at Hotel Europ, which I would recommend. It was very decently priced for this city and right near the action! We walked around the shops and the square. 

I heard that climbing the Belfry Tower is a must and even though this scared me a little - ok a lot, I knew I had to do it. So sweaty palms and all, Todd and I climbed the 366 stairs to the top. The stairs were steep and small, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! When Todd and I were waiting in line I saw a grandmother climbing down and figured if she could do it than I could! I am still SO impressed with her after seeing how tough it was that she was willing and able to do it! 

When I was talking with my classmates before the trip, many of them had already been here and told me a few things we must do: 

1) Climb the Belfry Tower - CHECK!

2) Eat the chocolate- CHECK CHECK CHECK!!! 

3) Try the mussels--- WHAT!! GROSS! 

Well like they say, when in Rome... So we tried the mussels! First of all a couple years ago I wouldn't even eat seafood and now I am eating mussels- crazy. And what is even crazier about this, I LOVED them! We liked them so much we had them for dinner also. 

I have never been on a carriage ride and have also wanted to go on one, so we did!! And it was awesome. A lady with a really cool accent took us all around the city and told us about the history and showed us parts of the city we hadn't seen yet. It was so fun! 

That night we went to a restaurant right on the square- we had more mussels and were introduced to the Belgian Waffle with ice cream! I can't even describe in words how incredible it taste. They warm up the waffle and put ice cream and wiped cream on the top! Needless to say we had a couple of those before we left Bruges and I wish I could have another one! 

Bruges is well known for the mussels, frites, beer, waffles and chocolate and let me just say we had our fair share of all of those things by the time we left! 

The Minnewater (Lake of Love):

When we were on our horse tour, we rode past the "lake of love" so we wanted to walk around this area the next day. There is a large park surrounding the lake, it was beautiful! 

Interesting Info: 

One of the symbols of Bruges is the swan. There are always plenty to be found on the Minnewater. The legend about the swans of Bruges: In 1488 the people of Bruges had executed one of the town administrators belonging to the court of Maximilian of Austria. The town administrator ,Pieter Lanchals, family coat of arms featured a white swan. Legend has it that Maximilian punished Bruges by obliging the population to keep swans on their lakes and canals till eternity. 

And that is the end to our trip! I wish I never had to leave. We had such a great time. I didn't even think about missing the UGA game, which is a shock! I do wish I was able to go to the UGA / USC game this weekend. This is the UGA / USC game in about 4 years that I wont be able to tailgate with my sister and brother :( But I will be cheering from over here and I am sure the Dawgs will pull out a win! 

GOOOOOOOOOOOO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since I have returned from my trip things have been crazy. I thought I had been busy with a lot of work to do, but I guess I didn't realize just how much busier things were going to get! I have midterms next week and I also have two HUGE projects due. I have been very stressed out and haven't had much time for sleep, but I am sure once this next week is done I will have time to catch up on that! 

This morning I was so tired and out of it, I poured water in my cereal and grabbed a fork to start eating it with! I didn’t realize until I tried to take a spoon full what I had done! Then I rode my bike to school and swallowed a bug- I am still grossed out even thinking about this. I was trying to get to school fast because it was about to rain and I guess I had my mouth open and the rest is history! EW! 

THEN I was getting to my seat for class and I am in the center of the row so I had to get past everyone to reach my seat and as I get to my seat I spill the full cup of water that I was holding all in my chair! 

Not the best day! But I guess tomorrow can only get better... RIGHT??!!