Brugge, Belgium

We took a little day trip to Belgium this past weekend and as we crossed the border, we noticed that we weren't seeing ANY gas stations. I was beginning to worry that Belgium was on solar power or maybe they figured out how to run cars on chocolate and beer since these items were in such abundance. After about 50 miles, we finally found a station and decided to fill up. Every pump except for two pumps off to the side (without any cars lined up at them), had signs for diesel. When we drove up to the what appeared to be an abandoned gasoline pump, the nozzle was about 6-8 inches in diameter. I went in and in my very best Canadian French, asked the cashier where the pump for gasoline was. My french must have been very poor because she told me (in English) that we were at the right pump and made me give her my passport in exchange for a couple of brass adaptors... none of which fit our car. Luckily, there was another American there who directed us to the correct pump. I have no idea what we "almost" put in our car had the nozzle fit... I'm glad we didn't find out the hard way.

Brugge is known as "The Venice of the North" and has waterways running all through the town. We took a boat ride and got to see many of the famous historical buildings and parks of the city.

Many of the older buildings looked like their roofs were caving in. It was actually a nice little, nostalgic, countryside feeling... as long as you were on the outside.

We went on a tour of the chocolate museum and learned the history behind chocolate in Mexico and Europe, cocoa bean cultivation, chocolate truffle and praline production and some of the more famous Belgian brands of chocolate. There were chocolate shops on every corner in Brugge, so we waited and purchased some truffles and the famous "Brugsch Swaentje" later in the day. It was delicious! It was also very expensive so we just did a little sample... it was well worth it though!

Another important export for Belgium is the diamond, so we also did the Diamond Museum tour. Uncle Eric, you would have enjoyed this! It featured exact replicas of some of the world's most famous diamonds, including the Hope Diamond that was featured in the Titanic (which is actually preserved at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington).