Day 13
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Took a day trip to Bruges today. The train takes approximately an hour to get to the town population: 117,073 (1 January 2008), of whom around 20,000 live in the city centre. Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and is known for its lace.
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Day trip to Bruges. Thankful for all the beautiful sights & lasting memories. #blessup
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Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam and Stockholm, it is sometimes referred to as The Venice of the North. Bruges is well known as the seat of the College of Europe, an elite university institute for European studies regarded as “the EU’s very own Oxbridge.
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Caught a local train ride to Bruges. Can’t seem to catch my breath with al our comings & goings. 😛 No visit to Belgium is complete without setting foot in this little town. Kap: Train na naman? Bayad na naman? Hahaha. And look! Europe is so pet friendly! Ka-rubbing elbows ko itong shivering chihuahua. 🙂
Every part is picturesque. If not for the language barrier & high cost of living, we could really, really enjoy Europe at its fullest.
The kids are our lifeline to everything, kung wala sila ligaw na kami sobra ni Kap hehe. Pwede na daw slang pakawalan sa mundo. Me: Of course not! Walang iwanan!
My Bae always spots a nice ground shot for me. Thank you darling. <3
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Just outside the station toward the center of the town is a flea market when antiques are sold. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Fell in love with so many beautiful European furnitures & decors but how to bring home huhu.
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More than the little trinkets, I wanted to take home so many european furnitures just lying around there at rock-bottom price. Pero paano i-ship??? Baka mas mapamahal pa sa customs.
Kap got me a ring, YAY!! \m/ I like it because it’s an estate piece. May istorya.
Also got to pass by the lovely Lake of Love or Minnewater. <3 A legend tells the story of a young and pretty girl named Minna who was in love with Stromberg, a warrior of a neighbouring tribe. Her father did not agree with her love and arranged her to marry a man of his choice. Minna escaped and ran into the forest. When Stromberg finally found her, she died in his arms of exhaustion.
The lake was named after Minna and the bridge by the lake was considered the bridge of love, in her honor. . If you walk over the bridge and kiss your loved one, it will become eternal love. . Oh, eternal love daw. Kaaaaap, pahalik ngaaaaa!
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Since it was lunchtime when we got to the town of Bruges, we tried the local mussles, frites & beer. Fantastic! <3
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Funny how we took our local tahong for granted. Every Sunday Kap would ask our cook to round up some mussels for lunch. Hindi nila gusto. Tapos pagdating ng Belgium, naghanap na bigla ng tahong? Mga inday, in-english lang po yan! Iisa lang ang lasa. ;))
Got 2 orders of mussels to share. One cooked in wine & another in garlic sauce. Payat.
Pero in fairness, panalo naman ang view. Award! <3
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For dessert, the gals decided Godiva choco-dipped strawberries were in order! <3
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Everything is just so delicious with the cold, fresh belgian air. A pack of chocolate-covered strawberries costs 7 euros. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Naniningkit na mga mata sa katatawa! That moment when you’re so excited to eat your chocolate-covered strawberry that it fell to the ground. But a piece is just so expensive that you decide to eat it anyway? Da who!! #fivesecondrule
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Took a leisurely carriage ride about town to see which sights interests us that we want to go back to on foot. The town is small though, chocolates+waffles+souvenirs.. what you see is what you get, lol. So that’s pretty much it. (30 minutes = €50 + tip for the commentary).
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Kap: Sa ongpin 50 pesos lang mag-kalesa! Me: Magtigil ka. Imported mga kabayo dito saka mga higante. Sakay na!
Sobrang pasaway si Kap my Kap! @_@ Lahat nalang kinukwenta hay.
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Bae cannot ride a bike even though we’ve tried teaching her over & over, lol. So while Kap & the 2 older kids went to bike around town, my Lovey & I went to the Diamond museum to hide from the cold & occasional drizzle. Entrance fee to the museum is 8 euro/person or roughly 450 php each. Bowring as hell though, I’d rather go to the jewelry store! Skip this. 😐
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Sought warmth inside the Diamond Museum while Kap & the 2 older kids went biking around town.
Aha! Learning the 4 C’s! May masamang binabalak ang Bae ko! ;P
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Caught the train back to Brussles. Photo-finish, ran for our lives again to catch the train. Grabe I’m too old na for this shit, ayoko na talaga lumayas, 2 years na uli bago mag-travel ng malayuan! ;P
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Hindi na kaya ng powers ko ang tumakbo. Kap had to pull me along at nagpapaiwan na talaga ako! 😛
Photo-finish papunta, photo-finish din pabalik. Anuvayaaahhn!!
Got to our apartment safe & sound. Thank you Lord for your mercy & traveling protection every day. <3
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Kap has been taking such great care of all of us the whole trip, he deserved a treat. Ate did her best to find a chinese resto para makapag-kanin naman ang tatay nya at mabusog. ;P
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If you’re looking for cheap eats in Brussels, go to GALERIE DE LA REINE. In between the hallways are varied restaurants serving different cuisines sure to satisfy your appetite & budget. Manila kayo, si Kap pa! ;))
Ate found her dad a chinese resto. All stir-fried food. Happy na si Kap. <3
Asian Wok for asian peeps hehe.
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Early day tomorrow to Amsterdam. Another city, another adventure. Til then. :-*
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Sharon & KC. ;)) Pagoda na sobra. Rejuvenate & revitalize with face masks! ;P
6 Comments
I’ve been an avid reader for years, Ms. Jane! So happy for you and your family. Peg na talaga kita pag dating sa being able to travel and enjoy experiences with family. I pray I’ll be able to take my family to Europe someday as well. 🙂 Enjoy, and safe travels to you!
July 28, 2016 at 6:38 amThank you!! <3 I'm sure you & your family will go to Europe one day. Older kids will appreciate the experience (and sights & walking & everything else) more. Love to you mwah!! :-*
July 28, 2016 at 10:12 amButi na lang, your shoes are made for walking’ and running’ hahahaha!!! AND Because of this post, nag crave naman ako ng strawberries!!!
July 28, 2016 at 8:22 amHay naku meding yung kalyo ko kasing kapal na ng aspalto huhu! Foot scrub now na. 😉
July 28, 2016 at 10:11 amDa who na ba si “eating fallen chocolate-coated strawberry”? Si Kap your Kap ba yan?
You may look tired but prettiness pa din. Di hagardo versoza ang peg, Mommy Jane. Iba talaga ang weather ng Europe. Kung sa Pinas ka maglakad ng ganyan, baka i-annul mo si Kap. Hehehe
July 29, 2016 at 11:15 amHay naku Candy, si Babyson yon hehe. Takos masabon ng tata, lol! And you are really the sweetest! Thank you for the compliment. :-*
July 29, 2016 at 6:51 pm