We were so sad to leave Paris and could have easily spent another week there. We spent our last few hours taking pictures and hanging out near Notre Dame. We finished our Paris experience with fresh crepes and slowly made our way to the train station, trying to absorb as much of the city as we could. Wouldn’t you know it, the sun finally came out right as we were about to leave. Our trip north took much longer than we had expected, but it offered us time to relax. By this point in our travels, we were exhausted and tired of constantly being on the move. It was lucky for us that Brussels isn’t the most exciting city, with most of the city’s attractions seen in one day. We were not extremely ex
cited to do much of anything on our first day, especially after a noisy night in a hotel room located right above a busy kitchen. We really weren’t ready to sight see, but we felt obligated to make an effort to discover Brussels. We saw a church, it was big. There was a park nearby with graffiti’d buffalo sculptures and leafless trees. The only things on our list to see were the gothic Grand Place-Grote Markt and the Manneken Pis. The Grote Markt is a square surrounded by three hundred year old gold trimmed buildings and the city tower. The design and detail of the square certainly was impressive. There are side streets leading out of the square that take you right into the tourist shopping areas. As we were about to leave, we noticed a group of school children roaming the square in a straight line. We caught on that they were playing a mimic game with unsuspecting adults in the square. If someone was taking a picture, the kids would line up behind the person and mimic taking a picture. If someone was on their phone, they would be in a line pretending to be talking on a phone. Once they were caught, they would giggle and scatter, much to the delight of those being imitated. Seeing those kids making their own fun was an interesting highlight of our time in Brussels. Before they could have a chance to mimic us, we left to find the Manneken Pis, or the fountain of the Peeing Child. And it’s exactly what you’re thinking: a small statue of a child peeing into a fountain. For some reason, this fountain is beloved by Brusselonians, and somehow embodies the spirit of the city. Apparently, the citizens of the city have created over a hundred outfits for the little guy to wear. We’re not entirely sure what the outfit it was wearing when we saw it represents; it’s all a bit silly. Having checked off the two things we came to see, we decided to head back to the hotel to relax. It was clear that we scheduled too much time in Brussels, but it was actually a refreshing chance to do nothing. We were able to plan our future stays for a whole week, the furthest we’ve planned in advance this whole trip. 
We had spent the past few weeks navigating the big cities and we were definitely ready to find a small town to enjoy at a slower pace. It was perfect timing that we were headed towards Bruges next; a charming Dutch-inspired town in northern Belgium. We found a quaint B&B right on the edge of the old city and only a short walk from the train station. We only had one day to spend in the city, so we were on foot right away with a map to see what we could. The weather wasn’t great, but that didn’t spoil our day. Despite the cold and grey skies, Fall is a nice time to be here to see the lush green grass and the fallen leaves. Our plan was to head toward the city center and then rent bikes to explore the city. The old part of Bruges is like a smaller, laid-back version of Amsterdam; the buildings look so similar and there are canals winding throughout the city. The streets are all cobblestone and many are only wide enough for one car. Renting the bikes was definitely the best thing we could have done; we saw more of the city than we would have just on foot. Plus riding bikes is so much fun! We found a convent, several churches and a bike path on the outer part of the city that has four giant windmills. After a few hours of riding, we took a break at a coffee shop. Once we were ready to go, the rain came pouring down. Thankfully it didn’t last long and we were back out on the bumpy road. As the day drew on, we were simply riding around aimlessly looking at the buildings and enjoying the quaint city. When it was dark, we went back to the city center to take pictures of the Belfry. We unfortunately were too late to climb the tower. The Belfry made an appearance in the Irish dark comedy movie “In Bruges” with Colin Farrell. It was because of that movie that we wanted to visit Bruges as it is portrayed as being a well-preserved and quaint medieval city, despite the movie having a graphically violent plot. I imagine that the citizens of Bruges are more or less indifferent to the film; it got them on the map but not in the most positive sense. We spent almost eight hours riding around the city and enjoyed every minute of it. We went back to the room freezing and tired, but satisfied with our day. Our whole experience in
Bruges was a total win. The city was beautiful, we did more than just walk around, our hotel was inexpensive, adorable and included a fantastic breakfast and the train station was just a few minutes away. If the weather had been nicer, we would have been able to ride the bikes about an hour north to the coast. That is definitely something that should be done during the summer months, and that would be the time we would go if we ever return to Bruges. The small town is a great escape from the big cities and we planned our time there perfectly. Forward to: England and southern Wales
Brussels:
Bruges:
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