Bruges, Belgium..............in the rain

Wednesday October 12, 2011

Upon waking this morning, I was not too happy to see that it was raining outside.  This would not stop me from my wonderings, but it definitely puts a damper on things.  After breakfast, I headed into the center of town, to the Markt.  On Wednesday’s, there is a weekly market where merchants arrive with vans and trucks to sell various items from vegetables, meats, cheeses, plants, cooked food items and more.  This is the type of thing I really enjoy! Unfortunately the rain made the outdoor market shopping somewhat difficult, but it was still quite crowded. Many of the local people, under umbrellas, were buying their foodstuffs and ignoring the rain.  After taking many photos (with my small camera, under the umbrella), I joined in the shopping and bought some roasted potatoes and chicken for lunch.  This stand was particularly crowded and the smell emanating from the cooked food was too much for me to ignore. I returned to the hotel to savor my purchase, and it did not disappoint me.  Everything was quite flavorful and tasty.  Finally, it stopped raining and I was immediately out the door.  I wandered the town, browsing mostly in candy and chocolate shops before deciding to go to the Memling in Sint-Jan Hospitaalmuseum.   This museum is one of the oldest preserved hospital buildings in Europe.  Throughout the museum you see what life was like in a medieval hospital, seeing many paintings, medieval medical instruments, pieces of furniture, and more.  It was quite fascinating to see all of this, and think about what life and medical facilities were like 500 years ago.  After leaving the museum, I stopped in for some hot chocolate at The Old Chocolate House, which is supposedly the best hot chocolate in Bruges.  It was definitely excellent, and reminded me of some of the best hot chocolate I had ever tasted………….Angelina’s, in Paris.  By this time, it was getting late, so I had some light snack and headed back to the hotel.  Tomorrow, I am off by train, for one night in Antwerp, before heading over to Brussels for the weekend.  It is hard for me to comprehend that I will be heading home to New York in one more week…….this trip has been outstanding and the past four weeks has gone by so, so fast. What a great experience!!

Click on any of the photos to see them in a larger size..........