On the fourth evening of our trip to Europe
Fred & I took a BEAUTIFUL train ride to Belgium
We rented a car so we could see the country
and were able to see more than half of Belgium in one day.
We stayed in Brussels and our drive took us to
Gent, Brugge & the coast.
When we arrived in Brugge we stopped to ask a passer-by
where we could see a medieval castle.
Her answer still makes us laugh
"The whole town is medieval! (Silly us)
Just keep driving until you see the medieval arch.
The city of Brugge is right beyond it."
The arch leading to the city of Brugge
Our two main goals in Belgium were
1 - To see a castle
and
2- To eat CHOCOLATE!
As we were coming up to the Brugge exit
Fred spotted a sign which gave
directions to local attractions.
One of the icons on the sign was a castle with a flag.
So we followed the signs.
Much to our dismay the signs never
led us to a castle.
We asked people on the street where the castle
of the town was and they would reply
"I didn't know there was a castle here!"
To which we would answer "Oh yes, we are following
the castle signs, BUT we can't find the castle!"
After looking for a good half-an-hour I took a closer
look at the 'castle' icon.
"That isn't a castle with a flag!
It's a factory with a smoke stack!!"
This is the closest we came to seeing our castle.
We achieved goal #2 in a BIG way.
We took a wrong turn on the way to the coast,
and THANK GOODNESS we did!
We came upon this little shack with at least three
big tourist buses parked outside it.
The sign out front said
"Chocolate Factory Store - Chocolates made fresh daily".
Eureka!!
Not only did they have every flavor of chocolate
you could image; banana, cherry, orange, raspberry, etc.
they also had gummi candies - 'made fresh daily'.
I also found my pickle flavored lays
potatoes chips there.
It was a BEAUTIFUL day on the coast.
We didn't lounge in the sun though.
Too of much of Belgium to see.
We ate lunch at a fun contemporary ice cream parlor.
Belgium was truly BEAUTIFUL!
Can we go again - tomorrow?!!
