Lace and Chocolate

I got up at 4 am on Wednesday, November 10th and woke Dona up.  This was to be another day of new adventure and enlightment.  We had planned to go to Luxemburg but decided Belgium would do.  The Paris Visions group in Paris offered a tour via coach to Brugge. Despite its cost of 134 euros we felt that it offered, safety, comfort, education and excitement.  We had to get to the Paris Vision office on Pyrimids street by 7 am.  As this was about 6 metro stops away from our stop of  Place Monge amd a three block walk we were not sure how long it would take us to get there.  And so in my obsessive worried way I decided that the best for us would be to leave the apartment at 5:30am so we would allow plenty of time to get there.   So as | mentioned I got up at 4am.  Dona will tell you that both of us were worried all nitht weather we would be able to wake that early.  We both reported to each other that we must have awoken every hour on the hour to check the time.  When I finally got up at 4 am Dona felt that she could be ready by 5 30 am if she still slept another 30 minutes.  It turned out fine as when we did leave at 530am, guess what time we got there.  We got there at believe it or not 6Am.   The reason being that there were very few people in the Metro station and on the streets.  The streets all the way to the office were dark and threatened rain again.  There were actual people riding the Metro and the cars were just enough to fill the seats but there was plenty of standing room.  We got to the door of the Paris Vision door at 605 and of course the door was locked and no one or bus was around.  Luckily there was a nice brassier that was open a few steps away.  I bet they open early just for those early birds who book a tour and get there early.  There was nothing on the streets that was open.  We ordered a cup of coffee and one small entre, despite the fact that I was not hungry.  I was just so gratefull that we could sit down that  I wanted to patronize the place with a few coins.  As we sat there, other people who looked like they might be taking a tour early in the morning came in. Finally it was time to go over to the office to check in.  Unfortunately as we walked out of the cafe door it was rainning quite heartly.  But as we knew we would be riding in a nice bus for over 3 hours we hoped that by the time we came to Brugge it would stop.  We checked in and although we had our passports as requested the lady who checked us in said most  likely no one would ask to see them.  When countries in Europe belong to the Euro state system, passports are not needed and people can come and go as they like.  However sometimes at the countrys border if they are looking for someone or feels some need they will stop the vechile and ask to see the pass ports.  If you do not have the passport then you will not be admitted in to the country.
At the Paris Vision office it turned out that there were many other trips leaving at the same time.  There was a all day trip going to St. Mont Michelle, another going to London and another going to the Chateau country.  And of course there was our bus going to Brugge, Belgium.  Our bus number 1 was filled with people, about 40..  It was a large and similar type bus that Dona and I had riden in on our Italy trip.  There were two main guides.  One guide spoke in English and French.  The other spoke in spainish.  Among the group I would say there were only about 8 of the group who spoke only English.  When the tour began the guide a dark haired lady in her 50s would give the information in French first and then English.
The format of the tour is that we would drive to Belgium, leaving at 715am.  After two hours we would stop at a auto stop to use toilettes and get some food if we desired.This was a half an hour stop.  Then after another 2 hr ride we would arrive in Brugge.  We arrived in Brugge about 1130am.  As you can imagine on the drive up there Dona and I dosed or slept.  I did get a chance to look out the window between little naps.  The country side was lightening up.  When we got out in the countryside away from Paris and her suburbs the landscape was rolling and filled with farms, with crops, and animals.  the landscapes was doted with trees that were not completely bear but had some colors of brown and once in awhile a orange colored tree would be mixed in with the other brown leaf trees.  There were also some trees that the leaves were green and had not changed color or lost all their leaves.
Dona and I were prepared for the rainy weather.  I had my sturdy poncho and Paris umbrella and Dona had a sturdy leather coat and an umbrella that we found in the apartment.  When we arrived it was not raining and there even was a little sunshine trying to peek though the clouds.  We all got off the bus and followed the tour guide.  We went over a bridge that lead to the walled part of the village.  Our guide passed out little maps of the city and told us that this town was about 35,000 people.  She said that it has many little canals and that the town is offtened referred to as the Venice of the North.    The walled part of Brugge she said was in the shape of an Egg.    She said that she would take us on a walking tour and then she would leave us on our own until 3:40 so that we could get lunch, shop for chocolate and lace and try the beer.  She said that Belgium at one time owned the Belgium Congo and that is how they became such an important Chocolate producer and exporter.  She said that Lace making went back bo early origins of the area and that today lace is still made by hand.  She said there are also lace making schools that people could attend in Brugge.  The town itself reminded me of a littel storybook town.  It was so clean, compact and filled with buildings that were well maintained.  Again I took many pictures that I will add to the Blog once I return home and get my son Nicks assistance.  In this town were cobble stone streets.  The main form of transportation is walking and riding a bike.  The town goes back to the 12th century.  many of the church structures and buildings go back to the 13th century.  At one time the canals were a part of a barge system that big boats from the north and south would come to deliver products that then would be distributed to other countries.  I do not know what happened to those trade routes but she said that the main harbor is now considered a lake.  There are however still these canals and mostly are used for boat rides for the tourists.  The village has several churchs.  The most famous is the Notre Dame church which has the highest tower in all Europe.  The tower as we were there is under renovation.  We took a tour of the church and inside is a sculpture of the Madana and Child by Michaelangelo.  It is rare to have this sculpture in this town as most of Michaelangelo's works are in Italy.  The buildings are of a flemish style and the main language of Brugge is Flemish.  We however found no  difficulty in understanding the flemish as most of the people spoke excellent english.  Flemish is a germanic language.  The guide said that our little tour and visit could not cover all the sights there are to see and that a return visit of 2 or more days would be enough time to see all the museums, sample all the beers and chocolate and enjoy the beauty of the town.    The beer of Brugge is famous as I guess Belgium brews about 40.50 different beers that are considered the best tasting beer in the world. 
Our tour guide dropped us off at one of the main squares which was holding a open food market.  It was to be open until 1 pm.  Dona and I walked around briefly looking at the different foods and flowers.  Dona bought some seeds for planting and I bought some sausage for tasting.  All of a sudden there was a strong downpour of rain and we ran for the nearest restaurant.  It was here that we had lunch.  We sampled the beer which I think was the best beer I have ever tasted.  We sat in front of a blazing fire and I had a dish of salad and herring and a bowl of onion soup.  Dona just had the onion soup.  The herring was delicious the soup was fair.  After this small meal we went to look at the shops.  We looked though the lace shops and I bought something for Nicks and Roses new baby to come in April.  I could not find the lace earings that I had received from Belgium almost 40 years ago.  The shops said that the earings are hard to find now a days.  There are chocolate candy shops everywhere and I bought a few peices and ate with relish.  We went to see the Notre Dame church and as we had time went to a tea house to have a cup of their hot chocolate and a dessert.  Very decandant.  The chocolate was served separate from the hot milk and the customer adds the melted chocolate to the hot milk to their taste.  The fancy dessert was wonderful.  The whole experience of this town was wonderful and enchanting.  There are cars that go though the streets but they are few.  What one fines in the streets are large horses pulling carrages for carrage rides and small tourist boats in the canals that are used for rides though the canals.  Each boat holds about 15 to 20 people.
After our hot chocolate and dessert it was time to return to the square the guide said she would meet us.    We all walked back to the bus that was waiting for us/  It now was about 4pm and the ride back to Paris got us there about 9pm.  We got back to our apartment by metro about 930pm When we got back to our apartment we had a dinner of cheese,croysants, fruit,  warm rotissori chicken, salad , red wine and salami.  We went to bed at 11pm.  It felt like it was 12 or 1 as it had been a long day.