First thing in the morning we left London for Bruges, arriving by the early afternoon.
We were surrounded by chocolate.
Expensive, Belgian chocolate.
Birdman.
We went into the Friet (fries) Museum to ask where we could get some good fries. An employee recommended this place, just a few blocks from the museum.
Belgian fries are fried twice, once to cook and the second time for color and texture.
Like a big idiot, before looking at the menu, I walked right up to the employee, looked him straight in the eyes, and ordered French fries. It was embarrassing, obviously. Especially when I immediately got corrected, 'you mean Flemish fries."
You see, French fries did not originate in France but in Belgium, so naturally there are sensitive about it.
I read that during WWII some soldiers were in Belgium eating fried potatoes but, because they speak French there, they thought they were in France, and so nicknamed them French fries. Who knows what is true. Both countries claim ownership.
Flemish fries with mayonnaise and ketchup.
Each topping cost over a euro!
It is the small things like free ketchup packets that make you proud to be an American.
The Belfort, added to the market square in 1240, definitely leans. It is not an optical illusion.
We got a flight of beer at the sixty year old brewery, Bourgogne de Flandres, and found a sweet table along the canal.
Martin's IPA 55 and Timmermans Kriek were our favorites, for sure.
Our last event of the evening was to watch part of the Belgium-England World Cup match on the big screen with the locals.
As we walked up, Belgium scored. Everyone threw their drinks up into the air in celebration.
So glad we weren't in the center of that mess.
Who knew it would be like a festival.
It starts young.
Outdoor urinals are a great idea, but they just haven't made their way into the US market.
Yet.
And so concludes our first day in Bruges!
It is much more hectic than I remember, but just as beautiful.
You can't help but imagine how it was seven hundred years ago, when Bruges was a popular multinational trading port.
There is so much in this post. What a great day you guys had. I had to laugh out loud at your French Fry ordering. I did the same thing in Denmark when I went into a bakery and ordered a Danish.
ReplyDeleteThis line made me chuckle, "It is the small things like free ketchup packets that make you proud to be an American."
You guys are fitting everything in. You're making ME tired.