The last of Brussels

It has been awhile since writing but I am excited to say it was because I was meeting so many fabulous people and didn't have time. Every time I sat down with my tablet someone would come and start chatting and before you know it it would be bed time. Brussels did redeem itself but only because the people I met were so great, and as it turns out many of them are in Amsterdam with me as well. But here is what I have been up to since my last post....(I had some complaints that I was slacking). 

On Friday, Georgia and I decided to head out to Bruges. Some folks from the hostel had been and said how lovely it was so the two of us got up early to head to Gare du Nord. Knowing the trains left around on the hour we planned to leave the hostel at 9:30. Arriving at the train station we found the ticket centre and waited in line. Finally going to pay, with my visa was declined! Oh my god (more on this later)! Thank goodness for my preplanning, I whipped out my Mastercard and the lady told us we had to go right away or we would miss the train. So off we go to the beautiful city of Bruges, a World Heritage Site. As we exit the train and follow the masses to what we can only hope is the right direction we notice the sky is considerably dark. Only a few minutes into our walk, it starts to rain. We decide to stop and have lunch and wait it out for a bit. We stop in a sandwich stop which unfortunately only has a couple of stools and standing room so we can't stay too long. And of course as soon as we leave we find cafes galore! We accept the rain and we each stop to buy an umbrella. We wander around without a map to see what we discover. After walking in the cold downpour for a couple of hours we stop and have some Belgium hot chocolate. Earlier we had passed a sign that said world's best hot chocolate so we retraced our steps and found it. Thankfully it was a cozy tea room above a chocolate shop so we were able to sit down, dry off and warm up. The hot chocolate arrived in what can only be described as soup bowls with handles. Actually the hot milk arrived and so did a chocolate cup of chocolate chips. The chips go in and you stir your whisk and voila hot chocolate! It was so delicious! And since we were feeling so blue from the rain we also decided to order waffles....bad idea! The waffles were really disappointing as there was no sugar in them (lol), and they were the size of a plate. So needless to say we felt slightly sick after our little stop and decided we needed to walk, rain or not, to feel better. It wasn't the Bruges I expected to see as it was so grey and gloomy and I was expecting a wall or something around the city. A little later though the sun came out and we found the canals and we realized how quaint it really was. They call it the Venice of the North and it is really sweet!

Later that night at the hostel as I was booking my room in Amsterdam I attempted to use my visa again...declined! So I got my dad on the case and they were suspicious of my activity! Sigh...they don't apparently read notes...we got it all sorted away and we are good to go again! Phew!

The next day my plan was to get boots as I was sick of having wet feet! I walked, in the rain, for many hours with no luck so I gave up, got groceries and went back to the hostel. Since both shoes were wet I sat in my flip flops and tried unsuccessfully to do some planning on line.  Soon the common room was full of old friends and we talked the night away. After a cold shower, which was meant to be hot to warm me up, I crawled into bed for the night.

Sunday was a sunny day and I took advantage by heading to the flea market. Rows and rows of antiques, used and old items lined the square. I browsed, stopping every so often to check something out. Although there is often treasure hidden beneath the junk, I went only to look so didn't want to dig too deep anyways. I wandered te streets after that, going in the little shops that were open. In the next area of town the stores were all closed and since it was early afternoon, my friends had all left, and the hostel was closed I decided to go to a movie. I felt like I wanted  a piece of home. I went and saw Taken 2, which thankfully wasn't too scary. The theatre was magnifucent though. It just have been an actual theatre at one time because the walls were beautifully decorated with flowers and animals...I meant to take a pucture but forgot!

Today I finally found some boots, a scarf, and some wool socks and then I boarded the bus for Amsterdam. The drive was beautiful. There were so many small canals running between fields, windmills, and cottages lining the road.  I was pleasantly surprised to find my hostel warm and cozy. Although not in the main part of Amsterdam, it got great reviews and was the cheapest I could find. The only hostels left in the centre sounded dirty.....although I am sad to be so far from the action. I plan on meeting up with some if the people I have met along the way, and tomorrow I am going on a walking tour....I promise to update more often!

Bonne Soir!