Sampling Belgian chocolate in Bruges COMPLETED 6/2 - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Tuesday 20 May – part three: walking into Christmas!
Finally we found ourselves in the Markt, the main square, which is surrounded by stunning buildings, dating mainly from the 17th century. A market has been held here since the 10th century.
We stood there for some time, just taking it all in. Debbie told me that once she’d come to Bruges with her husband and his brother and sister-in-law, and they ended up spending most of the day here, as they ended up eating at one of the restaurants here. She said they’d spent their time people watching and it had been a lot of fun. I can imagine!
Eventually, we decided we had to move, and here is where Debbie had a bit of a close call. She was about to cross the road, and as it was a mainly pedestrian area, she didn’t really look around her, which was a big mistake. You’ve seen shots of the horse and cart, and one was ploughing along towards her. Thank goodness I saw that in time, and was able to grab her!
We headed into Briedelstraat, which is one of the main shopping streets in Bruges. It also links the Markt and the Burg. We didn’t get far before we made our first stop at this wonderful shop…
Sadly you couldn’t take photos inside, which is fair enough, but I can tell you it was basically a festive treasure trove. It was like walking into Christmas itself, and you almost half expected to come out and find snow on the ground outside. There were literally hundreds of ornaments in here, and Debbie and I both decided we could do some serious damage in here, but we decided that we’d come back, so we wouldn’t have to walk around with our purchases.
There were also various chocolatiers along here that would definitely bear further examination later in the day.
We headed into the Burg, which is another beautiful square. Some of the buildings here are amongst the most important in Bruges.
One of the buildings here is the Stadhuis, which was completed in 1375, although the statues you see in the niches of it were added much more recently.
Another building in the Burg is the Heilig Bloed Basiliek, the Basilica of the Holy Blood. The name comes from the silver tabernacle which housed a sacred phial, supposed to contain a few drops of blood washed from Christ. It was brought here from Jerusalem in 1150.
I still am amazed to look at cities where every structure is so old and so well preserved. As an American, who has never really left the country, it is so difficult to fathom. And now I know I will be seeing the "Old World" in just a few days myself is somewhat overwhelming. Bruges looks like a gorgeous city.
I still am amazed to look at cities where every structure is so old and so well preserved. As an American, who has never really left the country, it is so difficult to fathom. And now I know I will be seeing the "Old World" in just a few days myself is somewhat overwhelming. Bruges looks like a gorgeous city.
Oh wow, I didn't realise you hadn't travelled extensively before this trip - my goodness, you are going to be in for such a treat with your itinerary!
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Okay, you've mentioned chocolate several times in this thread - in the title, covering a waffle (and even had a picture of that one) and coming up learning about it. Yeah, I want chocolate now. I should have read this thread earlier because I could have sent Lenny out to buy some (not Belgian chocolate though) but now all the stores are closed . You do know how to torture a person Cheryl . I guess I'll just have to be happy all of your gorgeous photos (and if I stare a little too long at the waffle one, who can blame me ).
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Okay, you've mentioned chocolate several times in this thread - in the title, covering a waffle (and even had a picture of that one) and coming up learning about it. Yeah, I want chocolate now. I should have read this thread earlier because I could have sent Lenny out to buy some (not Belgian chocolate though) but now all the stores are closed . You do know how to torture a person Cheryl . I guess I'll just have to be happy all of your gorgeous photos (and if I stare a little too long at the waffle one, who can blame me ).
Ok warning - more about chocolate coming up in this update, although not particularly photos of chocolate. I've saved those for later instalments...
Tuesday 20 May – part four: learning all about chocolate!
Once we were finished with standing here admiring everything, we decided to try and find the Choco-Story, otherwise known as the chocolate museum as that’s what Debbie wanted to visit while we were here. I have to say I’m very glad I had my trusty Dorling Kindersley book with me, as it wasn’t exactly easy to find. There were no signs at all, but at least it was a pleasant walk.
When we arrived, it was absolutely mobbed by tour groups, one of which was a school group. Despite that, we headed inside, as a lot of the groups seemed to be outside and finishing up their visit. We got our tickets, and off we went on a voyage of discovery, learning all about chocolate and its history. I did already know a fair bit, having been to the chocolate museum in Switzerland last year.
We both thought this was a great introduction… and very true as well!
I thought I’d been here before, but when I saw this, I realised I hadn’t, as we didn’t go last year, and the last time we spent any considerable time in Bruges was back in 2001. I was surprised, but maybe we visited it when it was somewhere else.
It’s in an old house, with lots of stairs up to the various levels, although there is an elevator if you can’t manage the steps. Let’s just say I was glad that at each floor, you stopped to visit the exhibitions, as there’s no way I’d have wanted to have gone all the way up to the top in one go.
At first, we encountered the tour groups and especially the school group. My goodness, they were certainly being shepherded through this quickly. How they took anything in, I really do not know! Having said that, I was glad they were moving at a speed, as at least it emptied out fairly quickly, and then we had the place to ourselves and could take our time.
You first learn about the origins of chocolate, dating all the way back to these guys…
You could only see the detail under a magnifying glass – it was amazing how they’d managed to do this…
These were a bit freaky…
They even had a recipe for chocolate in the very early days, and we both thought it was a bit odd…
By the time chocolate finally made it to Europe, it had become very refined, as you can see from these serving vessels and implements:
I was fascinated by this – how cool!
As we walked around, we saw a lot of these, although we couldn’t figure out how they worked. We knew the cocoa got pressed in it – hence the bit in the top, but what the bit in the side was, we had no idea…
On the top floor, they had an amazing selection of bonbonnieres or sweet boxes, which first appeared during the 18th century. As you might have guessed, they were used to store sweets and they were only used in the most well-to-do homes.
Then we got into the moulds they use for chocolate, and they were so creative.
Okay, you've mentioned chocolate several times in this thread - in the title, covering a waffle (and even had a picture of that one) and coming up learning about it. Yeah, I want chocolate now. I should have read this thread earlier because I could have sent Lenny out to buy some (not Belgian chocolate though) but now all the stores are closed . You do know how to torture a person Cheryl . I guess I'll just have to be happy all of your gorgeous photos (and if I stare a little too long at the waffle one, who can blame me ).
I second this I now have a serious chocolate craving and we have a supermarket on the doorstep which doesn't help with the resistance.
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There were literally hundreds of ornaments in here, and Debbie and I both decided we could do some serious damage in here, but we decided that we’d come back, so we wouldn’t have to walk around with our purchases. 
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. You do know how to torture a person Cheryl 
).
Ok warning - more about chocolate coming up in this update, although not particularly photos of chocolate. I've saved those for later instalments... 
as that’s what Debbie wanted to visit while we were here. I have to say I’m very glad I had my trusty Dorling Kindersley book with me, as it wasn’t exactly easy to find. There were no signs at all, but at least it was a pleasant walk. 
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