The Grand Finale

After sleeping in a bit and putting on our Roll Tide gear, we hit the cobblestone streets for some window shopping before going to lunch at Prestige Patisserie. We feasted on an array of sugary pastries coupled with a steaming cup of hot cocoa. We were definitely not short on energy after that breakfast.

We then walked practically next door to the Church of Our Lady where we had a rare opportunity to get an up close look at Michelangelo's Madonna and Child.

John then arranged a self guided walking tour around the city that included seeing the last standing windmills on the outskirts of town.

 

After all of that walking, we decided to have a few brews at the only microbrewery in Bruges, De Halve Man (Half Moon) Brewery. Cheers!

Dinner that night was one that I had looked forward to for a long time. Pomperlut is a small locally owned restaurant with decor that is very much reminiscent of a Hogwarts common room. We feasted on things such as scallops, grouper, and mushroom risotto-all of which were superb.

We then took a moonlit stroll (with John trying a famed Cuban cigar in the process) around the canals and historic city squares before calling it a night.

 *Just call him James Dean

The next day we woke up, said our goodbyes to the beautiful city of Bruges, and headed back to Amsterdam via train. While there we loaded up on one more round of frites at Vlaams Frites during the afternoon and then tried out The Pancake House for dinner. Frites and pancakes are definitely winners in our book if you can't tell.

Poffertjes

Then we took a walk by the Royal Palace before heading back to our hotel room (which happened to be behind a hidden book case).

 

We had so much fun and I am still craving the sights of the canals, windmills, and historic cathedrals along with the chocolate, pancakes, and hot frites. We truly had an amazing time and it will be a trip that I will always cherish.