Here is my long promised post about my one day trip to Bruges. When I went to spend Easter in Brussels, I kind of wanted to go more further outside of Brussels and explore different parts of Belgium. I heard a lots of good praise on Bruges, so at the end it was my obvious choice. I went there on Easter Monday, which also happened to be the best day for a trip away.
It has turn out to be excellent day. The weather was nice and sunny. And I felt inspired once again.
At the beginning I didn't know what to expect. In my travel book about Belgium I read about Bruges as a medieval town. Once I have entered the main square, I was immediately taken away with its sense of history. Even though it was public holiday in Belgium and streets were overcrowded with tourists, people were very nice and laid-back. Everyone was smiling. Walking down the streets I felt like I have stepped down the history with every turn finding something nice and exciting. I took quite a lot of pictures. But it was worth it.
Stealing other people's kisses. It wasn't my intention to capture it. I guess it is just one of those moments, however very sweet and tender moment.
Strolling through the streets I found this vintage market full of awesome second hand stuff.
I stopped by in this lovely and cosy place for a late lunch. This place is called Creperie Minnewater.
Of course I had a Belgian kriek beer. Yum, it was very tasty. And I tried one of the typical Flemish dishes, a baked andives wrapped in ham and as a desert I had just a pancake with chocolate.
I have completely fallen in love with Bruges and I hope on day I will be able to come back.
Wow, September went fast. My previous post was about my recent trip to Brussels. What I have really enjoyed about my trip in Brussels was eating out. In this post I will tell you more about the food I have tried and about the small charming places with delicious food I found whilst exploring the street of Brussels.
When you are visiting Brussels, one of the essentials is to try their national dish – mussels and chips. I did that on my first day while I was walking around The Grande Place. I could see plenty of restaurants offering mussels and chips. I went to the one the corner’s ones as I prefer a little bit of the space for myself. Mussels were very nice, however, chips were rather dry and tasteless. Sadly, it seemed to me that the place just wanted to cash out on tourist. Basically, it didn't meet my expectations and I was quite disappointed.
On my second day, when I was exploring Brussels a little bit further and I found myself in part called Saint-Gilles, I saw the van selling traditional frites. I couldn’t resist and I have to say, they were the best chips I ever had - traditionally served with the dollop of homemade mayonnaise. My thoughts about the let down from the day before were gone. And this is when I have realised that from now on I will really enjoy what Brussels have to offer.
I found this very pleasant tea place called Pepper Mint Tea Room (www.pepperminttearoom.be). I had a cherry tree favoured tea and slice of the cake. The owner of this place served the tea in a really nice way which made me feel welcomed. I really liked friendly and relaxing atmosphere of this place. When I have taken this picture, my cake was already eaten.
This was one of my dinner dishes. I have decided to go for some thing lighter. I can’t remember the name of this place but this was more funkier and chilled place to eat in. I had Madame de Croucque with the glass of the chilled bear.
I stayed in The Bloom Hotel near Botanique. I discovered this lovely cafe called Petit Coin Royal ( www.petitcoinroyal.be) just off the Rue de Royale. I loved the simple soothing style of this place. While I was there, it was their rush hour and staff was busy serving the lunches. The staff was very friendly and welcoming and the food they serve is very delicious. I had here a really nice breakfast there.
I went for the baguette filled with cheese, rocket, prosciutto and sundried tomatoes. it was just delicious. So fresh. It was the best baguette I had in ages.
And the best on the last day. On my last day in Brussels, I came across with this charming place called Ma Folle de Solei (www.mafolledesoeur.be). I had here their lunch special menu with starter, main and desert. The food was again delicious. The best I had in ages. Everything was homemade and prepared from scratch. I think this is what makes this place special.
Unfortunately, I was unable to capture everything I have eaten. For a starters I had a small salad with prawns. For mains I had a cannelloni filled with ricotta and beautiful mushroom sauce. I loved the mushroom sauce. And as a desert I had a tiramissu. It was the best meal I had in Brussels. Delicious and very comforting. Eating at this charming place was a pure pleasure. I am sure that if I ever come back to Brussels, I will make sure I will visit this place again.
Every time I come home to Slovakia, my sister, her husband and I plan a trip to our mountains, High Tatras. It has sort of became our tradition. Every time we choose a different root, somewhere where none of us has been before. Every time it is such a challenge and an amazing experience. I really like hiking and I love High Tatras. This time we went for a route from Popradske Pleso to Velke Hincovo Pleso and back.