Bruges, Belgium: Chocolate, Waffles, and Beer...OH MY!
After checking out of our hotel in Leiden fairly early in the morning we started our 3 hour drive to Bruges, Belgium. I have heard so many great things about Bruges and it is so close to England, we decided to take an extra day on our trip and stay the night on our way home. We arrived in Bruges around Noon and found our hotel, "Hotel Navarra" which was located about 2 blocks from Bruges Market Center. We tried to check-in but our hotel room wouldn't be ready until after 2:30 pm, so we decided to walk around and find a bite to eat.
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| Hotel Navarra |
We started our day in Bruges by walking around the market square area, which was full of great cafes and horse drawn carriages. That's when we both noticed it...the...smell...of...chocolate! Belgian chocolate shops lined the streets, and Xander was excited. But first, I noticed a line of people at stand and saw these enormous waffles....and that's where we decided to eat lunch at. I had a strawberry waffle, Zach had a cherry waffle, and Xander had a plain waffle. It was glorious!
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| Strawberry Waffle from Chez Albert |
We spent the rest of the afternoon window shopping and dipping in and out of all the chocolate shops. Xander got wise to the fact that in every shop they offer free samples when you walk in to try, so he had about 100 pieces of chocolate and was ready to roll! We explored some of the canals and loved the relaxed vibe of the town. We ended up in a coffee shop to enjoy an afternoon coffee, and before we knew it, it was time to check-in to our hotel.
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| Canals of Bruges |
Once we made it back to our hotel, we found out that Booking.com had messed up part of our room reservation and didn't book us with a room that had two beds (Xander won't sleep in a pack n play or crib, only a bed, so this was a problem). The hotel quickly found us a room, which ended up being a HUGE family suite with two rooms and 3 beds at no extra charge. We loved this hotel, it was probably one of the best we have stayed at in Europe besides our villa in Paris. It had a boutique feel, was historic, and extremely clean. We enjoyed swimming in the pool and relaxing at the hotel before our 6pm dinner reservations.
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| Hotel Navarra Basement Pool |
After resting up, we made our way to our highly recommended restaurant which ended up being about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. The restaurant was called, "Ribs n Beer." Normally I don't really like ribs or beer but this place came highly recommended by everyone, and I had to make reservations a month out just to get a table. Once we got our table, the place was completely packed, and the servers were turning away people left and right because they were fully booked for the entire night. The server helped me find a beer, which I ended up liking and Zach and I decided on the pre-set all you can eat menu, which turned out to be the best deal. For 29 Euro, you got a Croquette appetizer, a rack of ribs with your choice of sauce (and two sides), and a dessert. I should also add that the ribs are all you can eat...which proved to be very popular. We both went with the choice of their house BBQ ribs but they also had a spicy option, dry rub option, or beer/chocolate option. The food ended up being quite amazing and probably one of the best meals we have had in all of Europe. I highly recommend giving it a try if you are in Bruges, but remember to make reservations online well in advance as they were turning people away.
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| Ribs N Beer |
Bruges was heaven for a foodie like me, and we both loved it's relaxed feel. From the hotel to the atmosphere in the town, we felt welcomed and can't wait to go back and enjoy it.
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