beer, fries, chocolate, and waffles

This can only mean one place: Belgium. Last weekend our program took us to Brugge, Belgium for our mystery trip. I was so excited to return to one of my favorite cities. I was in Brugge for 3 or 4 days in 2008 when I traveled to Europe with my high school, and it was impossible not to fall in love with the cute buildings, the winding canals and delicious food.

I am convinced Brugge was made for cold days, as all their famous foods warm you up from the inside out and the canals are more charming when frozen. Our program directors set up a 3-course lunch at De Halve Maan (the Half Moon) brewery to warm us up complete with a delicious beer. I spent the afternoon revisiting my favorite fry stand, winding through a beer festival for a bottle of the famous Delirium brew (known by its logo: a pink elephant), stepping into shops for chocolates and a souvenir, and a last stop in a tea room for Belgian waffles and hot blue grey tea.

Despite train problems due to weather, the trip was a fabulous surprise! Another post coming tomorrow about ma vie Parisienne!

P.S. the links throughout will take you to my Flickr for photos!