No frites, no ice cream.

No frites, no ice cream, a photo by h.Lo on Flickr.

We woke up to sunshine in Bruges. Fortunately, however, the heat we experienced in Paris is now a thing of the past. Because we love the film, In Bruges, we decided climbing the bell tower was a top priority. So, 366 steps later, we were at the top. The bell tower offers pretty great views of the city, red rooftops and all.

Following our climb, we boarded a boat for a canal cruise. Our guide was funny and the scenery was lovely. At one point, we passed a park where dozens of swans were resting on shore. Absurd! Have I mentioned that swans make anything charming? Even if they are big jerks.

We lunched at Rock Fort. For 35 Euros, we were served 3 courses starting with spicy popcorn and a tuna spread. Our main course consisted of thinly sliced roast beef and lots of vegetables (something we were missing after Paris!). Rock Fort's creamy sweet potatoes were quite something. After a quick coffee, we got back on our feet.

The beer drinking portion of our day started next with a tour of the De Halve Moon Brewery. The building is historical, and the different brewing processes were interesting to hear about. The tour finished with a taste of their Zot beer.

Sampling chocolates was next on the day's agenda. We hit three shops, tasting too many chocolates judging by our stomachs afterwards. Leonidas, The Chocolate Line and Dumon did not disappoint. The creativity at The Chocolate Line overwhelmed us. We tried the Havana Cigar chocolate (dislike) and cola (complete with Pop Rocks) in addition to some more normal flavors. At Dumon, I noticed my boss' holiday cards on the wall, so I mentioned working there. Madame Dumon was so kind in her response and offered us several free chocolates. She showed us lots of recent publicity and promised a box of goodies if we return tomorrow. Their handmade chocolates were hands down our favorites too. So incredibly fresh.

For dinner, we decided to visit a pub offering 300 types of beer, Brugs Beertjes. For just 15 Euros, we scored 3 Belgian brews, a cheese/salami/pickle plate and a toasted ham and cheese. We met a couple from Cincinnati and sat at the bar for quite some time. Loved the cozy atmosphere there.

Rounding out this busy day in Bruges, we are now sitting in the hotel's bar (Cafe Red Rose) again. Shawn chose a rare trappist beer from their menu that apparently requires a call to the "beer phone" for availability. He says it tastes like freshly baked bread, I'll assume that is a good thing.