MMMmmm…Beer

The next morning we set out to find breakfast. Now you would think I would have learned from our dinner escapade the night before, but I didn’t. Even though there was a perfectly lovely restaurant at the hotel, I really wanted find an outdoor café near a canal to have our Belgium waffles.  We circled around and around but most of the café’s near the water were only serving beer, yes beer, at ten o’clock in the morning!  I was rescued once again by a boutique hotel restaurant situated right next to a picturesque canal.

Breakfast View

 

The just call them waffles in Belgium

 

I had crazy eyes so I went ahead and edited them out

 

Sadly, it was time to check out of the Crown Plaza. We stored our luggage in the car and went back out. We had seen most of the city by then so we decided to take a tour of the Halve Maan Brewery. We got a bit turned around trying to find the place. As we wandered up and down the cobblestone streets I couldn’t help but feel like we were on movie set filming an adaptation of a Jane Austen novel.

Insert bossy director type voice here:

Ok people, we’ve got a hot set here. Let’s set up this shot; camera one ready in the alley?

Wait, wait, we've got tourists in the shot

Ok, that's better

Make sure you pan up to the cats in the window...

Stand by, horse drawn carriages...

Let's get a tight shot of the adorable doggie!

 

Get some exterior shots of the Gothic Church for the wedding scene

Camera two, let's open the scene in the park

Cue the swans and ACTION!

 

 

We arrived at the brewery just before a tour was starting, but we decided to sit in the outdoor café and have a beer to rest our feet for a bit, then take the next tour.

Halve Maan Entry Sign

 

Perusing the menu while enjoying a Brugse Zot Dark Beer

 

My daughter says all my vacation pictures are of me drinking beer. Ridiculous!

Two beers and a pile of cheese cubes later we queued up. These tour groups were separated by language, which made things move along nicely. This is a working brewery, but part of it is preserved as a museum.

Modern area of the brewery

The tour was not for the meek, there were tiny steep stairways that we had to navigate. This would be dodgy under the best of circumstances but keep in mind we had just drank two beers.

Two beer smile

Antique brewing tanks

Those are old fashioned bottle caps piled on the floor

Our guide leaning against a vat. She had a two beer smile too.

 

As we made our way up we were delightfully surprised.  We stepped out on the roof for the most breathtaking view of Bruges.

We would have paid the ticket price for this alone!

Move you two, you're blocking the view!

 

We wound down the stairs and the tour was over, but there was one more thing your ticket got you…a beer. That makes three!

 

After walking around a bit more (to wear off the beer buzz), it was time to go.

Hey you guys, It's time to go!!!!

 

 

We wanted to see the coast before heading back to the Netherlands so we decided to drive an extra hour and head west to the beach at Oodsend.  We found a place to park near the water.

The North Sea

 

The photo proof that we there

 

 We walked on the beach and dipped our feet into the North Sea .

Mission Accomplished

 

Time to drive on back  to the Netherlands to our last stop, Eindhoven.

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5 Responses to MMMmmm…Beer

  1. Ellie hartz says:

    More great commentary to go along with great pix!

  2. Donna Easter says:

    Again a great tour!

  3. Pingback: Stay Hungry | Maybe Someday…

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