Travel Blog

This morning started a little slower…when my alarm went off, I went to wake everyone up and saw that even our little guy was still snoozing. Anyone who knows him knows he’s usually awake and busy by the crack of dawn! Since we didn’t have to be out of the apartment for a few hours anyway, plans were revised and pushed back a little to allow for some much-needed jet lag recuperation.

We then packed up and headed to the area where the Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral is located. There we had breakfast/brunch at a cute local place, with mine consisting of a sandwich orientale et une tartlette de framboise – tres bonne!

Next was the star for the day – Sainte-Chapelle. Can I just say that neither words nor photos can do it justice? This was another cathedral I’d studied before…in-person, the exquisite detail in the reliefs and stained glass was beyond words. Recently they’d removed and renovated the stained glass panels – how exactly is beyond my comprehension! Could you imagine being tasked with taking care of something so invaluable, yet enormous and incredibly delicate? I loved every minute examining the beautiful craftsmanship that went into the cathedral, commissioned by King Louis IX in the mid-1200s.

Here is the cathedral:

Here is my family enjoying the cathedral and taking a break from carrying their packs:

Then we bid adieux to Paris for a few weeks. We hot-footed it to Paris Gare Nord through crowded streets, and hopped aboard our train to Belgium. We stopped for lunch in Brussels, and ate wonderful food at Bun’s Burgers. The spice and flavor combinations of our various burgers – beef, chicken, and veggie – were phenomenal, and very different from what we’re used to. We loved it!

This is the train station in Brussels:

And here’s the sign for Bun’s:

Next we headed toward our final destination for the day, Brugge! We arrived just as the sun was going down, and made our way through the cobblestone streets to our home-away-from-home.

Here is the Brugge station (outside and also below the station were literally HUNDREDS of parked bikes – sadly the only photo I got of that was with my other camera):

Here is the view from the kids’ upper level bedroom, located on the third floor and accessible by spiral staircase:

Speaking of spiral staircases, it seems we have a theme going on…the endless spiral staircase down into the Catacombs, followed by the almost endless spiral staircases in Sainte-Chapelle, and now in our home. Pre-trip exercises on a stair master would’ve come in handy right about now!

We ended our evening with a fantastic meal at De Stoepa in Brugge. Our daughter and I shared the curry for two – chicken, lamb, and vegetable curries. These curries were definitely spiced different than we’d ever tasted before, and we thought they were terrific! The spaghetti bolognese and lasagne ordered to the table were also quite wonderful.

Here are photos from our outing at De Stoepa:

I definitely have a lot to learn about food photography, but I can promise you it tasted amazing.

Good night from Brugge, and tomorrow will bring more adventures to share!