BRUGES/BELGIUM

last weekend a few of us went on a day trip to bruges, belgium. we took an early train and found ourselves in this beautiful place. we were lucky to be in bruges when their christmas markets were up. it looked like a postcard! it's a really tiny town, so it looked like christmas threw up on everything (not complaining). we looked in the booths and stores, ate some amazing food (more on that later), and did everything we possibly could in the little town.

our first stop was the church of our lady of bruges. honestly, the only reason i went to bruges was to come to this church. inside of the church is Michelangelo's Madonna and Child. she's a little thing, but also one of the most beautiful sculptures i have ever seen in my entire life. i have always thought it was beautiful ever since i studied michelangelo in college, but i really fell in love with the sculpture after i was reminded of it in the movie monuments men. i just thought it was so beautiful, so i researched it and found some really cool things. it is the only sculpture to leave italy while michelangelo was alive. even today, hardly any of his work has left italy. the sculpture has only been out of the church two times. once during the french revolution, and, of course, during world war two. she is just so beautiful! i am happy to report that when i saw her i got chills and the experience was everything i hoped it would be. just look at her face. she already knows the fate of her son.

^^^oh! the brick buildings! i never realized how much i missed them until i saw this^^^

^^^christmas for sale! christmas for sale!^^^

after the church of our lady and some shop exploring, we went on a carriage ride throughout the city! it was sooooo cool/cold!!!! we also took a boat ride on the river. it is interesting to me that everything in bruges is written in flemish or dutch. i am honestly so confused about the difference between the two languages and i couldn't tell you which one it really was, but the internet is telling me flemish. i was always under the impression that it was half french/half dutch, but hardly anyone spoke french. they all spoke english way better than french, and it was weird to be in a country where everything is written in a language i don't understand at all.

^^^meg, lauren, and kayla on the horsey ride^^^

^^^me standing in front of my future home, the bruges convent. also check out all those swans! there's like an insane amount of swans!^^^

i feel like i need to take a moment to talk about something very important. the food. 

1. belgian waffles. with their homemade strawberry sauce. yes. yes. yes. they are life. some lady on the street told us the key to waffles is pineapple juice. hmmm

2. bratwurst. they cook it there on the street and with the spicy mustard. oh man my mouth is watering. and they don't put it in any regular old bun either. that bratwurst was honestly one of the best things i have eaten here in europe. 

3. chocolate. oh man. oooooh man. nothing compares.  

4. cheesy potatoes. they slice potatoes and literally put chunks of brie and camembert cheese on top until it melts!!! ahhgeslkgokksld!!!

^^^some views from the river^^^

^^^lala and me^^^

^^^oh i almost forgot about the frites. how could i forget something so wonderful???^^^

^^^this guy is some youtube video maker in belgium? (i don't know kinda sketchy maybe) but he challenged delaney to a thumb war^^^

as we were leaving, the lights started to turn on, and i know this is a blurry picture, but it was the best i could do to capture the ambiance because that's important, ya know.