exploring bruges

now the mister took one look at the breakfast spread before we went to bed (bless him, always two meals ahead of me!) and decided it was not worth EUR25. we're also not morning people, and good grief, was it hard to tear ourselves away from the window the next morning.

in fact, it was as if we'd grown roots to the window sill and i'd a whale of a time watching the canal boats go by. easily pleased, i am. better yet was being able to eavesdrop on the canal boat commentary and after a morning of vicarious touring, i was almost able to recite the spiel and rehearsed jokes.  awesome windows though so once they were closed and the air-conditioning switched on, you forget you're truly at the heart of this picturesque town. 

and here's the hotel from the canal! how's that for a change of perspective? we stayed in the three-windowed room on the top right, with the sloping roof. thank you mr. manager sir for the complimentary upgrade. my inner el cheapo was well pleased :)

bruges is a very historic, UNESCO heritage town and what i liked was the accessibility of all these cultural events. on our first night, there was a huge concert in the square and on the second day there was this full orchestra casually performing in the sunshine.

what was nice was no longer being a student (ok, so i still am!) in belgium. when we were last there five years ago, EUR5 for a pizza/pasta and drink was a splurge. we ate in most days, and i credit the summer in the mister's tiny student flat as the trigger of my culinary aspirations. hey, he was in the thick of exams and after i tired of twiddling my thumbs, i do remember cooking for him. little did we know then how that division of labour would foretell our roles after marriage ;) and speaking of the mister's flat, it was an incomplete walk down memory lane because it's since been condemned and demolished. about time, if you ask me! we were reminiscing about how some things change (he no longer balks at paying more than EUR2 for beer) while others remain the same (we're still not at the level where we'd eat a poor value hotel breakfast). and it's nice that half a decade on, he's still the only person i travel with. i'm so antisocial, if i wasn't going to be with the mister, i rather be on my own. grateful he gets that, grateful how i don't need 'space' when i'm with him.

oh and we'd dinner at den huzaar, a sweet little belgian restaurant with flaming desserts (just missing the lambo...) and we didn't mind being stranded by the rain because we'd all the time in the world.