7/21/11 Bruges, Belgium, Ypres, Belgium, and France!

Today was one of the busiest days we have had!  It all started with another day of soggy undercooked eggs, disgusting chewy sausages, and undercooked potatoes that the hotel has served us two days in a row.  I have been living on the potatoes doused in ketchup for breakfast. 

After breakfast we drove to Bruges to take a horse and buggy ride.  While we were waiting for our rides, we saw this statue and fountain

One of my friends dared me to take a picture with it, so I did.

This is the view from in the buggy


The view looking out the back of the buggy.

We rode the buggy around the city and saw the town hall, cathedral, and the small canals.  I really like Belgium.  We stopped during the buggy ride.

 I REALLY like old brick!

There were a lot of chocolate shops.

The architecture was amazing!

This is the official town square.

My friend, Savannah, and me.

The horse that pulled the buggy I rode in.

Our next stop was Pralinettes chocolate shop, which has been making really good chocolate for a long time.  They explained how chocolate was made.  Chocolate is poured into molds and bars and truffles.  Some of them are so pretty that I didn't want to eat them!  They make the bars with 100% chocolate.  We got to sample and it was delicious.  My favorites were the milk and white chocolate.  I bought some to take home for my family and of course one for me. It was expensive!

Next we walked into a lace shop, and to be honest, I didn't like the smell.  The lace was not bad, but it wasn't my favorite.  What was neat about it though was the princess lace.  There are only fifteen people still living who can make it, and they are all over 75 years old.  The reason that no one wants to make it anymore is because you have to stand to make it.  Princess lace is the only lace that has to be made while standing up.  I didn't buy any lace.

We got on our bus and drove to Ypres, Belgium and had lunch.  After lunch we went to the In Flanders Field Museum.  This museum taught us about World War I and how it affects Belgium.  It seems to me that there is not as much taught about WWI, but it was almost, in my opinion, more brutal than WWII.

There was a sign on this that said, "What does this represent to you?"

The poem the musuem is based on

The Christmas Truce

 A model of the town after the war

We saw this stained glass window, which I loved, that showed the history of the city of Ypres. 

Then the mayor took us into a room and talked to us some more about the war.

The city has some interesting history.  The town savior was the cat because long ago the town was infested with rats that brought lots of disease and death.  This cat statue was cool.

After the museum, we posed for some pictures.

Our leaders, Mathias, Debbie (who replaced Mrs. VanDuren when she went home), Kristen, Gayle, Diane, and Bob

And we had some treats.  Some people chose to have ice cream, but I was definitely having a waffle in Belgium!  Here is a picture of Savannah's waffle.  Hers had ice cream on top and mine had whipped cream and chocolate.  I had exactly enough Euros to buy it and it was heavenly!

After that break we went to the Menin Gate Memorial.  It is a memorial for 55,000 + soldiers who died in WWI and whose grave sites are unknown.  It was very sad and kind of blew my mind how many names there were and to know that there were even more!  There were rows upon rows of names.

 Savannah's last name.

 Belgium is the country that I wish we had more time to spend in.  We got on our bus and headed to France and had dinner on the outskirts of Paris.

We got into Paris late.  On the way to our hotel we got a small glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, but it was dark.  You could feel the excitement on our bus.  This was the first time I have actually felt like that.  I can't wait for tomorrow!!