Bruges, Belgium

Bruges (or Brugge, the correct Dutch spelling) is the capital of Belgium, and an absolutely beautiful place. We started our weekend journey at 5:20am, when a coach came to pick us all up from our flats. The morning was a rather rough one as, after my alarm went off 3 times, I finally got myself out of bed in time to shower and get ready. By the time I was almost finished getting ready, I thought it was so strange that no one else was awake. Well, I looked at my phone and it was 4:58am, and we were supposed to be outside waiting for the coach by 5:15am at the latest. So I started on a little wake-up spree yelling "RISE AND SHINE!! IT'S 5am and we are supposed to be downstairs in 15 MINUTES!!!"

Needless to say, the other three roommates of mine who were going were not too thrilled with this, especially the two who hadn't even packed yet (as they thought they would have time in the morning.) Ah! They jumped out of bed screaming "No way. OMG. OMG!" Luckily we got everyone packed and downstairs in time to make the bus, even though one of my roommates insisted she wouldn't be ready on time and started freaking out when she forgot where she placed her passport.

Once we were on the bus, though, I looked in Veronica's bag and all I could see were shoes and deoderant! Thankfully she had more than that in there and we all had extra clothes, but it was such a funny day as everyone was trying to guess what they actually brought because they were just packing whatever was closest to their suitcase!

This trip was through CAPA, my school, so everything was already planned out for us. We took a coach bus on a train to get across the English Channel and our left-side driving bus driver magically started driving on the right side as we got into France. We were all very impressed with his driving abilities, especially since he was still sitting on the right side of the bus the entire time he was driving on the right side of the road! Our first stop was Bruges, an incredibly beautiful Belgian town. We stayed here long enough to look at a church, walk around, eat a little lunch and run in a few shops before we all needed to get back on the coach to make the journey to Amsterdam.

These buildings were so traditional, and they didn't end! It is really fun to see all of the different architecture in all of the different countries we go to.

Inside of one of the oldest churches ever there is the only Michelangelo statue to leave Italy while he was still alive. It is the middle statue here of a mother and a son. It is absolutely breathtaking. The entire church was amazing. I have so many pictures of it that I will share when I get back! There were sculptures and stained glass and intricate drawings everywhere.

Here Amy and I are in front of one of the oldest hostels! It was meant for very poor wanderers in the early days. We found it very fitting.

An incredibly picturesque area right off a canal. I'm not sure if you can tell, but in the windows are dolls dressed in traditional clothing. Aren't the colors wonderful? Autumn was just starting to show in Bruges.

There were all sorts of Dutch clogs painted to represent different countries hanging on the side of this building. However, there is no American or British flag.

The church in the background is the one in which the statue is contained. It is so amazing.

Here Veronica, I, Andrea, Aly and Amy are in Market Square! We ate the delicious Belgian waffle, seen below, at the restaurant in the pink building, third from the left. We got to eat outside, which was so great because we could people watch, too!

And here is my legitimate Belgian waffle. Light and delicious. I also bought a box of Belgian chocolate to bring home with me, which is almost gone now. It is so good though!

Up next are Edam and Volendam, Holland!