The Start Of The Road Trip – Brugge & Paris

Sunday 24th –

We all slept in as long as we could, trying to catch up (and save up) on some sleep 😏

I started the oven to heat up the cheesecake thingy for breakfast but unknown to me Mike put it in the oven soo the top was more black then brown by the time I realized what he’d done 🙄
Oh well… Under the top crust it was still pretty tasty.

J+P’s luggage came to the house around ten o’clock so that was really nice for them.
We then packed up and got ready for the road trip we would be starting later that day to Brugge.

Mike decided a walk should be taken so we went out behind our house for some fresh air.  

 

Some wool was on a fence and Mike stated it was “skeep shin” so pro and I got a laugh out of that accidental mispronunciation.
He will have to learn that we are not laughing AT him but WITH him 😉😜

Back at the cottage we enjoyed some coffee and the macaroons we purchased the previous day… Pistachio and vanilla were the favourites 😍

John and Inge came over after church was done so they could see us all since our previous plans to see them had changed around due to the flight delay.
Mike helped cut up some cheeses and veggies and I prepared some easy salsa, chips, crackers, mango etc.  

 
We visited and snacked on that until it was time for us to leave at four.

Off to Brugge we went.
The start of a pretty long road trip that was to take place over two and a half days.

On the drive there we stopped for supper at ‘La Place/ McDonald’s’.
Josh and I were happy with McDonald’s but Mike and Pro wanted to go for a slightly more refined meal.
Turns out Josh and I made the better choice 😏

We got to Brugge just after eight.
Found our hotel, parked the car and then headed out to do some nighttime sightseeing.  
 

It’s pretty with all the lights but also hard to get any decent pictures so we were looking forward to daylight.  
 

After searching for food we ended up back where we started and settled on showing J+P what Dutch snacks were all about. ( Notice I said ‘Showing’… I don’t eat that stuff. )
Mushy meat, weird flavours and fries that are to big in my opinion 😏 ( and Pro’s 😋)

Then to the hotel and bed to try to rest up for upcoming adventures.

Monday 25th –

Got up and ate a small breakfast at the hotel before heading out to see Brugge by daylight. 

Pretty doors, pretty houses and big church’s. 
Lots of chocolate stores, lots of cobblestone and lots of walking.
It was a pretty town but Brugge stinks.
No, literally 😜
So many garbage trucks passed by us and then the most nasty sewage stench when walking by a cathedral under construction.  

 
The sights are pretty and interesting, the smells are not.
Until we walked by a waffle stand and a restaurant with fresh breads that is 😏👌🏻

We climbed a 366 stair tower in the midst of the town for the supposed best view available.
It was a very nice view… and a very long climb up and back down again.
Burnt some calories at least😜

The guys went to get our luggage from the hotel and bring the car to us. Or so we thought😏

While Pro and I walked the streets in search of authentic and tasty treats to bring back the boys pretty much took our luggage out of the hotel and then tried to find us.
The street name didn’t seem to help them and then after waiting half an hour for them we find out they didn’t even bring the car! 🙄😬

Pro and I got focaccia bread with tomatoes and mozza for lunch and the boys got sandwiches from a bakery owned by a friend of Mikes.  

 
Belgium waffles had to be tried before we left so pro and I suggested we get them at a stand right beside us for the price of 2€!
But no.. Mike knew the BEST stand so we had to go there… No matter that it meant walking another ten minutes on sore feet 😒
We get there and they were closed.
You can imagine how impressed Pro and I were 😏

Fiiiiinally waffles were found and eaten and then we walked even more to get to the car (where the boys left it ) and head out of Brugge and towards Paris.   

  
Unfortunately for Mike his travel companions all fell asleep… Again 😁

It took around 3 hours to get into Paris.
Found a parking garage as close to the Eiffel Tower as possible and off onto the streets of Paris we went!  
 

We climbed the Eiffel Tower to the first floor and I admit I took a few breaks… All of our legs were feeling the effects of the 732 stairs we had climbed, not to mention the normal walking done all day.
We had gotten tickets to go to the top but there was no way I would be walking that far so Mike and I stayed on the first level while Josh and Pro headed higher up.
They came back to us trying to catch their breath, coats off and admitting they only made it a couple more levels up and decided there was no way they would be continuing on to the top 😏
Smart people 👌🏻

Mike had told us if we were good on the tower we could get cotton candy 😏 

 
More walking and picture taking.
It was my second time in Paris in the winter so as much as it’s a thrilling place to see, I was kind of just along for the ride and company.
But as beautiful as the big cities can be, country is still where us three foreigners feel most comfortable 😉

As we started back towards the car, a slight case of misunderstanding/ tiredness of driving/people being tired from sitting or walking took hold of us and friendly communication was put on hold… But what else would you expect to happen on a family road trip 😏😜

Annoyance pushed aside so plates could be pushed in front, we found a restaurant and sat down.

Unfortunately.

Everything looked the same so it’s just typical Paris food priced high because it’s by the tower, no one to blame for choosing a restaurant just like all the others we passed.
But a brief menu inspection brought deep sadness…
Want a Coke for 6.50€ ? Or maybe a 4.50€ water? I know … Maybe a 35€ duck 😏
The guys ordered overpriced burgers that were like ones from McDonald’s, just on a few more steroids. Us girls just shared with them.

To the car and off Germany.
  
(Prepare to be sick of pictures)