A medieval town

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Up early (thanks Em!) and after a bit of organisation we made our way back into the city as we had promised Em a horse ride and chocolate today. This time we walked along a canal beside the city wall to one of the old entry bridges to the town. The medieval guard tower is still there complete with wooden tackle block for hauling cannons up to the top. Winding our way into the town, we discovered many of the major landmarks including a working nunnery where the nuns practice silence – no verbal communication at all. There are three Belgian specialties – lace, beer and chocolate. We found many chocolate shops and ducked into one where we bought some dark Belgian chocolate. Em liked it even though it is quite strong. Wandering further we passed lots of churches. Apparently, Bruges has 17 churches and they almost all have tall towers. One is actually the tallest brick tower in Europe and it took 300 years to build starting in the 14^thcentury.

We stopped for a bit of a picnic lunch and then we jumped up on the horse carriage. Em was thrilled and most interested in the “poo bag” that keeps the streets clean of manure. A narrated trip around the town by horse drawn carriage was just the ticket and we followed it up with another local tradition – Belgian waffles. Em had a chocolate icecream and we all made a great mess trying to eat our afternoon tea!



The afternoon was spent at a large playground where Em had a great time with dozens of other kids running and playing and swinging. She got a bit tired so into the carrier she went and we walked up to the main city gate, old guard towers either side and a large arch allowing access to the bridge across the river. Then it was back to the town square to catch the bus back to the carpark. Em insisted on saying goodbye to the horses on the way!

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