Bruges

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I toured the city of Bruges today and it was just as I pictured it: cute, scenic, and full of tourists. Bruges has cobblestone streets and tall towers, pretty canals and old churches. It has great old religious art and the only sculpture by Michelangelo to leave Italy in his lifetime. I think this statue of the Madonna and Child was featured in the movie The Monuments Men. It was a satisfying experience to finally visit this town that I have heard and read about for years. I was prepared for it to be crowded, so the number of tourists didn’t bother me (as it has in some of the places I have been on this trip). I guess it’s all about expectations. I don’t usually travel in the summertime because of the crowds, but this year I did because that’s really the only time one can comfortably visit Scandinavia. Now that we are well into September, I hope the numbers of tourists will start to dwindle. I still have a couple of more places to see on this trip and I’m looking forward to them.

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