Anywho, what would an Aycock family trip be without a few minor mishaps to get the ship sailing?
Here we go:
1. Josh lets me know on Friday morning, on his way out to work, that there is a dead bat on the porch. He'll take care of it when he gets home. Good, cuz I ain't touchin' it. It's mid-afternoon, so I go downstairs to do the cat litter, and I open the back door to put the litter in the trash. The bat is still there, only I notice something....it's not dead. The poor little guy is struggling, and moving his arms, basically saying "Courtney, please help me. I'm cold and dying and scared." Sad, right? Well, Josh gets home a few minutes later. The only thing we can think to do is to take a shovel, and put the bat out of its misery. I can't stand seeing animals in pain. So, I keep the dog upstairs, and Josh goes out the back to kill it. But then, Josh comes running back in. Apparently the bat isn't THAT near death. Josh tried to move it away from the wall a little (with the shovel), when the bat spreads it's wings, and lets loose a blood-curdling shriek. Josh lost about 3 years of his life with that. There will be no bat killing today.
2. After the bat cursed Josh, we couldn't wait anymore to go to town. We HAD to take Sasha to the kennel, then do some shopping for the trip. We get back a little over two hours later. As we're rounding the corner, I notice that SOMEONE (who will remain nameless in order for me to protect the guilty) LEFT THE BACK DOOR OPEN!!! (the litter box is right next to the back door)
It is at this time that I should point out that our cat, Rufus, is NOT an outside cat. He's stupid, and scared of his own shadow. We tried it once in Ohio, and he immediately hopped a fence, and hid on our neighbor's property, where I had to find, and then rescue the doofus. He is too dumb to be outside.
Josh skids into the parking lot. He runs around back to get to the door, and I run upstairs - well, as fast as I can run, seeing as how my leg is only 75%. I start whistling as I'm going upstairs - it's a surefire way to call the cat; he LOVES whistling. Sure enough, he slinks out from underneath the bed, with his sleepy little love eyes, as if to say "Hey mom, what's up?"
So I yell down to Josh that the cat is still here. And then I yell AT Josh. My language was way too colorful for me to put that little episode on the blog.
3. Josh rolled his ankle. Great, another cripple. Hey, would could start our own gang! Do you think "crips" is a trademarked name?
oy, I'm a moron.
4. I shaved the tip of my finger off with a razor. NO, I DON'T HAVE HAIRY PALMS!!!! It slipped...
All in all, a fairly smooth start to things for the Aycock Adventurers.
Ok, so it's Saturday morning. Time to go! We are actually out the door before 7am, which is so amazing to me. Growing up in my family, leaving the house usually took HOURS, because of all the "last minutes" that everybody put off.
It's only a 4.5 hour drive to Brugge. Well, it should have been, but it took us a little longer because we stopped at the Spangdahlem AFB to top off our gas, and there was construction in Brussels. But, it was an easy drive - basically just freeway driving. And of course it's drizzling almost the entire drive. But, that's fine. We made it to Brugge by noon, which I'm happy about. Thankfully the hotel (Ibis - it's a European chain) had its own parking garage, because I have no idea where we would have parked otherwise. The streets were so narrow, and twisted.
The hotel is fine. Small rooms, but it doesn't matter, because for the first time since coming to Germany in March, we had AIR CONDITIONING!!!!! It wasn't really needed, but it was SO NICE TO HAVE. Oh, how I missed that glorious, cold gift from the Snow Miser.
As soon as we dropped our bags off, it was time to go explore! I had created a beautifully mapped out itinerary. Unfortunately, my plans didn't mesh. First thing on the list was a trip to a vegetarian restaurant. All the reviews said it was amazing food, so I was really excited. Of course, one thing no one mentioned on the web was that the restaurant was CLOSED on Saturdays. So, there goes the first thing on my list. Next up, a canal tour. But unfortunately, it started raining then. So, we decided to push that off til later, hoping to beat the rain at some point. So, there goes #2 on my itinerary.
It's at this point that I start realizing exactly how touristy of a town Brugge is. I was not expecting this. I thought I would have my beautiful, peaceful fairyland. I didn't realize I was going to have to dodge people, and their umbrellas, the entire time. Josh had just bought us a brand new umbrella, which was big enough to cover a small elephant. He put me in charge of keeping us both dry, while he took photos. This umbrella is 50 pounds if it's an ounce, and there are people swarming around me, and I'm trying not to get my eyes poked out by their umbrellas, all while trying to lift this monstrosity of an umbrella over everyone else in the crowd, to prevent being sued for impaling some Japanese tourist in the face. Plus, now I'm hungry, and crabby because my itinerary has already fallen thru, and I'm sure that this is going to be the worst time ever.
Don't be fooled by the photo. That umbrella is easily twice the size as it looks.
Ok, so I have a little hissy fit tantrum, but Josh manages to calm me down. So, we continue to explore. We go into churches, see the sights...
One thing I didn't realize I would like was the shopping! I am not a shopper by nature, but it's been so long, I just went a little crazy. There are chocolate and lace shops everywhere - and yes, I bought some of both. But, there were also tapestry shops, cool gadget stores, bath shops (homemade soaps, etc). We had taken out a set amount of money that we were allowed to spend, so I knew exactly what I could buy - that is such a good idea, by the way. We save up $150 a week, and every month, we'll have $600 for a new trip. Half of that was used on the hotel, and the rest was for incidentals. See, you read this blog, you get free travel tips. :)
We finally made it to the center of Brugge - where the belfry is located.
Our hotel is on the southern end of town, and to walk to the city center is only about 15 minutes - but that's only if you walk straight there. So really, it took us 2-3 hours to get there. By this point, we were really hungry, and my ankle was screaming for rest. There are restaurants EVERYWHERE surrounding the city center. Yes, I know they're the more touristy, expensive ones. But...well, tough. We were hungry. Every restaurant had their menu posted, but unfortunately, every menu was the same. Rabbit, eel, beef stew, Flemish stew, and mussels. And, if a restaurant actually DID have a vegetarian dish, it was vegetarian lasagna. No thank you. Much to Josh's chagrin, I was in no mood for this. I think I read about 50 menus. I realize that I was probably just being stubborn and crabby, but I didn't flippin' want frozen vegetarian lasagna that came from a box. Finally, after an hour, I picked a restaurant. And I'm so glad I did - it was so good.
So - that's 2 half liters of beer, olives and feta for me, and carrot soup for Josh (as appetizers). Then, cheese croquettes (tasted like a lot of emmentaler mixed with mashed potatoes, and fried) and a side salad for me, and Belgian stew with frites (more on Belgian frites later) for Josh.
Oh yes, and then the world's best chocolate mousse. I'm not exaggerating - this stuff was amazing.
So, how much was that, you ask?? Well, it came out to a grand total of 60 euro. That's almost 90 bucks. Even though the food was really good, that is so ridiculous I can't even stand it. But, whatevs, we were on vacation. Although, I will tell you that was the only full meal we had the entire trip.
Ok, now we were full and happy, and my leg was feeling good again - so more walking!! This time, something on my itinerary actually happened! We went to the Basilica of the Holy Blood.
This is a vial containing a piece of cloth that was supposedly soaked in the blood of "Christ". The photo was taken with a zoom lens on. In order to get up to see it, you stand in line, and pay a "required donation" (insert eye roll) and then you can lay hands on it, and the priest gives you a prayer card or something. Josh and I aren't religious, but we weren't going to go see it up close so as not to be disrespectful to those who actually believe
Talk about Grumpygus McGee. Although, I would be cranky too if I had to wipe sweat and lip prints and forehead prints off that cylinder all day long.
After growing increasingly uncomfortable throughout all of this religious showmanship, we finally got out of there and made it to the closest shop - which contained a microbrewery.
The guy behind the counter was really nice, and we tasted the three beers he had to offer (well, they had about 50 different kinds, but only 3 on tap - it was a tasting lounge, not a bar). We got to try a 26% alcohol beer. That's right, 26%. It was like part melted chocolate milkshake mixed with an equal part of soy sauce. Vom.
After that - more walking around, shopping, etc.
At this point, it was about 6 o'clock, and shops were starting to close up around us. My crankiness was long gone, but now we were both tired. Restaurants and bars are open late, but none of the shops. But, it was just as well, because at this point, my ankle is threatening to stop working. We stumble back into the hotel, and plop down on the bed. God, that A/C felt good.
After a couple drinks in the hotel bar (that and pita chips for dinner, and we were good for the night) it was bed time. I think I was out by 10pm, and Josh was out a few minutes after that.
Good first day.
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