Brugge is every bit as beautiful as everyone says it is..

Brugge is exactly like everyone says. It's picturesque, with every single corner you can imagine being a thing of beauty. Food here is mediocre though, and it's extremely, extremely touristy. It was far more crowded here than Paris was during our many excursions and people here are not as polite as in Paris. There's a "get out of my way" vibe as buses and horse drawn carriages compete for space on the overflowing streets.

But there is one reason to go here - the CHOCOLATES ARE UNBELIEVABLE. I'm not even a big chocolate fan - I can take it or leave it. And I've had Lindt chocolates, Kinder - many of the European brands. I brought a couple of boxes home for my parents (they're about 18 Euro for a good sized box with 3 layers, or 12 Euro for a small one). They didn't open it until about 3 days after I got home and then one day, I see the box open and the entire top layer is GONE. These chocolates are AMAZING. Buy lots. From any chocolatier available, they're ALL DELICIOUS. I bought some from Pralines and some from Madame something-or-other (their boxes are blue and white). I could eat two to three a day. I bought the "Assorted" box and all have filling and none of them have nuts. I bit into one that looked just like regular chocolate filling and when melted tasted like cherry cordial. I about died. It was so good.

Oh yes, back to Brugge.. beautiful waterways, quaint architecture, everyone on bikes, lots of GORGEOUS, STRONG horses proudly pulling carriages. More tourists than citizens though. But nobody says hello or smiles like in Paris. Bummer.