Well, I think it's fair to say that these past couple of weeks have been a little bit hectic (hence why there's been a slight lack of blog posts), but I'm back at it again today- adding to what is quite possibly my favourite series on this blog. Over this half-term, my family and I took a much needed break to the beautiful Belgian town of Bruges and of course, in the typical Gabija fashion, I took an abundance of photos- which I've complied into a post for you today. Before I delve into one of my tangents, I do hope that you enjoy this post and let me know if you like a more wordy travel post- as I've decided to step out of my comfort zone with this one!
​G x

After having checked into our hotel, the first place that we visited was the Freit Museum- or in other words, a museum dedicated to all things potatoes and fries. Though it wasn't the largest museum in the world, it's definitely a quirky place to visit if you have the time- to be completely honest with you... I wouldn't have thought that there'd be so much to the history of potatoes and fries, or that French fries aren't even French! 

Following a quick lunch at the museum, we walked towards the centre of Bruges as we headed to the Bruges Beer Experience- stopping off at a few specialty shops here and there, of course. ​

As for the Bruges Beer Experience itself, it has to have been one of the best museums I've ever been to! Upon arrival, you're given an iPad which you use throughout your tour to point at objects to find out more about them- and there's also some trivia, perfect for all you competitive parties out there. For me, this made the tour incredibly informative and interesting- covering all basis from the production and history of beer to its tasting. 

​Following the tasting at the end of tour, we proceeded to walk around Bruges for a little while before grabbing something to eat and heading back to our hotel for a little rest. It was then that my dad and I decided to go out again to see Bruges after dark, if you will- and boy am I glad that I decided to go, because there were some wonderful sights to be seen (and waffles to eat)!

Having had breakfast and checked out of our hotel, we set off again centre-bound as we headed towards the chocolate museum Choco-Story. It was another museum which I thoroughly enjoyed; again, learning about the history of chocolate- particularly that of the Americas- was fascinating and of course, there was also the bonus of free chocolate (and a lot of it!). The live demonstration at the end definitely topped it off and is not to be missed if you ever decide to have a look around yourself!

As the weather was absolutely stunning, we decided to take a walk around some of the main sites again and take some photos- from the Burg Square to the St Bonifacius Bridge, it's needless to say that there are a lot of 'Instagrammable' places in this picturesque little town!

Heading back, we stopped off at the Puss and Books Cat Café- which, for a cat-lady in the making, was definitely a highlight of the trip! What I loved about this café in particular is that unlike many others, it is set up as a non-profit organisation and you can actually adopt the cats you meet- that, and the drinks were incredible both in terms of taste and presentation!

Before we went on our way back to Calais, where we'd spend the evening, we ended our time in Bruges by visiting and taking some photos by the windmills on the outskirts of the town- and I'm sure it would've made a great spot to hire some bikes and have a little whizz around if we'd have had the time.