P Does Whirlwind Belgium Tour; Mom and Pop Stick to `When in Bruges, Do as the Brugeois Do and Feast on Beer and Fries

Dateline Bruges, Belgium -- The T's set out this week for a four-day driving trip to Belgium (photo gallery: http://picasaweb.google.com/coffee1sc/Belgium/photo#s5156043867270694466)with a stop over in Lille, France. Lille was worthwhile if for nothing else than its Museum des Beaux Arts with works including Rubens, Monet and Goya. Downtown was beautiful though deserted when we toured around on a blustery Sunday morning. Our hotel was wonderful and an architectural gem in its own right with a 16th century chapel converted to a ballroom and a rather chic lounge/bar. The next day we headed to Bruges, Belgium, which is known as the Venice of The North because of its canals and quaint cobblestone streets and squares. Here the T's treated themselves to another wonderful hotel that included a package with 2 gourmet dinners, museum passes, horse-carriage rides and use of the hotel's sauna and jacuzzi. The hotel was another beautiful architectural feat and the T's found their room with four-poster bed and beautiful antiques beyond their expectations. The cozy bar with roaring fireplace was perfect place for afternoon tea for C or a tasty local brew for S. Highlights of the visit included walking around the squares, window shopping, hitting the french-fry stands and bien sur, eating moules frites accompanied by some fabulous Belgian beers. P-Man handled all of the buggyying about with ease and was a great car voyager. Antwerp was supposed to be the next stop but C caught a bug on our last day in Bruges, so the T 's headed back to L-town, a mere 3-hour drive away and all were safe and sound last evening. S was astute enough to buy a case of the local brew to be enjoyed by the fire at home, while plenty of Belgian chocolates are also at the ready as another reminder of the T's fun little trip. ~30~