We wonder as we wander ...

Let's start with candy, shall we!

Out of 63 chocolate shops in this town of Bruges, wonder which one we should be SURE to go to?

Answer: we especially sought out this one (photo above) by Dominique Persoone. I had never heard of this Belgian chocolatier but I guess he's the Indiana Jones of the chocolate world. He's also called The Mad Chocolatier and other names.

Right now, I'm eating one of these chocolates with chili pepper and lemon. Well, really, I'm only eating half of it. The Mister and I picked out an assortment of eight pieces of chocolate for 10-Euros (around $11.40).  So you better believe we are splitting each of these little pieces of chocolate into two!

The chili pepper one is in the lower left hand corner (above) and it is fabulous! Wish I could justify buying an outrageously big box.

Here are some pictures of other things (below) at The Chocolate Line.

We also wandered to the Bruges Town Hall (below), where every couple has to get married even if they have a church wedding. We wondered if the brides and grooms like that or not.

Construction started on this building in 1376! The main floor (below) is nice ...

 

But it's after you climb the grand stair case (below) ...  

... that you enter the Gothic Room (below). This is where government business is still conducted -- and the couples get married.

I loved the doorways (below) in the Gothic Room ...

... especially when I looked closely and saw these little heads (below) ...

I just wanted to snap one off and take it home! (Was that out loud!?!?)

Next door to the City Hall is Bruge Liberty, an even older building (below) used for courts before the City Hall was built. And I spotted more heads to love! Do you see them?

No worries because I took close-ups for you (below).

A couple of interior shots of the building are below ...

Outside these halls, in the Burg square, a couple of musicians were trying to earn some cash ... and a painter was painting them (below).

Earl says he wishes he would have gotten a photo of me taking a photo of the man painting a picture of the musicians. That would be funny.

What else did we wonder as we wandered?  Well, we wondered what this Dutch word meant on a sign (below) outside a residence. Happily, Earl has Google Translate app on his phone. He enters "Dutch to English" and holds it up as if he's taking a photo.  Instantly, the app translates it. This is one of the coolest technologies I've ever seen. It can translate a whole paragraph!

I wondered what these flowers are. They are outside, full sun. Does anyone know? Let me know.

I wondered how these neighbors (below) could apparently kinda agree on what their house should look like but not exactly have a meeting of the minds.

More wondering ... I love this type of roof line (below) on many houses in Bruges and found out it's called "stepped gables." I love that term!

Most people here speak Dutch. We wondered what is the difference between the Dutch language and the Flemish language. We found out Flemish is a kind of Dutch  ... like the British speak their own English and we speak American English. Subtle differences but it's all Dutch.

As we wandered this city of centuries old buildings, we wondered about the little tiny arch (below) in the front of the house. We see it frequently. We never heard but The Mister guesses it's for a rain drainage pipe. If it would rain, I would go outside to check. If anyone has a better guess, let me know.

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I  wondered what these rings in buildings (below) are ... there are a lot of them in Bruges ...

but Earl directed me to the answer (below). I should have figured that out for myself.  Of course, it's to chain your bike!

Earl wondered if the term "Luxury Hostel" on the sign (below) is an oxymoron. The man does make me laugh!

Earl wondered if I had lost my mind when I asked him to pose with the sign of a giant sandwich (below) to make the grandkids laugh.

I didn't wonder if we would buy any artwork on The Grand Tour. After all, it takes us too long to select something. But what do you know! We spotted a painting from the 1800s in this antique shop (below). To see the artwork you have to come to our house!

Which brings me to my last "wonder" subject: wonder what it will feel like one week from today, on Wednesday, July 25, when we board the plane to come home? I know I will be quite sorry The Grand Tour is over -- but sooo very excited to see family and friends who live close by, and hopefully it won't be long until we see the ones who don't live close by. I miss you all!

Thanks for reading my blog.
Jane