The Land of Chocolate!

Early in July, Matt and I had the pleasure of spending time with his family. During their stay, they very graciously took me to Oostende & Brugge in Belgium. Unfortunately at the time they were here Matt's work schedule was ridiculous, so he was unable to go. 

These are my in-laws. Well, most of them, my other sister stayed home for this trip. 

The left side of this building is the hotel we stayed in. Scariest parking lot ever. It was dark, and angular, and you had to honk (so the receptionist could hear you), to get out. 

This is my father-in-law, sometimes he's like the paparazzi. In all the best ways of course! 

This was a candy stand that was on the boardwalk. So many sweet treats there! 

They are pretty cute! That's the North Sea behind them. 

While we were in  Oostende, which is the city we stayed in, we decided that Belgium is under construction. A lot of streets we went down had construction zones. 

Just our luck, the first night we were there, fireworks were going to be set off on the beach. In this picture the set up is behind those surf boards on the right. The only reason we even found out about the fireworks was because of a lady at one of the stands very kindly let us know. We got these seats, which were prime. 

I'm kindof a sucker for sunsets.

Especially when I'm in another country...

And it looks this beautiful. <3

Day two we walked along the boardwalk and eventually turned down a random shopping district. Along the boardwalk we stumbled upon these rather large red objects. Turn out, they are being built as an outdoor art piece. 

This is what those red things will look like in the future. 

This is the random shopping district we turned down. Notice the construction going on...

Apparently I am really bad at capturing the "busy" that was this street. Outside of this picture there were lots of people streaming all around... 

Super intense church.

Super intense church had a mini me to tell people all about it.. unfortunately I can't read any of that. Really sad random piece of info about this picture, is that there is actually a funeral going on in the background. Morbid, right?

This should cheer you up! This sculpture was on some steps so we took a break from walking and took some photos. 

:)

 Now on to the last day... AND THE LAND OF CHOCOLATE!

The streets of Brugge. 

Menu boards I can't read. 

Chocolate shop 1. This one was particularly spectacular because of their large fish display. Also, it was made of chocolate. 

Spectacular right?

Chocolate store 2. While I enjoyed the authentic feel of the first store, this one was more sleek. It had chocolate wrapped and ready in great displays that everyone was able to see without stepping on someone's toes. 

It was really hard to just pic one as a favorite. 

Especially since there are so many options to choose from. 

The colors were awesome, and these ones reminded me of the ones they sell at Target. Sigh.

I'm taking Matt back here, because I'm sure if he understood how wonderful this land of chocolate was, he would want to see it firsthand. 

Chocolate shop 3. There many chocolate stores in Brugge and it all smells delectable, but this is what a generic store looked like. Emma and I bought some chocolate from here and it was awesome, but the first two stores will forever be my favorite. 

Side view of the main square.

More scenery.

Center of the square. Fun fact, we got stopped by boy scouts who were on a scavenger hunt. They took my in-laws sunglasses, went back to their leaders, took photos and came back all smiles. It was a weird experience, not to mention an ego killer because those kids all spoke English and their native language. Meh.

Sweet building.

People on a boat tour. 

My family and I on a boat tour! 

That's pretty much the last of our trip. The boat tour was pretty cool because it sort of felt like being in Venice. Over all Brugge was my favorite part of this trip. Nothing beats a city of chocolate. On a side note, this trip wouldn't have been possible without my crazy kind family that let me tag along even though Matt had to stay home. It was a great experience and I hope to visit again soon. <3