bruges.

the city of beauty.

...

after chartres, i was sure there wasn’t a more beautiful place in all of europe. fortunately for me, i was mistaken. bruges is a medieval city in belgium, home to the quaintest little houses and the most stunning landscape i had seen yet. it was the only place i visited that i was sorry i didn’t have a camera of my own.

upon arrival, after a quick hotel check-in and a touch up on my mascara, we were off to explore the town. i was lucky to experience two of belgium’s finest: chocolate and waffles. i’m telling you, chocolate can be imported, but you’ll never taste a waffle like that unless you go to belgium. it’s heaven with whipped cream on top.

later that afternoon we performed another concert in a near-by cathedral, which turned out to be one of my favorite performances. our sound was so reverberant – i sang with all my heart, and it seemed i could barely keep up with the splendor of it all.

that evening brought more shopping and supper together as a group.

the next day, we traveled across town to a local homeless shelter. with us, we carried gloves, scarves and hats that we had collected back home. we sang a few of our concert songs for the people of the shelter, along with a song we learned in their native language – the hymn “how great thou art.” they even prepared a song for us, which was so special. one woman, i never learned her name, led the group. she was an old woman, with long, tousled grey hair and only one arm, but she had the loudest and most exuberant voice of all. after we sang, we were invited to dine among the residents of the shelter and visit with them. i sat right beside the woman, wanting to know her, but i was disappointed to learn that she did not know any english. the others around the table knew a bit though; i had such a wonderful time laughing and visiting with them. they were all interested in what we were studying and what we wanted to be when we grew up. they were also extremely curious about the other places we were visiting on our tour, all the while boasting that “ours is the most beautiful city, no?” i will forever remember their spirit and smiles.

we left town shortly after our visit to the shelter, although i desperately wished we had more time in bruges. it seemed just liked a city straight out of a fairytale, and anyone who knows me knows i am certainly partial to those.