Travelogue: March 17, 2013 Last Day in Brugge

Cadence and I woke up before the H's, so we dressed and packed early. I knew we'd have breakfast dishes to wash and that M & S would have their hands full packing up and getting E ready, so I wanted all our packing done.

We enjoyed our last few hours in the hotel-of-a-lifetime and made it out the door right at 10:30-check out time.

We walked our luggage down the streets of Brugge to the car park just as M & S had done on Friday. As we approached the car park, we heard a drum line and saw a group of people dressed in bright orange and yellow and other colors.

We remembered it was St. Patrick's Day. We unloaded everything at the car and then walked to Historium, an AMAZING museum about the history of Brugge in medieval times. (I couldn't find the link to the English-speaking website...the photos are worth looking through.) It presented a story through the narration of a young man who worked for a famous Belgian artist. (This link IS IN English!) The story was told through the use of video displayed in windows, up a flight of stairs and on a table. The music was captivating and mysterious. We bought two pens (nearly all my pens I packed have run out of ink), postcards and gummy bears.

We moved on to lunch at the Italian restaurant we ate at the day before. Then it was time to leave Brugge. I took in the flags blowing grey, white and red in the town square trying to memorize the sights into my mind for remembering later. I was sad to go, but also feeling ready to return to Maidstone and then the U.S.

I tried to stay awake in the backseat through Belgium as long as I could. I slept through France and woke up when M asked for our passports.

We had an uneventful trip back to England on the Chunnel. We came home in the late afternoon and relaxed for the rest of the evening. I started organizing our stuff and wrapping my brain around how to get our souvenirs home.

Cadence started "sending" me love notes under the door while M unpacked and bathed E. I sent her notes back. It was spontaneous and endearing.

I can tell it's time for us to leave...Cadence's listening is happening in shorter lengths of time and my patience tank is running on low...

We ate leftover pizza from lunch and then decided to put on our pajamas, unfold the couch in the living room and watch My Life in Ruins. M shared chocolates from Brugge, and the four of us laughed through the movie. It was a great way to end the day and it was such a sweet, hilarious movie.

Cadence and I had a little cry when we went to our bedroom for the night. We're really going to miss England and the H's.

I read Cadence to sleep with Katie in London, the book I bought her in the Queen's Shop in London.