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After a bit of a late start, I went off to explore the city. I grabbed lunch from a food cart underneath the Belfry and ate in Markt, an excellent spot for people-watching. I walked past innumerable chocolate and waffle shops, stopped briefly at the Church of our Lady (which houses Michelangelo's Madonna and Child) and then continued on to Begijnhof, a compound of white buildings originating from 1245 where a group of women have lived like nuns (but without taking the vows). The area was serene and, because of the signs posted around the place, dead silent. I walked quietly around the grounds and some of the nuns even poked their heads out of the houses to see the visitors. On my way back to the city center, I picked up a 100 gram assortment of Belgian chocolates (for only €3!) and munched on delicious little pralines as I walked. My next stop was the Basilica of the Holy Blood, a church which stores a scrap of fabric supposedly stained with a few drops of Christ's blood. I went up in front of the priest, dropped some coins in the collection tin and laid my hands upon the glass capsule. Staring down at the stained cloth, I can't help but feel a bit skeptical about its validity. Nevertheless, it obviously has a strong effect on some of the visitors here. Feeling like I need some exercise after all the decadent Belgian fries, chocolates and waffles, I climbed the 366 steps to the top of the Belfry and gazed out upon the beautiful view of Bruges. Upon the hour, the bells chimed which was deafening from right underneath them. After getting my fill of the view, I made my way down the narrow, crowded staircase and back to the hostel. I met the new guy (from the Netherlands) in my room and we ended up chatting for awhile and deciding to take the city tour tonight based on the movie In Bruges (which is filmed in Bruges, believe it or not). The guide, Kai, was a energetic, foul-mouthed guy from New York who gave us one of the most entertaining city tours I've been on yet. He took us around the major sites (most of which I had already seen) and some of the spots shown in the movie. Along the way, he gave us an interesting history of the city, accentuated with f-bombs galore. We made a pit stop at a local bar where everyone tried some Belgian beer before going off to see more churches and historical buildings. I met two English girls and two Canadian girls on the tour and after it had finished, we decided to all go out for the night. So after dropping by the hostel for some warmer clothes, we went out in search of Bruges' nightlife. We found it after an hour or so in a crowded club on the north side of town where we danced most of the night away (the best part was this 70 year old man who was shaking it out on the dance floor and flirting with the girls a third of his age). We met three Americans who told us about a bar where all the locals go so everyone headed there next. We snatched a table and chatted for the rest of the night. As I was walking back through the charming streets of Bruges, I ran into the Dutch guy from my room so we randomly grabbed a kebab and some ice cream before heading to bed. A random and eventful day in cute little Bruges!
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