I love all the little independent food shops in Belgium, and Bruges had tons. On the second day, after gazing at all these wonderful food ‘delis’, El suggested a picnic in the hallway outside our rooms at the Verdi B&B.

Here are some shop windows in Bruges to inspire you to have your own picnic…

But in Bruges it’s the desserts that take the cake…
And of course, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!

For those who like their chocolate slightly kinky: some guilty-looking chocolate poodles with little chocolate turds sitting atop rolls of bright green and pink toilet paper.

Chocolates in a shop window

Our picnic

Wine, bread, beer, cheese, olives, chorizo, patés, chocolate… Great fun! Our only problem was the light, one of those automatic shut-off ones. We had to shove a toothpick in it to keep it from plunging us into darkness every five minutes.

a picnic in the ‘lounge’ area outside our rooms

Our trip was roughly based on the Beer Route through Belgium, and here it is so far.

Some visits to a few traditional bars in Brussels:

• a 300 year-old bar in Brussels
• a la Becasse, a traditional pub in Brussels
• a la Mort Subite, a historic brasserie in Brussels

More on fairytale Bruges (Brugge):

• lunch at the Cambrinus
• tour of the Brewery in Bruges
• t’ Brugs Beertje in Bruges
• dinner at the Cambrinus
• warming up a chilly day in Bruges
• the Verdi B&B

On Ghent:

• beer and museums on our first day in Ghent
• beer, food and museums on our second day in Ghent – Part 1
• Ghent SMAK exhibit, the conceptual Bulgarian artist Nedko Solakov
• beer, food and museums on our second day in Ghent – Part 2

To the Belgian Coast:

• Off to a Photo Exhibition in Knokke-Heist