Brugge by Carla and Natasha

Totally thrilled to share these gorgeous pictures with This is Belgium.
"Carla loves photography"  is the absolutely wonderful blog of Australian- living in Paris- photographer,  Carla, who is also a published author, fashion lover and blog-friend, not necessarily in this order. On my first day as a blogger, it was merely by accident that I stumbled upon "Carla loves photography". I have been an extremely dedicated follower ever since. As Carla would say, these Bruges pictures took my breath away.
This is an opportunity, if you are not yet familiar with her work, to have a look at her blog and read about her life's story, her book "Italian Joy", her discovery and love of photography, Italy, Paris and much much more.....
Carla published Natasha's entry "24 hours in Brugge" and these photographs are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen even though millions of pictures have undoubtedly been made of this picturesque Belgian town, by tourists and professionals alike.

Thank you, ladies, for allowing me to re-post your 24 hours in Brugge. 

So, here we go, and I hope  you enjoy it as much as I did!

You can find Natasha Calhoun here: http://beautifullysuddenly.blogspot.be/ and 
Carla Coulson here: http://carlacoulson.com/

Carla: 

"Natasha from the delightful blog Beautifully Suddenly returned from a European holiday with her husband not long before I met her at my Sydney workshop in December. I asked Natasha if she were to  be a guest blogger what springs to mind as a stand out on her travels, without hesitaion she said Brugge…. so here are Natasha’s suggestions for the lovely Belgium city..Thank-you Natasha x"

Natasha:

"Visiting Brugge, Belgium is like stepping into a fairytale – a charming, chocolate-laden fairytale full of cobblestone streets, impossibly pretty canals with semi-friendly swans, medieval buildings and so much beauty that I spent the majority of my visit regularly proclaiming “it’s just so beautiful!“ followed by an exaggerated jaw drop, and my husband would invariably respond with “I know!”  So it probably goes without saying that I loved the place.  The city is fairly compact and therefore extremely walkable (although I would recommend flats on account of the cobblestones!), and a wonderful place to simply wander and, of course, take copious amounts of photographs.

 If you ever find yourself in Brugge, you could:

visit Markt and climb the belfry (366 stairs) for a wonderful view over the square ....

 have a coffee at one of the many cafes …

wander along the beautiful canals …

visit the peaceful Begijnhof which, in 1937, became a nunnery for the Benedictine sisters, who still live there today (in Spring, the garden is covered in daffodils) …

indulge in some Belgian chocolate from a chocolaterie …

hire bicycles and ride to the small town of Damme, which is approximately six kilometers west of Brugge.  Take the path along one side of the canal on the way there, explore the town, and then cycle back through the tunnel of trees on the other side at sunset …

                         All Images Copyright Natasha Calhoun

Carla, thank you so much for inviting me to guest post on your blog – I just about fell over with excitement!  You have been a complete inspiration to me ever since I picked up Italian Joy at Berkelouw in Leichhardt one evening many moons ago (is it strange that I remember that?), and I am so glad to have had the opportunity to meet you in person at your Get Published workshop – you are lovely!

Hope you all enjoyed the post!  

Natasha

Beautifully, Suddenly"

                                
                     Thank you ladies!