Speaking of local food delicacies - be sure to hit a Frites wagon like the one on the main square and have some of Belgium's world-renown french fries - served in a paper cone with a myriad of different toppings - some to the foreign palate a bit exotic like curry sause.

Belgium has the world's best frites - no doubt about that.

We upped our visit to 2 whole nights! These posts convinced us to spend more time in Brugge. And it sounds like the less crowded evenings are the nicest time there. Plus, the Brugge hotel is half the price of the Amsterdam hotel. I booked Hotel Adornes for 100 euro a night. I checked on your suggestions, but Hotel de Tuilerieen and Prinsenhoff were out of our budget. And many Fodorites have raved about Adornes. Brugge seems to have a great assortment of good value hotels, as oppposed to Amsterdam... perhaps that's because we'll be in Amsterdam over the Queens Day holiday. That should be an interesting experience! We booked Hotel Roemer, which has been well reviewed on trip advisor.

Luckily we'll miss the May 1st holiday in Brugge by a couple days. I think we'll do one day trip to Delft and the Hague. I've waffled btwn Delft and Haarlem, but I would like to shop at the Delft factory. Will these destinations allow us to see plenty of tulip fields?

Forget the Moules, and try Zeebrugge shrimp croquettes instead - a Bruges speciality.

Also, I always recommmend the Hotel De Barge, which is admittedly out of the the city centre, but what could be more fun than staying on a boat!?