This year, there are a number of Oscar-nominated films that take place in Europe. Here are some of our favorites: -In Bruges (Bruges, Belgium): We saw this film just as we were putting the finishing touches on our Cheapo guide to Bruges. Now, while we weren’t huge fans of the plot – or the script – » Read more

Photo of a lace display in Bruges, courtesy of LinksmanJD You simply can’t leave Bruges without strolling along the canals, stopping at a chocolate shop, and of course, paying tribute to the ancient tradition of lacemaking. Tracing lace Many believe that the history of lace can be traced to Egyptian times, but the material was likely first » Read more

A reception set up in the ruins of St. Donatian’s Church, now a Crowne Plaza. Photo by the Crowne Plaza Hotel. For nearly one thousand years a massive stone church sat on Bruges’ Burg square. It was destroyed about 200 years ago, but parts of it remain today under a Crowne Plaza Hotel and can be » Read more

Some of the stories that grabbed our attention this week: Brussels and Bruges Back from his trip to Belgrade for the Eurovision song contest, Alex of Spendthrift Shoestring jaunted off to Brussels on the Eurostar to see how the city has changed since his last visit in 2002. We enjoyed his musings on the city’s » Read more

Like us, many of our readers are American. And regardless of nationality, probably all of our readers are aware of the unfortunate exchange rate currently greeting US travelers abroad. Today, for instance, the euro costs US $1.58. Yet we’re still traveling to Europe. Newspapers and magazines have been abuzz lately with articles about stretching the dollar abroad. » Read more

As previously mentioned, Pete, Mere, and I returned from Europe on Monday afternoon. After attending the ITB travel conference in Berlin, we drove to Brussels (ha! more about that later) and started the “hotel hunt” part of the trip. Pete and Meredith took on Brussels and I took the train to Bruges, where I spent five » Read more