In Bruges

Paris was a good guess, especially given the I swear completely accidental reference in yesterday's photo! But no. That was a red herring. I'm in Bruges, Belgium.

I took a 9 a.m. Eurostar train from London to Brussels, and then caught a local train to Bruges. That turned out to be a little harder than I anticipated because none of the notice boards in the Brussels train station actually say Bruges. They just give the train's ultimate destination or the name of a station ("Sint P de Kokken" or something like that). So I had to ask around before I knew which train to catch. Anyway, I figured it out. Travel time, all told -- between three and four hours.

I had lunch on the big market square above, basking in the sun and surrounded by ornate peaked and crenellated buildings. I had a Leffe Ruby beer and croque monsieur at a cafe called De Vier Winden (The Four Winds, I presume). The name reminded me of an old motel we used to pass when I was a kid on our semi-annual drives up north to see my grandparents -- The Five Winds Lodge in Starke, Florida. I had to laugh that I was sitting in Bruges and thinking about Starke.

After lunch I took a little walk and happened to be in a vintage clothing store when this parade of protesters came by advocating for women's and LGBTQIA+ rights. "My body, my choice!" they yelled. I gave them some enthusiastic cheers and fist pumps, but the clerk at the clothing store was perplexed that they were protesting in Belgium about a shift in American abortion law. (Abortion is legal in Belgium.)

I kind of felt obligated to buy something after having that conversation, so I got a great shirt by Kenzo, which the clerk informed me was "a nice piece."

My former library co-worker Venisha is here in Bruges on a trip from the United States, so I met up with her and we strolled around town and took in some more sights. (And yes, a few more beers.)

This is the Stadhuis, or Town Hall.

There are several canals winding through town. See those red chairs on the left? That's where we had dinner. I had moules frites, and I swear there must have been 60 mussels in the kettle they brought me. I also ordered a beer that came in the most ridiculous glass I've ever seen -- shaped like a gigantic bong, about a foot and a half high and held in a wooden stand. I felt like a frat boy on Bourbon Street.

And of course there are windmills! Apparently the Netherlands does not have a monopoly on those.

Here's the Belfort, or Belfry, completed in 1482. Apparently one can climb to the top, but I haven't done that. De Vier Winden, where I had lunch, is visible under the green awnings just to the right of the Belfort.

Today we're going on a walking tour where we will no doubt see more of these sights and get some more information about them all.

Oh -- my hotel -- that was an adventure. I reserved a perfectly nice room in a hotel called Martin's, right off the market square. But when I went back after wandering around with Venisha last night, I found that I couldn't get the air conditioner to turn on, and I couldn't get the bathroom light to turn off. I called reception and they said there was a switch at the bottom, but I swear there was no switch. I even took them a photo of the light fixture, and said, "Show me the switch!" So they upgraded me to a nicer room! I'm now in a room with a cathedral ceiling, a king-sized bed and a bathroom light that turns off. Sweet!