In Bruges

Today Naomi and I and the girls made a day trip to Bruges. We took the train, which in both directions was as crowded as a Who concert (but fortunately not as rowdy). The central circle of Bruges was similarly sized to that of Leuven, perhaps slightly bigger, and once again we walked from the train station at the periphery to the center. However, Leuven, as nice as it is, is like Bruges' ugly sister in comparison. Bruges is bigger and more bustling, with many beautiful buildings, large and small, and beautiful squares, and of course the canals. After lunch we took a horse-drawn carriage ride and tour around town, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

I think Bruges had the highest number of tourists, per capita, of any place I've ever been—and I've been to plenty of places with a significant tourism industry. There were shops with absolutely beautiful laces and other arts, but we didn't get the chance to really check out the wares. On our carriage ride, I was amazed to learn that Bruges used to be on the ocean, but centuries of silting have pushed the ocean out 10 miles!

Bruges was one of the destinations I really wanted to hit before we returned to the States, so I'm glad we were able to sneak this trip in just under the wire.