Bruges

When the company jet was going to Belgium and there were three seats available, Ria, Randy and I would hop on board. One time Ria took us to her Aunt Kris and Uncle Rick's house. They were charming, wonderful people who made us feel at home. 

Kris didn't speak much English, but Rick spoke enough to for us to converse. Ria, of course, spoke English well. She was the one who told us that Kris was embarrassed about their bathroom. It was in a small lean-to outside; it was tidy and worked just fine, but Kris was sure no house in the US had an outside bathroom. We assured her that many rural houses did, and we didn't care either way.

We stayed at their place overnight. In the middle of the night the electricity went out; everyone came out into the hall trying to figure out what was going on, but then we all just went back to bed. Sometime before we got up, the electricity came back on. In the morning we went downstairs and found Kris had laid out a big spread for breakfast - lots of meats, cheese, breads, jam. She even borrowed some teas from neighbors for us so we could have an array to choose from! 

Ria drove us around Belgium. Bruges is a lovely, historic town. The Market Square is famous for its colorful building facades, all framed by the lovely Corbie Step roofline.

Nearby is a big market, where Randy bought a full set of antique wood planers.

Some other streets mimic the Market look.

There are canals through part of Bruges, and older houses are built right up to the waterline. 

This archway, called the entrance to the Beguine, is topped with a statue of St. Elisabeth. In this case, Beguine refers to a Christian lay order of women, who  did not take religious vows but voluntarily lived religious-based lives. 

Beside the entrance is a beautiful old grey building, part of the Beguine structure. I like buildings that show their age, so I thought this was beautiful.