Okay, now onto the fun.........
Ferry ride over selfies. We had a late ferry so we "all" tried to sleep. (not necessarily Blake and Avery)
Once we were off the ferry and crossed over the border into Belgium from France we were forced off the highway for a border patrol check. Police searching cars, shining lights in your face. It was kind of scary. I am very worried for my children's future!! This world is becoming a sad, sad place.
We stayed on the other side of Ghent......it was such a nice place! Huge, heated floors, a garage for the car, near the city centre. Just wonderful! We loved it....so much so that we opted to spend more time in it than originally planned.
First full day (Thanksgiving Day) was Brugge. Quickly becoming one of my most favorite places. So charming and quaint! We started off the day just exploring, trying to take family pictures -- which failed. Kids were starting to have a bit of a melt down because they were getting hungry so we found a place to eat. There was only one other group in there when we sat down but by the end there were several full tables around us. We had a talk with the kids before the trip about being on their absolute best behavior, talking quietly, etc --- so no attention would be drawn to us. They did pretty well, but we Americans just really stand out. It's hard to hide it no matter how hard we try. Anyway, we got up to pay for our food and hadn't paid any attention to how much our bill was going to be. We hadn't been to a cash machine left and we only had 50 euro left over from our last trip. Our bill came out to 61 euro. So, Derek tried to use the credit card......they didn't take swipe cards, only chip and pin (which we have yet to get). So we didn't have enough money to pay for our meal! Derek was asking for directions to the nearest cash machine when the gentleman who was sitting next to us came up to pay for his meal.......and said he was going to pay for ours too! He was also an American (and he had forgot it was Thanksgiving day). We have a hard time accepting gifts so there was a lot of banter back and forth. In the end we thanked him, left our 50 on the counter (he would not accept it) and walked out. Once outside, Derek went to the cash machine. The kids and I just stood there and talked about what had just happened. It was so great to have them sort of understand what it feels like to have something so nice done to you/for you. When I saw Derek coming back I (forgetting that we were supposed to be quiet) yelled out "Do you have a pen with you?" He wasn't sure, but before he could even look someone was handing me a pen and walking away!! We used the pen to write a thank you note to the man and his family who paid for our lunch. While we were writing it they came out. They came over and talked to us, we handed them the note and exchanged thankful hugs. I will admit, I had really high hopes for getting some amazing family pictures that day and when things weren't working out I was getting a little upset. Then these things happened and my mood changed. I didn't care about getting the perfect family photo anymore. I just wanted to enjoy the time with my family.....and really we were all feeling the same way and just in such better spirits. Amazing what a little kindness can do!
We walked around the markets and I still snapped a few pictures here and there......we splurged a little and went for a horse and carriage ride and ended the evening having dinner with sweet friends.
I like to caption this one "I want to hold you forever" because that is something Blake says to me all the time! I love it and I melt every single time!
In front of a Kathy Wolfhart store.
In front of one of the many chocolate shops
Apparently, THE place to go to when in Brugge. We had to make reservations and couldn't get in. Called back to see if we could do two tables of 5 instead and they decided to open up half an hour early to squeeze us in!
The next day was Ghent. It has always been a favorite of ours since Derek had his Click Symposium there 6 years ago. This time was a bit of a let down. I thought the Christmas market was supposed to be going on (and it's much bigger than the one in Brugge), but it wasn't. Everything was being set up.....and I guess supposed to start the next weekend. I'm not sure if it maybe got pushed back with the Brussels threat or if I just misread when it started. It was also a cold, windy and kind of a wet day. This was the day we ended up leaving early and spending the evening at the house......taking naps, playing video games and board games.
There was a man with a cart outside one of the waffle shops selling these things. I guess you can't find them anywhere else (you'll see some in one of the chocolate shop windows above). They are called Ghentse neuzen (Gents nose). They are made of Arabic gum and raspberry juice and a few other ingredients that I forget. When you bite into it the inside is like butter. Blake loved them!
This is a picture the kids captured of us. They had been upstairs making a tent and we were napping downstairs. I heard them start snapping pictures. They were trying to be so quiet to keep from waking us. It was incredibly cute and sweet. They thought it was the most awesome thing. It really opened up my eyes to how important it is for our kids to see their parents being affectionate with each other. They were so happy and just completely giddy. Blake and Avery actually tried copying us as well! :)
Last day was in Brugge. More walking around and eating waffles. Buying the most amazing chocolate. Playing games at the market.
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