Description: The rest of this day was going to be fun! I had been in Belgium all week and had dutifully followed my own rigorous itinerary, even in freezing temperatures, reading maps, standing in lines, running to catch buses. And, thanks to my own frugality, I still had plenty euros in my pocket--if I got rid of them now, I wouldn't have to exchange them! Christmas was approaching, so if I saw more of this city, it would have to be the goods in the shops. I didn't see many decorations, except at the Markt, but I wanted to shop the charming, winding narrow straats. Carols in English rang out everywhere.
Regardless of all the artwork and architecture to see in this city, I had to take home a little of the fine craftsmanship of Bruges. Finding lace shops wasn’t difficult. One can hardly avoid them! Two on the street connecting the Burg and the Markt lured me in with their window displays. I already had plenty of table lace, but these shops had many alternatives: coasters and serving plates with lace pressed under glass, blouses with
lace trim of every conceivable arrangement, and framed lace, just to name a few. Patterns included castles, cathedrals, bell towers, ladies with parasols, swans, and more,
all a propos to the city landscape. I bought a little set of framed lace to give as a
Christmas present ($20 euro).
This took my mind and body away from the cold and convinced me that December is after all a good time to go to Belgium. Who wouldn’t want a present from Bruges? Next stop was a tapestry store with pillows, pocketbooks, vests, and more. I found the perfect hanging tapestry for myself, an actual canal scene of Bruges with shimmering buildings reflecting in the water and swans and the belfry tower in the
background. Perfect! It even has a wide border and straps for hanging ($55 euro). It
isn’t very large (17 x 20 inches, not including straps). Others the same size were $25-35, but were not as nice. Large ones are hundreds. Good advice is to measure a wall
where it will hang before leaving home and then buy the largest one you can possibly fit
there and afford. The owner of the shop told me all his tapestries are "made in the
factory of my brother, and you can’t get more local than that!"
Chocolate shops had nice little stocking-stuffer variety boxes (pretty boxes). At
Chocolaterie Sweertvaegler, Philipstockstr. 29, the lady at the counter assured me she had made everything in the store herself. I bought three little boxes for just a little over $8 euro total, and I see they all have her label on them. Such fortitude--I haven’t opened a single one! (Of course, I had others from Antwerp that weren’t in such nice boxes.)
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