Only a fifteen minute easterly stroll from our B&B by way of the Smedenport, one of four remaining fortified city gates still guarding the city, and straight on Steenstraat we were welcomed to the central Markt by the statue of the Belgium heroes, Jan Breydel and Pieter de Conink and the lofty Belfort bell tower. Sooooo! it is loaded with tourists, however Bruges is the best preserved city in Europe, having missed the bombs of both world wars. See it anyway, best by foot. I liked it and then I loved it. Mussels, bicycles, flowers, bright umbrellas, red brick gothic buildings with stair step facades, a medieval Disneyland. The mighty Belfort, 88 meters high (300 ft.) is open for climbing and you are rewarded with an encompassing view of the orange-red tile roofs of the entire village. Price 100F. Opposite the tower to the left runs a small street called Breidelstraat leading to the Burg Square, home of the Stathuis and the Basillica of the Holy Blood. We shopped for lace on Breidelstraat, delighted with our choice of lace Christmas ornaments and overwhelmed with all the items available in lace. After a peek at the Basillica and admiring the turreted Stathuis we ventured down an arched alley to the left of the Stadthuis crossed the canal and were rewared with a fish market (Vismarkt)in full bloom. (Tuesday-Saturday 7-1) Dried fish, fresh whole fish, fillets, shrimp, mussels, all displayed for weighing and wrapping. Raw herring is the local favorite eaten with onion. I am still trying to figure out who shelled all the tiny, tiny, tiny red shrimp. Back on the Markt amid the torrent of resturants we sampled the Belgium specialty Mussels, served to us by a cheeky entertaining waiter who, when I asked "Do you have mussels?", replied "Of course" and proudly displayed his bulging biceps. Later throwing away the tour guide, we walked the back streets admiring little cafes with round stone firplaces hung with round gridles swung over the fire for sauting pancakes and crepes and stumbled on hidden canals and churches.