Care package from home.

A small box with a hefty price tag. Arrived at precisely 14:40 c.e.t.
I was expecting maybe something the size of perhaps a compact fridge when I heard it was over $75.00 to ship a box. Supposed to have taken five days. Pretty close I guess. Was shipped a week ago Monday.
Came today, that makes it six by my count.
We certainly are keeping the mail companies in business, since I just shipped off yet another box to Canada. That was only €24.
It was about the same size, just a little lighter. Somehow I don't seem to see the relationship between those two prices.
So I've had a pleasant afternoon reading a couple back issues of Fine Woodworking, and I'll let Gabe sort through the rest of the stuff, since there are a couple little items in there that she's particularly keen to get.


Meanwhile....I figured I'd post a few more pics of our recent excursion, since we came back to the Netherlands by way of Bruges.
If you ever have a chance, try to see the movie In Bruges , since quite a lot of it was filmed right in the main square of Bruges.

Mind you, the film is a wee bit violent in places, and there's no shortage of colourful language, but I could clearly see why the boss wanted to send the character played by Colin Farrell there for a "vacation".
I refuse to give away the plot.
Sorry.

I highly recommend Bruges.


Really.

(um...the place, not necessarily the movie, but it's ok too)

And not just because it's "romantic" or has neat buildings, but you just might come across something that you'd never see anywhere else.

OK, possibly this should fall under the category of, "things you'd only see in Yurp", and it somehow reminded me of my late father-in-law, since the trailer was a home made job....I couldn't help but take a picture, and I could easily imagine him riding it.

I know, has nothing to do with being in Bruges really, but it's my blog after all, and I'll stick in what ever I bloody well please.

The shopping was pretty good too. And not outrageous. But I have no opinion about that.

Here's me thinking of what to say next.
Well, either that or I'm contemplating eating that box of Belgian chocolates sitting in that bag in front of me. (although quite possibly a moment of indigestion)
There were lots of chocolate shops to chose from. In the first place I went into though, I was behind an Italian couple who thought they'd like to "sample" some chocolate. The clerk pretended not to understand, and I chose to leave. There seemed to be chocolate shops every 20 feet, so I wasn't going to stand there being annoyed by these people.

C'mon!

Pretty sure there's no "sampling".

Plus, the next place I went into, had just enough local kids to give me an idea that they might have the proper goods. Who better knows than the local kids where the best deals in chocolate would be?


Rather than head directly for the built up highway on our way home, we chose a more scenic route along the N9 and decided to stop and check out one of the many grave sites of Canadian troops, just outside Adegem.

I'll be darned if I can find a decent website, but I find this one. even though it only shows an couple more photos.

I don't remember the exact numbers (that's why I was looking for a decent website) but there are over 848 Canadian soldiers buried at this site.*


Since I chose to not end on such a sombre note, (and there's a pun in there too) I decided to upload a short video I took at our dinner table in Brussels on Friday night. The entertainment was (almost) free. Good thing too, since the food was pretty average.

*Just a trivial snippet; the Lincoln and Welland Regiment passed this way through what was then open fields on their way to Maldegem on the morning of Sept 15, 1944, along with the Canadian Grenadier Guards. This was the same regiment that came right through Delden in the spring of 1945.