My sister and her husband got off a plane, thumbed their noses at jet lag, and went with us to Bruges. Bruges is a city in Belgium that used to be the second biggest harbor in Europe with a thriving cloth industry. Lots of rich people built lavish houses and the churches were quite elaborate. Then the river filled with silt and the success of Bruges was no more. The development of the city basically came to a halt so it's like you're walking through a medieval town.
Now, I think, Bruges thrives off tourism. We enjoyed looking at buildings and walking down narrow streets with lots of other visitors, but as soon as our drinks at lunch were served to us with ice cubes, we knew the place was catering toward tourists. We took a boat ride through the canals, which I found relaxing, as did my sister and brother-in-law who had, by that time, been awake for over 24 hours and took a small nap. The tour guide gave his speech in Dutch, followed by French, and finally English. Every time he made a joke (say, for example, the canal was filled with paranas), he'd look back with a smile to see if anyone was laughing. I was sitting directly behind him and thus would proceed with a chuckle every time.
Next to the canal, our boat, and the jokester tour guide
3 comments:
that is mighty good of you to laugh at the jokes,
that crazy sister and brother-in-law team of yours... I can't believe they didn't stop for a little R&R!
That sounds like such a cool city! And how polite of you to laugh. Could he tell you may not have been totally amused?
Wow, sounds like you gys are visiting a lot of places....no desire to accept my invitation for Geneva??
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