We popped into a shop that advertised World Famous Hot Chocolate, and OMG, was that right. It was fabulous, hot milk with melted dark chocolate to mix into it. An English guide and his wife sat across from us and we started chatting. They told us about the street and fountain where the horse-drawn carriages stop to feed and water the horses. After visiting the chocolate shop that made the wonderful chocolate we'd just had, we wandered off in search of the horse fountain. Along the way, we happened on to a little gem of a family-owned shop that sells wonderful hats, scarves, original designs of clothing. Very fun stuff, and the dad (he, his wife and daughter keep the shop open 365 days a year) was absolutely charming. We all had a great time, including him. We left, after each buying something wonderful, then turned around to take a picture of the shop. He (we didn't get his name, drat) followed us and and posed in front of the shop. A great Christmas memory.
And as I re-edit the blog, I realize that he looks just like the man carved into the front of the Town Hall in Brussels, the one I posted a picture of.
In the Marie Brot shop, Nancy bought a new chapeau to replace the one she left on a train. Tres chic, non?
This is the fountain. Water comes out of the horses's mouths, and indeed the carriage drivers feed and water the horses there.
This cute guy travels with his own Jack Russell terrier. They make quite the team. The horses work really hard. Even in the crisp weather, they are sweating. They clip-clop around the city all day long, and they are not slow. They prance along at a good clip, only slowing for clots of people and to turn sharp corners. They add a wonderful ambiance to the city, and a distincitive sound, their metal shoes on the cobblestones.
And a final picture of a Bruges canal. We had a nice Christmas dinner at a restaurant we'd been to before, then headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready for a travel day to get us to Amsterdam Schipol, to fly back home. We looked up the weather and saw that parts of the Denver area did have a white Christmas, but we should not have any snow before we land.
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