Day 8. We took a day trip to Bruges, just a 45 minute drive from Ghent. Bruges is called the Venice of the North for its layout of natural and artificial canals dating back to the Middle Ages. The historic city center is a UNESCO World Site, and it's no wonder -- walking the cobblestone streets past elegant Gothic brickwork in hues of red, white and yellow, one could almost imagine what it was like to walk the same streets in centuries long gone.
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| We stopped at the chocolatier for dark cocoa truffles -- probably my favorite sweet in the whole world |
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| my favorite picture of Jordie, so excited to see the horse-drawn carriage |
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| Pasta cooked on a giant round of cheese |
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| The necessary stop for gelato -- my other favorite sweet |
After a few hours of walking, we took a sit break on benches outside the cathedral. There, Beckham stood in his coat and beanie, stunned into stillness by a group of skateboarders filming tricks. He was statue-still and staring at them for so many minutes that they began smiling and pointing and even turned their professional video camera to him. They gestured to the bear ears on his puffy coat, talking to me in Dutch. I agree, he was very cute.
While inside the cathedral, Beckham was quick to find the most echo-y spot and began his little chirping shouts. "Ah! Ah!" We did our absolute best to shush him via distraction. He had done this in every cathedral on our trip so far. "Beckham's echolocation," Dallin called it.
