Brugge

Just back from two days in Brugge, Belgium, a very sweet medieval town that is just an hour by train from Brussels. It's the season for the Christmas market so it was quite festive with twinkling lights, stalls selling hot wine, and an ice skating rink set up in the market square. We did nothing of redeeming social importance (i.e., no churches, historical monuments, or art museums) but did manage a visit to the chocolate museum. Otherwise, we spent our time wandering the streets and canals and eating a prodigious amount of street food, the main themes being pork, potatoes, and fat. We did not eat any waffles although there were plenty to be had.

A few updates:

The transit strike is over. It's not clear who really won. Le Figaro, the conservative newspaper, gives the credit to Sarkozy for standing tough. Yet there's still no resolution to the underlying issues. There may be more strikes in our future.

I've learned that the orange tans sported by the older set comes from taking carotene. It's the younger ladies who frequent the tanning salons.