. . . my birthday in Bruges

How often do people get to say that? Besides the Belgians of course. Keith and I decided a while back that we wanted to go out of town sometime soon and my birthday seemed like a great opportunity. We had heard wonderful things about Bruges, Belgium, and one not so wonderful thing -- the traffic leaving town can be horrendous if you leave too late. But we didn't have to worry about that until Sunday afternoon, so off we went.

Just getting there was a feat in itself, mostly because it was Saturday morning and Liam was doing what most everyone wants to do on a Saturday morning -- sleep in. So we had the car packed, all ready to go, and we were just waiting on him to wake up and eat. Which he finally did, and we were off to drop Murphy at the boarder for the weekend. Bruges is only a 2 hour drive from where we live, but when you add in a dog-stop, gas station, and another feeding for Liam along the way, we didn't make it until the afternoon. It wasn't too big of a deal though because we were staying in the Crown Plaza right downtown and easily walked right into the square as soon as we arrived and got ALL of our luggage into the room. I think I forgot to mention how much STUFF a baby needs! I was amazed -- the pack and play, 5 outfits, 5 burp cloths, 10 diapers, wipes, socks, Itzbeen, infacol, and a ton of other essentials and non-essentials. All for approximately 24 hours. We've already figured out what we truly need and what can stay at home next time. But I digress.

. . . a different kind of Claus

Today marked the arrival of Sinterklaas in the Netherlands! He came from where he resides in Spain and spends the next few weeks traveling around, greeting children, and preparing for Sinterklaas Day on December 5th. Interestingly enough, Sinterklaas rides a white horse and has his helper, Zwarte Piet (Black Peter), everywhere he goes. We even witnessed a few Zwarte Piets today while at the Centrum. Have a look . . .