“Daily” Blog, Entry #15 Seabourn Sojourn Northern Europe Cruise Baltic Sea 8/11/13–8/25/13 Day 13, Friday 8/23, Brugge, Belgium — After much discussion, the boys decided to dump us, girls. Chris & I had canceled our cruise-sponsored tour to Ghent in order to be on our own with Raymond & Carol in Brugge. But when they found out Carol & I wanted to do as much shopping as possible; well, that sounded like a bunch of hooey to them. So they stayed back. That was fine with us, even preferred. The last thing I wanted was to be cattle prodded to get on with it. Simon, Katharine, and Alicia came along, though, but wanted to get back on the ship by lunch. That left Carol & I exploring on our own the entire day. So, we met at the bottom of the gangway at 9:15 that took us into Blankenberge, a touristy resort town centered around their huge beaches. From there we took a local train into Brugge and walked to city center. Simon & family ended up popping in and out of contemporary stores that, frankly, you can see in any up-scaled shopping area. So Carol & I excused ourselves and moved on. A quick stop into a pharmacy for to-go drinks proved to be the best thing we did. Carol asked the clerk if there were any antique shops around, and the gal directed us to a street fair along the canal that was held every Friday & Saturday. Perfect. Along the way there were shops upon shops of chocolatiers, sweet shops, and lace/embroidery/soutache makers. God, it was all so incredible! I could have easily spent my time going through each shop, but we were on a mission. The street fair was exactly what I was hoping it would be — independent collectors displaying their goods. One man in particular had a bunch of old jewelry, but no one was around to ask questions. We decided to come back after exchanging money. Carol had mentioned several times she wanted to do a canal ride, and we found one right at the street fair. Right next to that was a curiosity shop that was full of antiques and oddities. The owner explained that he was a consignment shop. I found an incredible 1950s brown leather/anaconda-skin “docotoro” satchel made in the Congo. It was a bargain at E100! And another Congo-made crocodile case from the same guy would have been mine, too, but I was unsure if croc was illegal to bring in. At this point we were getting pressed for time. The last shuttle to the boat was at 3:00, and we needed to still walk to the Brugge train station and catch the local back to Blankenberg in time to catch it. That gave us about a half hour at the antique street fair. Thankfully the vendor with the jewelry was there and was able to show me everything I had interest in, which was plenty! His prices were very reasonable, and when he found out I was a dealer, he came down in price even more. I ended up with many European-made pieces that will be easy to sell in my shop. Carol had so much fun we thought how great it would be to do a “buying trip” at little antique shops in Europe one day. One can imagine…hmmmm. We got to the shuttle bus about 20 minutes early and had enough time to get a snack — a sausage wrapped in puff pastry for 2 euro, like a Belgium pig in a blanket. We definitely got our exercise in today. I love my new Abeo walking sandals. They have performed flawlessly! Back at the ship we met up with our spouses and relaxed by the pool for a few minutes with some much-needed refreshments until it was time for my hair appointment. This is the first time in my life I had someone else take care of my hair for regular shampoo, blowout and style. I am horrible doing my own hair, and I can never get it right and looking as nice as it should. But these gals are so good I never once used the hair products I brought from home. After getting my hair done we packed up and got ready for dinner. We had to have all check-in luggage out in the hallway by 11:00 pm. Truly, it would have been easy to stay on the ship another week being waited on and not worrying about daily chores. But Chris was at his limit. The last two days, really, we were giving out cards, and addresses, and phone numbers to all we have met on the ship. I’m pretty good at contacting people. We’ll see how it goes and who responds. We met back up with Raymond & Carol on the observation lounge at our usual 7:30 and celebrated our last night with caviar and champagne. Simon & family were dining at Sophie’s table, the performer / assistant cruise director / all around popular girl that everyone wants to know. Raymond & Carol had been invited, too, for the third time but wouldn’t go because they didn’t make room for us. That was sweet, I thought, but really unnecessary. Their table was only a few away, and we kept throwing cheers at them. Eventually they came over and joined us. Ha! We finished the night at the observation lounge and having a grand time. It was an early night, though, for everyone. We all said our good-byes and were in bed by 11.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 01:05:19 +0000