A medieval marvel

It was the morning of our first full day in Beernem near Bruges, and we were about to have breakfast at our lovely B&B. Oh dear, that's rather a lot of B's in one sentence, isn't it?

But before our host, Veronique, arrived bearing fresh fruit juice and coffee, we took a couple of minutes to take some outfit photos, as I was desperate to show you one of my latest Think Twice finds.

For once, I didn't wait for the next of their famous sales to roll along. Still, it may come as a surprise that I didn't buy the dress the first time I clapped eyes on it. I took it from the rail, noting its utter perfectness, then thought of all the long-sleeved dresses which were still waiting in the wings of my wardrobe for their turn to be worn. So I put it back and left the shop empty handed.

But once back at the office, my thoughts kept returning to that perfect harmony of navy and white houndstooth and plain navy collar, placket and pocket tabs, the latter two accented by pearly white buttons. A true classic, both in colour and in style.

Nevertheless, I didn't return to the shop until the next week when, much to my surprise, I found the dress still waiting for me. It must have been fate so, needless to say, this time I made sure not to leave the shop without it.

Who doesn't love a blue, white and red outfit? I certainly do, so accessorizing the dress was a doddle. I added red opaques, a red and white beaded necklace and a red plastic ring. More red appeared in some of the flowers on my carved wooden brooch. 

Finally, my red King Louie cardigan completed my outfit.

So, breakfast! We were certainly spoiled for choice. Starting with fresh fruit salad and yummy, creamy yogurt, we then indulged in freshly baked bread and a choice of rolls, accompanied by smoked salmon, a selection of cheeses and meats and, of course, Veronique's delicious home made jams, which came in tiny glass jars.

For those with a sweet tooth, there were croissants and chocolate buns, and there were a range of cereals to choose from if one was so inclined. 

In fact, there was such a glut of delicacies, that we had to decline Veronique's offer of boiled, fried or scrambled eggs.

After breakfast, it was time to start the day's adventure, so we instructed Marie-Jeanne, our long-suffering satnav, to take us to Bruges by way of her much-loved country lanes. Needless to say, she was happy enough to oblige!

After parking our car, we decided to walk into the direction of the main square, avoiding the shortest route which would take us along Bruges' main shopping street. Our route took us along a parallel street, which seemed to be home to the town's more exclusive shops. However, we soon veered off, arriving in a peaceful, small tree-lined square where modern and ancient architecture seemed to be living happily side by side.

The equestrian statue is called Flandria Nostra - the horse-riding lady is said to represent Mary of Burgundy (1457-1482) - and was designed by sculptor Jules Lagae in 1901. 

From the square, a narrow street lead down to a canal, the Speelmansrei, which was crossed by a humpbacked stone bridge guarded by a pair of haughty lions.

As crossing the canal would have taken us too far from our intended destination, we retraced our steps and meandered through a maze of streets, taking in the abundant and often quirky architectural details until we spotted the tower of  the St. Jacobskerk (St. James Church). Having already visited the church itself on a previous visit, we skirted this until we arrived at the eponymous St. Jacobsstraat (St. James Street). 

At the end of this street, the market square, where we planned to have lunch, beckoned, but we met with one or two distractions, the first one being Think Twice, whose Bruges shop is about half-way down this street. 

It almost goes without saying that the shop couldn't be passed without going in for a little browse. And yes, I might even have made a purchase, which I'll be showing you later in this post.

By then it was noon and a faint rumble in our stomachs told us it was time for lunch.

Afterwards, we crossed the market square and made our way along a pedestrianized street lined with the inevitable tourist trap shops selling waffles, chocolates and all manner of lace, towards the Burg, undoubtedly Bruges' most impressive square.

Even the road works obstructing one side of the square couldn't detract from the splendour offered by the Brugse Vrije (Liberty of Bruges), the City Hall and the Basilica of the Holy Blood. 

As I've already blogged about these on a previous visit, I just snapped some of the details which caught my eye and made them into a collage.

We briefly entered the town hall, where I sat down beneath one of the huge portraits in the picture gallery which can be visited free of charge.

Then, with one backward glance towards the Belfry tower, we continued on our way to our ultimate destination for the day.

We strolled along the cobbled Groenerei (Green Quay), marvelling at the view, at this time of year unobstructed by the exuberant foliage of the trees and the throngs of people taking their turn at being photographed on the one of the bridges crossing this most picturesque of canals.

At the end of the canal, we emerged onto a busy street, which we needed to cross. Here, there was another distraction in the form of a second-hand clothing shop where I confess to having made another purchase.

Consulting our map to make sure we were on the right track, we rounded a corner and found ourselves in a quiet, back-of-beyond street, where time seemed to have come to a halt.

On and on we walked, with side turnings offering a glimpse of a wide canal running parallel to the street we were walking on.

Then, after a bend in the street, we could finally spot the eye-catching tower of the Jerusalem Chapel. Modelled after Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre, it is topped by the cross of Jerusalem, in its turn placed on top of a sphere representing the world.

The chapel is part of  the Adornes domain, an authentic medieval estate comprising a mansion and almshouses, where you can step into the world of one of the most prominent families of 15th Century Bruges. 

The Adornes family originates from the Italian city of Genoa, but came to Flanders in the 13th Century. 

Its best-known descendant is Anselm Adornes, who became an influential businessman, diplomat and knight in the 15th Century, when the estate was built. The chapel was consecrated in 1429

Anselm Adornes and his wife, Margareta van der Banck, are buried in the black marble tomb in the chapel, although in the case of Anselm Adornes, it is supposedly only his heart which is enshrined here, as these are the only remains that were able to be returned to Bruges after he was murdered in Scotland in 1483.

The architecture and layout of the chapel and its extraordinary relics are illustrations of the great reverence of the Adornes family for Jerusalem. 

It is, in fact, quite a macabre monument, with a gruesome altarpiece covered in skull motifs, as well as a rather creepy effigy of Christ’s corpse tucked away inside a miniature, low-ceilinged chapel at the rear.

The estate is still owned by the family today, which makes it quite exceptional. 

The family has always been very hospitable and the current descendants, who opened the domain to the public, are delighted to continue this tradition.

You can have coffee or tea and cakes in the so-called Scottish Lounge, a cosy room where you can rest your wary feet and reflect on your visit. Payment of any refreshments is by way of an honesty box.

It was well after 3 pm when we were finally able to tear ourselves away from those comfortable chesterfields, by which time a blanket of grey had done away with the blue skies which had accompanied us earlier that day.

Without the sun to aid their reflection, the monumental merchants' houses lining the Hansa Quarter's wide canals, seemed to be gazing out forlornly at their counterparts across the steel grey water.

It started raining lightly, and as we'd rather optimistically set out without our umbrellas, we thought it was time to call it a day. But not before ducking into a shop on our way back to the car park to purchase some prepared sandwiches for our evening meal, which we would have at our B&B.

Again, our way home was a lengthy one, courtesy of our satnav. Although we'd given her clear instructions before leaving the car park, the lack of satellite reception underground seemed to completely confuse her when we surfaced. Enough said!

I'm ending this post by showing you my purchases as promised. The Swiss made maxi skirt came from Think Twice, while the second hand shop we passed along the way to the Jerusalem chapel provided the salmon pink cardigan. I'd already taken off my make-up and Jos omitted to tell me that my hair was sticking up, so just look at the clothes please!

Psychedelic fur

Much as I would like to carry on with my latest travelogue, and relive the first full day of our little Bruges getaway in the process, there's something I need to get out of the way first.

I actually didn't quite finish the month of January yet, so before it totally slips into the mists of time, I am taking you back to last month's final weekend.

I'd been waiting for the temperature to drop into the low single figures - accompanied by a smidgen of frost overnight - to dig out my collection of fake fur.

In fact, I already wore this coat, which I charity shopped for a mere € 8 back in December 2016, in the early hours of this year, as it was the outerwear I wore over my New Year's Eve outfit. 

I've had the scarf, a retail buy, for much longer than that, but I have to admit I'd forgotten all about it until I found it lurking at the back of a drawer. It's been out and about a couple of times since, in spite of the fact that it is sporting two quite substantial holes where it got stuck in a zip many years ago.

My outerwear that day was completed with a pair of burgundy leather gloves, and a new-to-me burgundy beret, both complementing my burgundy boots from Think Twice.

Did I mention it was cold? Nevertheless, it had to be done: I had to remove my coat so that I could show you what I was wearing underneath.

The dress is a handmade vintage one. Or at least I always thought it was handmade until Vix told me she once sold its twin. Whatever the case, I love its psychedelic rust and brown print. Plus, what's not to like about a tie-collar? My blog tells me I last wore it in December 2018, so it was high time I took it for another spin. Incidentally, I wore exactly the same coat with it back then!

But I certainly didn't wear this cardigan, as it was only charity shopped a couple of months ago. I thought its bright neon green leafy pattern would work wonderfully with the dress, and it did, providing a touch of Spring at the same time. The darkest brown in the dress's pattern was repeated in my brooch's frame, while the lady's coppery hair complemented the rusty bits.

To break up the dress's print, I wore my zebra belt, a naughty retail buy a while ago, which has proved its merit several times over by now. The tie collar was tamed with another brooch, this one boasting multi-coloured stones in a star-like pattern.

It was Saturday, so I'm sure you know what we were up to. Yes, that's right, a good old rummage in the charity shops was on the menu.

And did we find anything? You bet we did! 

Two different shops came up trumps by contributing to this happy marriage of handbag and purse. Both are modern: the bag is Esprit and the purse is from an unkown-to-me label called CAS8, but I'm sure you'll agree they have my name written all over them. At € 4 and € 0,50 respectively, they didn't break the bank either, so that it would have been downright criminal not to give them a loving home.

Our chosen charity shops' book departments are usually well worth a browse too. This time my eye was caught by these two gems: a time travel trip back to the 60s on the left and a book on Holga photography on the right. For those are not familiar with Holga, it is the name of a camera, first manufactured in China in the 1980s. They are  made almost entirely of plastic and some even have plastic lenses. It was intended for the Chinese consumer as a low-budget camera, but has since gathered a cult following. It is even said to have inspired Instagram. For those who are interested, you can read up on it in this BBC article.

There's always room for more cheap 'n cheerful jewellery and why buy new when you can find it for less than € 2 in the charity shops. That is, if you are prepared to wade through a mountain of tat. For me, that is the thrill of the chase, finding that one piece of treasure that used to be someone else's trash.

Take my top find of the day, for instance. This orange leather C&A jacket looks virtually unworn, yet here it was, surrounded by and almost drowning in a sea of brown and black leather, most of which had clearly seen better days. While I was trying it on there and then, discovering that it fit me like a glove, people were casting admiring glances in my direction, one or two remarking that it seemed to made for me. On top of that, it complimented the dress I was wearing perfectly.

A slight increase in temperature on Sunday, which was mainly due to the fact that for once the sun had gained the upper hand that day.

I had a craving for green and, browsing my wardrobe, it was clear that this stripy dress, with its ombre effect, neat row of pleats and pussy bow, was trying to catch my attention.

OK, you will do, I told the dress: after all, I haven't worn you since ... oh, I don't know, it's been far too long anyway.

Accessorizing with pink was almost inevitable on this almost Springlike day, so I added a pink woven belt, a pink and green crocheted brooch, a pink plastic ring and bright pink tights!

A pink, lurex trimmed cardigan went on top, adorned with a posy of green flowers. Sadly one of the flowers' petals is missing, which is why I picked it up cheaply at the time.

The sun disappeared behind the clouds a couple of times, but then decided to stay with us for the afternoon. Perfect for a much needed top-up of the vitamin D levels, so we dragged ourselves out of the sofa, grabbed our coats and went outside.

Lacking the energy for a longer walk, we contented ourselves with a leisurely stroll around the site of the old fort in our neighbouring village. Perched on fallen tree branches suspended above the moat were a flight of gangly, pre-historic looking cormorants drying their wings.

Following the path skirting the moat eventually takes you into the creepily atmospheric remains of the fort, where mould and graffiti are vying for attention. 

And there's me, in my fake fur, trying to hide the bags under my eyes and pretending I wasn't feeling as tired as I did.

It's days like these, with their promise of Spring, that make me long for the real thing to come along soon.

Love and devotion

As I'm typing these words, it dawns on me that only a mere week ago we were at the start of our latest little adventure.

We'd booked three nights at our favourite B&B, in a quiet backwater about half an hour from Bruges, to celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary, which was on the 4th of February. In the empty void between Christmas and the first signs of Spring, we were actually in desperate need of a break, so it couldn't have come at a better time.

I had been feeling more than just a little out of sorts during the week leading up to our trip, and by the time the weekend rolled along I was tired to the bone and craving sleep. Lots of it. The eternal grey weather didn't help to improve my energy levels either, so that packing was a bit of a chore. It kept raining on and off on Saturday, and as the weather forecast for the next couple of days seemed to be changing every time we looked, deciding which clothes to pack was even more of a nightmare than usual.

But we got it done eventually and then, finally, it was Sunday. We stowed our bags into the boot of our car and set off by late morning, by which time, thankfully, the lashings of rains we'd woken up to had almost dwindled to nothing. 

I'd left the decision on what to wear for the journey and our first day until the last moment, then opted for this Finnish made black floral frock, which has been in my wardrobe forever. On Instagram, Mim aptly called its print 1970s does 1930s perfection, and I couldn't agree more.

The orange, half-elasticated belt is another wardrobe staple and as the elastic at the back doesn't dig into my waist, it's ideal for travelling by car. My black and white beaded necklace was a fairly recent charity shop find.

Our journey only took us just over an hour, so it was about 1 pm when we arrived at our B&B, Het Soetewater, where we were welcomed by our host, Veronique, with coffee, cakes and an orchid plant as a present for our wedding anniversary. How nice is that?

We made ourselves at home in our usual room, where I took this selfie, which for once didn't look too bad. Here you can see the orange cardie I wore on top, and the brooch, with its duo of flowers, I pinned to it.

The B&B's breakfast and sitting room turned out to be the perfect background for outfit photos.

This early in the season, we were the only guests, but nevertheless there were fresh flowers for us to enjoy, and Veronique always made sure there were some cakes in case one got peckish.

She also makes her own jam, pots of which are for sale. I'm not much of a jam person myself, but Jos is and he took no less than six pots home!

It was about 3 pm by now, and the weather had improved considerably, even treating us to the odd ray of sunshine. 

At this point, wild horses couldn't have kept us away from Bruges, so we set our satnav for the biggest of the city centre car parks, 't Zand, situated under the eponymous square, the largest in Bruges. We emerged near the impressive contemporary concert hall, which was completed in 2002, when Bruges was the European Capital of Culture.

We strolled into the direction of the beguinage and the famous Minnewater (Lake of Love), passing a shop selling chocolate kisses and a little courtyard of whitewashed cottages, where dried Hydrangea stalks were swaying in a gentle breeze.

Signs of devotion are everywhere, becoming even more plentiful upon nearing the beguinage. 

The shrine to Our Lady of Banneux, virgin of the poor (bottom right), is hidden away in a little chapel in the front garden of one of the beguinage's cottages. 

But before we enter the beguinage itself, let's take a walk along the Minnewater (or Lake of Love), which lies at the heart of the tranquil Minnewater park. 

Legend has it that a young and pretty girl called Minna fell in love with Stromberg, a warrior of a neighbouring tribe. As Minna's father was, rather predictably, against the liaison, Minna ran away into the forest, where she was finally found by Stromberg, but sadly she died in his arms from exhaustion. 

The lake was named in her honour and the bridge by the lake has been considered the bridge of love ever since. 

The Minnewater is also home to the swans which are the city's emblem.

There are two entry gates to the beguinage, and we took the Koepoort (or Cow Gate), which is right next to the Minnewater. 

As you step through the gate into the beguinage courtyard, you suddenly find yourself into another world, reigned by peace and quiet. There are signs asking for silence at regular intervals, but even so, your voice automatically drops to a whisper, the quietness only shattered by your footsteps on the cobbled paths and the clicking of your camera's shutter, which suddenly sounds quite conspicuous.

In Spring, the central green is a mass of daffodils, which is quite a magical sight. Dotted among the grass, one or two clumps of forward little daffs seemed to be confusing the mild Winter weather with Spring, and giving us a little taster of what's to come. 

Leaving the beguinage through the second gate (the top centre photo in the above collage was taken through the gate's grille), we walked towards the town centre, passing the Halve Maan (Half Moon) brewery, which we'd planned to visit in the next days in case of rain, but which remains on our to-do list as I write. 

In spite of this being a Sunday, there were hardly any crowds, so that we were able to photograph Bruges' most iconic and picturesque corners without having to work around the almost constant stream of tourists which seem to throng the city at other times of year.

Snapping the charming little medieval deception of the Bonifacius bridge, which actually dates from 1910, without the hordes of selfie-stick-wielding people, was nothing short of a miracle. 

And whatever the season, the ravishing sight of the water gently lapping the back of  the magnificent St. Jan's Hospitaal (top left) and the old facades lining the Dijver canal with the belfy towering above them, never fails to tug at the heartstrings.

As daylight slowly made way to dusk, we took a deep breath and walked to the Markt (Market Square). But we needn't have worried as even in this epicentre of tourist-land the crowds seemed to be rather thin on the ground, with a long line of empty horse-drawn carriages waiting for weary travellers.

Hunger and thirst got the better of us, but we were dismayed to find that our favourite restaurant lining the square was closed for refurbishment. But never mind, a look at next door's menu enticed us inside, as we both had a craving for witloof in de oven: Belgian endives rolled in ham, covered in a cheesy bechamel sauce and cooked in the oven, usually served with mashed potatoes.

Darkness had descended while we were eating, so we were greeted by a magically lighted square when we emerged from the restaurant. 

We lingered for a while, taking it all in, then walked along the city's main shopping street, mingling among the multilingual groups of people strolling as if on a mild evening in Spring. Hard to believe it was only the beginnig of February.

Soon we were back at the concert hall on the square, now transformed by spotlights enhancing its architctural details.

After having paid for parking, we descended into its catacombs and retrieved our car.

I won't mention that we got a little lost on our way home (our satnav's fault, not ours) but we finally made it back to our B&B in one piece, if with slightly shattered nerves.

I will be back with our next day of adventures soon!

Linking to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style!

A brief return to Zeeland

Hello there!

By the time this post is published, we are enjoying a little break to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary.

Yes, you've read that right! I simply cannot get my head around the fact that today it has been 25 years since Jos and I got married. Twenty-Five! How did that happen and, more to the point, how fast did those years whizz by? I'm sure you'll understand this is cause for celebration, but instead of throwing a party, which isn't exactly our thing, we thought we'd treat ourselves to a little holiday!

This post's title is more than just a little misleading, though, as we are not in Zeeland at all. However, it recently dawned on me that I never blogged about our last day in Zeeland back in November, so I thought that now was as good a time as any to remedy that.

That Friday morning we'd woken up to a grey and drizzly day, and without the previous day's sunshine to warm us, it was a wrench to venture outside, let alone pay a return visit to Veere, which was our original plan, as the town's position is quite exposed to the elements.

Now, what to do instead? Sitting in the comfortable Art Deco style chair in our Airbnb, me and my twin were getting our thinking caps on!

Oh, I know, we said, why not visit the charity shop on the outskirts of Middelburg, the one we tried to visit the day before, only to be faced with a Closed sign.

As it was definitely open on a Friday, without further ado we grabbed our coats, got into the car and drove off.

The shop, spaciously laid out and impressively organized, was quite busy, which wasn't surprising really as it's only open a couple of days a week.

On the housewares shelves, we found this cheerful orange canister lurking behind a jumble of nondescript brothers and sisters. It's vintage Brabantia, and as we already have a rectangular cake tin from the same range, picked up for a song at Oxfam a couple of years ago, this was kind of a no-brainer. If I remember correctly, the asking price was just € 1,50.

The clothing department was rather disappointing, but I pounced upon this pair of low heeled black boots, which were mine for € 2. They weren't really an impulse buy either, as I'd been on the lookout for a similar pair for a while.

There was a small jewellery display case, from which I selected these two brooches, which I think were € 1,50 each. I already own a smaller, blue variation of the one on the left.

After having paid at the till, it was almost midday, so we drove back to our cottage to have lunch.

Then we walked into Middelburg to explore the warren of streets behind the town hall, an area we'd neglected to visit so far.

We even discovered a vintage clothing shop (top and bottom right in the above collage) where I swooned over a pastel blue tweed swing coat, which unfortunately was far too big for me.

We wandered through the picturesque streets, meeting a pair of mossy cherubs, the ubiquitous Dutch kissing boy and girl, a strange creature spying on us through a port hole, and a tabby cat meowing pitifully behind the window of an empty shop.

In a quiet courtyard behind the town hall, the Public Observatory can be found, with a telescope standing sentinel in front of it, which people who are tall enough can gaze through by climbing on a plinth. The stone in front of the plinth, crowned by a halo of golden Autumn leaves, is bearing an epitaph to a star.

On and on we walked, through alleyways and across tiny squares, almost but not quite getting lost in the maze, until we emerged on a street across which we spotted a tearoom we recognized from a previous visit. 

Our feet were getting tired by then and as we could definitely murder a cappuccino and a slice of cake, we lost no time in getting inside and out of the cold.

We got talking to a friendly waitress who even offered to take our photo. But oh, my hair! Wearing berets and maintaining a decent coiffure proves to be verging on the impossible.

Tick-tock said the clock, almost 4 pm and the last of the dark day's light was waning already.

The city brewery's curlicued wrought iron sign, the rows of gabled town houses, the gorgeous architectural details from a gentler age: we feasted our eyes before saying goodbye to the town which was our home-base for these past few days.

We passed this inviting looking table, dotted with jars of flickering candles, on a tavern's terrace, but the cold wind had us beaten by then. So, reluctantly, we made our way back past the market square where the Christmas lights did their best to provide some cheer.

Finally, we dragged our feet across the canal bridge, where we lingered for a final look at the windmill and its topsy-turvy reflection. 

So, that was Zeeland, November 2019. We hope to be back soon!

I'm leaving you now with a collage of photos taken 25 years ago today ... I guess that was what you were all waiting for!

Linking to Nancy's Fancy Friday, do go and check her out!