The Ghent Altarpiece

Yeah. I was 20 minutes late. 

Still, they had some interesting ancient Christian art in the crypt. 

And the cathedral was very impressive 

The Bruges Madonna.

To me this is a companion to the Pieta in Rome. Mary seems so mournful. 

The Rooftops of Bruges

Climbed the belfort. Saw the carillon. 

Luckily couldn't see this abomination 

Bruges

Really lovely. But really wet. And all the museums are closed. And the boys are being savages. 

But really lovely. 

Lille

After the emetic disaster that was Rouen, I was worried Lille would be sort of lame. Instead it was lovely. We found a nice little brasserie for dinner. My main course was...I mean the only way to describe it was meat jello. It was a regional specialty so whatever. 

Beautiful light on the walk home. 

Netherlands

We leave the Dutch behind us and have retuned to France. (We will duck back into Belgium tomorrow for Bruges.)

Rachael and I could see ourselves living there (or a place like it). People are all tall, athletic and seemingly happy. Luckily they mostly speak English, because Dutch is a strange language. 

What was interesting was that there is a fair amount of "on your honor" in the Netherlands. Trams and even trains can be boarded without tickets. You might get caught on a train, but the trams seem to be unenforced. 

One gets the sense the social contract is stronger in Europe than in the U.S., probably because of the close quarters. 

Hockey Day

After a lovely anniversary dinner, looks like we are spending the day with the team. 

First stop: Rotterdam Hockey Club.