At last, really starting my Brugge Blog. Here for three weeks and still settling in. Just love the place; both the apartment which is Seriously Perfect for me, and the town which is ditto. Mediaeval, atmospheric, enchanting. Living on the third floor in a quiet square with a statue of my favourite Flemish artist in the centre; love being on a level with tree tops and roofs and the views are da morire as the Italians say; towers, turrets, steeples, gables, balconies, little terraces, tiles and bricks. I can see the Beffroi from where the occasional sound of the sweet carillon drifts across; then the tiny gentle bell from the convent nearby. All the rest is chiefly silence. Below is an image in early evening, from my windows, taken by young German friends a week ago.
Trying to discover the different ways of Doing Things here; in pursuit of that pragmatic aim I have managed to stumble over a number of significant finds! An electrician near retirement who charges half the going rate; a superb antiques restorer who offered to fetch the chaise longue with the broken leg and repair it while I am away so that it is ready for my return; a wonderful bakery nearby; an Angel on the Fourth Floor who knows, it seems, everything I need to learn about buses, recycling, short cuts, where to buy; two first class lighting shops [Belgians take their light fittings when they move]; the owner of a huge carpet shop, steeped in knowledge about tribal rugs, who will hang my cherished Wedding Rug from Uzbekhistan high on a high wall; the darling and kind young man from BNP Paribas Fortis, my new bank, who never even hints at my ineptitude; Frou Frou the hat shop over the way with a genius in charge who has found me a hat which suits me; a first!
Some learning has been surprising. Trying to master a Flemish website with only French and German alternatives, has led to frustration and blind alleys; now know I can't just find a cleaner and pay her; have to register with agency, for four hour cleaning sessions; then pay ahead of time in Dienstencheques, and show no surprise at the young man's preference for leisurely vacuuming and a distinct unwillingness to mop the kitchen floor. In his coffee break, he said he wouldn't be returning; the work is too much and too hard, he added. So I have lost a cleaner but perseverance and a website for ex-pats later means a girl will be arriving towards the end of this month.
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