Market Day in Bruges - Grote Markt - L'Abeille Française

I had only a few hours left in the gorgeous, medieval, Belgian city of Bruges before I departed for Brussels, my final destination of this European adventure. The previous couple of days had been spent getting re-acquainted with this charming city and exploring the surrounding countryside. I had first visited Bruges over 20 years earlier, in part to take a lace-making course at the Kantcentrum – Lace Centre. This time during my wanderings, I had made mental notes of several shops that I wanted to visit before leaving. There were three in particular that I had in mind and all were located in the vicinity of the Grote Markt – Market Square. As I approached the square that Wednesday morning, I was delighted to discover that it was market day.

Instead of the usual tourists wandering through the square, it was packed with a variety of vendors and their customers. It was so wonderful to see this space being used for its intended purpose and as it had been for centuries before. And I loved the juxtaposition of the ancient architecture with the modern food trucks and booths. It was also great to get a snapshot of daily life in Bruges with residents cycling off with their paniers – baskets – filled with goodies.

The variety of products was incredible – everything from fresh-cut flowers to golden cheeses to creamy cakes. One could easily purchase everything needed to prepare a delicious meal with the assurance of fresh, quality products. It made me wish that I had the opportunity to do so. Une autre fois peut-être – another time perhaps!

And this being Belgium, there were of course freshly made waffles to be had.

As I prepared to continue on to the shops that I had planned on visiting, a commotion at the belfry tower caught my eye. There, a fire truck was parked below it with its’ ladder extended and a fireman perched on top about to enter the tower part-way up. Another interesting contrast!

I never did discover why they were there but since I didn’t see any smoke or damsels in distress I’m assuming it was for something a little more mundane like maintenance. It definitely added to my excitement on this wonderful market day though.In the meantime, the clock on the Belfry was approaching ten o’clock, opening time for the shops that I wanted to visit. So I made my way to the first of them, a wonderful Belgian linen boutique.