We also added three days in the medieval Belgian town of Brugge, noted for its enchanting city center, outstanding beer, and exceptional chocolate. As it happens, it’s also Party Central during the holidays, which we didn’t know but were delighted to discover. Not only that, we were invited to a New Year’s Eve celebration at a fine restaurant owned by friends in Kent; the restaurant is housed in a former rectory, a haunt of Charles Dickens’ when he was alive. Cathy and Rob had been raving about this bash for the last twenty years, so we were stoked! Plus, Cathy and Rob threw a terrific party while we were there and we were kindly invited to a number of other parties and events by their lovely friends as well.

 

We had such an incredible time—one which exceeded even our fondest hopes, as a matter of fact—that the pluses absolutely ended up outweighing the minuses. But the weather gods created an enormous kerfuffle (or, as Richard phrased it, “kerfuckle”) around our return. The worst winter weather in thirty years hit the day before we were to leave, and the universe bitch-slapped us around a bit before we managed to get back on track. We dealt with it as best we could, which was made easier by some remarkable strokes of good luck, and now we’re home, a little rode hard, put up wet, but recovering with hot chocolate therapy.

 

I’ll go into more detail in the next couple of weeks, and I’ll post some pix, too. In the meantime, above is a picture of Cathy and Rob’s little corner of paradise. More to come!