It was long, tiring, sunny, rainy, thundering day but a wonderful one to connect with more Atlanta friends. I knew I was to meet Matt and Kelly in Brugge in the afternoon and since I had lunch plans with my friend, Laura, we decided to roll it all into one and to head to Brugge together. On my tourist "to-do" list had been to rent bikes in Brugge to ride to the nearby town of Damme so we thought we would give that a whirl.
It shifted from bright and sunny to rainy and then back again, but we thought we would tough it out and stick with our bike plan. We rented the bikes and I was a little dismayed they only had the back carrier kind for Connor instead of the bike trailer and no helmets. Hmmm. I was wary but went with it anyway. Gosh we had come this far...and since the bike path was on a road without cars I thought all would be well. And thankfully it was! It was stunning! What a perfect activity to add to my growing Brugge recommendation list. Damme is about 30-40 minutes away down a country path with farms (and farm animals!) on the left and a misty canal on the right.
The only problem was that we all got soaked in the rain. I mean it rained buckets and buckets on us when we were halfway there. Every part of us was soaked. And then it stopped just as fleeting as it came. The sun immediately beamed bright. I swear I will never understand Belgian weather!
We were all troopers though. We tried to focus on the positive of the beauty around us and to forget about our soaking socks. I wondered if Laura would ever want to do anything with us again after this rain snafu.
See, beautiful blue sky in front of an old windmill. Literally 5 minutes earlier it was thundering and a downpour. Go figure!
We returned to Brugge looking like drowned rats, but I wasn't about to miss my chance to connect with Matt and Kelly. Matt worked with me and is a dear friend as well as a professional colleague. He and Kelly were making their first European Vacation and we had been planning to see each other along the way for months and months.
Laura, Connor and I schlepped to their 4 star hotel still dripping from the bike ride. Inside their hotel was a crackling fire and the most elegant sitting room. I must have been smiling from ear to ear to hug my friends and to hear some of the office gossip. Unfortunately my 2 year old had other plans than to smalltalk under the crystal chandelier. She would not sit still for a second. Ugh. I knew we wouldn't last without destroying a few antiques so my trio of friends agreed to migrate our visit to the market square so Connor could more freely move around. It was pretty frustrating because I was anxious for Matt to see me put my best Mommy foot forward and for him to return to work singing praises of Connor's impeccable manners. But some days just aren't like that in 2 year old land... Matt seemed to let it roll off his back. But I am afraid we may have just presented a case for strong birth control the way Connor was so busy and in to "doing it myself!"
Getting Connor out and about helped a lot. And when she in turn flashed this smile my heart melted. She is an angel so much of the time. I think that is why it surprised and flustered me so when she fell apart. But I guess in reality a four star boutique hotel for a tired, wet, hungry baby was not the best plan anyway. Matt definitely saw a different side of me than the one in a suit, hose and heels that used to come to work in the corporate world everyday!
Nonetheless it was a fun day with sweet friends.
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