a taste of belgium

Last weekend we drove down to Southampton to visit grown up daughter, Miss R, a musician on a cruise ship.  It was a brief meeting but lovely to see her after 2 1/2 months away.  She had just been on short trip to Bruges which explained her lovely gifts - a wonderful assortment of gorgeous Belgian chocolates for me.  

Nestled amongst the chocolates is a white chocolate swan.  Swans are a common sight on the canals of Bruges, this medieval legend explains why:

The legend of the Bruges swans came about in the period after Mary of Burgundy’s passing (1488). Pieter Lanchals, a name which means 'long neck', who was one of the town administrators belonging to the court of Maximilian of Austria, was executed in the Bruges market square. Legend has it that Maximilian punished Bruges by obliging the population to keep 'long necks', or swans, on their lakes and canals till eternity. To this day, proud swans guard the Bruges canals. 

                                                                   


 There was also a quartet of Belgian beers:
          
                9.2%
                9.5%
                11%
                12%!

Her lovely gifts also brought back happy memories of a fabulous trip to a very, very chilly Bruges with friends last year.





Some beer may have been drunk!