Dawn

I was too full still from a late brunch... so, nothing, which feels a bit wrong, but the brunch was fairly epic – sausages, bacon, eggs, beans, tomatoes with herbed breadcrumbs and parmesan.

Loving this aesthetic so much. Silver Jubilee at the village social club

“Dear Mrs Trollope in Bruges” Writing through sadness, she changed British travel forever

"Trollopize" entered English after Frances Trollope's 1832 book roasted American manners. She found their conversations lamentably dull, manners too informal, and dollar-worship universal. US papers called her a hag. Europe adored it. Where next? Bruges, obviously. open.substack.com/pub/cobblesa...

What a strikingly modern face for a painting that's over 400 years old

Timeless Trails Huis De Visitatie – Visit Bruges | Visit Bruges

If you're in Bruges there's another tour of the Huis van de Visitatie in English on 31 Jan www.visitbruges.be/nl/wat-te-do...

The stone carvings, woodwork and paintings are really breathtaking. And I like this detail of a black woman depicted in this medieval Flemish household (painted in the 1890s). That would be an interesting story to know more about.

A cold is trying to end me, but I dosed up on Lemsip and got to a tour of the Huis van de Visitatie this morning which is a particularly grand version of the Flemish revival step-gabled houses of the Bruges city centre.

Thanks to the article I realised there's someone called Jake! Amazing! Anyway, I don't mind too much – it's a kind of happy ignorance 😅

I recognise there's more serious things happening in the world but truly this has been weighing on my mind. lol

I'm feeling somewhat vindicated that Katie Rosseinsky writes in The Independent today about how hard it is to tell many of the Traitors contestants apart

The Gunpowder Plot, the widow and the convent: Lady Mary Lovell’s turbulent path to Bruges Lady Mary Lovell crashes the Low Countries and accidentally founds Bruges’s English Convent

If you love a messy queen like Mary you can read the whole story here open.substack.com/pub/cobblesa...

.... here on Carmerstraat, now a lot more impressive than it was then. You can't go inside. Nuns have the right idea tbh.

Back to Mary. After she rage-quit convents in Brussels and Antwerp she came to Bruges and bought a house and accidentally founded the English Convent which still exists 400 years later despite men...

Passing whatever this is, admiring the 18th century side-eye lol

This is where she's buried... Somewhere here in the OLV church with the Michaelangelo baby on Mariastraat, I'm not exactly sure where

The temperature in Bruges today is actually disrespectful. But I'm taking you with me to look at some things about Mary Lovell, the 17th-century English girlboss who was questioned about the Gunpowder Plot then high-tailed it to Belgium to continue the drama

I'm launching my Substack era with some 19th century Bruges messy drama. Enjoy 😜 open.substack.com/pub/cobblesa...

I do sometimes look at these and think they might be extremely old ADHD doom piles, and these people's families probably found them really annoying

I've crossed this pedestrian overpass many times, but didn't know about this history.

Incredible how much pedestrian and cycling infrastructure has come into being only through political struggle.

Snow day here. Official advice is to let some air out of your bike tyres so you have more grip "and fall less fast".

Screenshot of /Brussels Reddit story about the cutest rabbit out in the snow, and the post updates explain how the bunny was rescued!

Unexpected good news story of the day: the Bois de la Cambre bunny saga on /Brussels Reddit

Excellent selection!

Now we're both down with the kids

So, if you Google "67" your screen does the 67 gesture

I'm realising my kids have no idea how old I am, given they asked me if I remember an "OG" Roblox game. Which came out in 2022.

Take the baby for a walk. But make it Flanders.

Heat map of travel efficiency, updated

“Now Scientific American has updated and re-released what it calls the “classic graphic” that shows that a human on a bicycle—able to coast, or freewheel, without pedaling—remains the world’s most energy effecient traveler.” @carltonreid.com on the re-release of the iconic graph in @forbes.com.

Have a Roll box of vegan cinnamon rolls

I didn't want to love these because all the hype etc, but they're incredible and I'm going to have to pace myself

Very much enjoyed this! Both the reviews and the book world news