Arrival in Belgium
Our entourage consisted of eight woodworking editors, mostly from the trade press, along with Torben and Catherine Helshoj, the principals of Laguna Tools in Laguna Beach, CA, the sole North American importer of Robland equipment.
We rendezvoused early Wednesday morning at the Brussels airport, somewhat bleary-eyed after our long flights from various departure points in the U.S. A waiting van spirited us off to our hotel in the lovely medieval city of Bruges, some 100 km to the west. The ride, almost entirely on a six-lane divided highway, was harrowing, to say the least. Belgian drivers have elevated tailgating to the level of a fine art, swerving from lane to lane at speeds only Formula racers could love. After assuring ourselves that it was a good day to die, we managed to carry on some lively conversations, mostly gossip about woodworking magazines.
Upon our arrival at the hotel, we retired to our quarters for a couple hours of much-needed shuteye to try to shake off the jet lag. The rest of the afternoon was mainly spent walking around the picturesque old city, with its many canals, cobblestone streets, cathedrals and quaint Flemish architecture, dating back primarily to the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries. We tried valiantlyif not altogether successfullynot to spend all our hard-earned cash in the glitzy shops that line the main thoroughfares and tiny back streets of the city. Its truly a Christmas shoppers paradise, the air filled with faint strains of old Bing Crosby Christmas tunes.
© 1998 by Ellis Walentine. All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.
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