Twenty-nine thousand tourists visit the Market Square in Bruges every day. That’s fifty percent more than the total population of the town, and yes, it can be a little overwhelming to be among them in the middle of the day.
They are easy to spot. They are the people forming the queues outside the waffle shops, across the cobbled streets, oblivious to the trotting horses and carriages bearing down. They are oblivious also to the cyclists struggling to make their way through laneways meant for cars but filled with pedestrians. They are in groups of walking tours, headphones sprouting commentary in seven languages. They seem to be pretty much oblivious to everything other than their relentless pursuit of something to remember about the place.
They queue to board sight seeing buses, boats, carriages, to meet their guides, to eat ice-cream and buy lace souvenirs from China. They stand in gaggles around the square, just generally getting in the way of anyone foolish enough to have some normal day to day business to attend to.
“Them”, not “us”, because for now we live here.
We are visitors, but we are not tourists. We don’t take the place for granted, neither are we blasè about it’s undoubted attractions, but our home is here, just a few blocks from the square.
We are shopping in the Market Square too, but we are buying a vacuum cleaner.
1 comment
Hoping to get some aspiration with your new found vacuum??? Patrice
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