As soon as we stepped off the main market squares and busy tourist streets of Brugge, we found ourselves in quiet and quaint residential lanes where traditional Belgian touches adorned nearly every home.

In addition to chocolates, waffles and beer, Belgium is known for its beautiful lace. Though it was nice to see all of the intricate patterns and pieces displayed in souvenir lace shops, the real treat was seeing how the residents of Brugge use the art-form for dressing up their windows. Pretty, isn't it?

Also great to see was their simple use of leafy branches and berries as door decorations instead of the Christmas wreaths we've come to know. I love this look, especially at night with lights behind them as spotted on a door window near our B&B. Everything we saw was kept simple with a handcrafted feel and was super charming.

What really blew our socks off though was seeing how Brugge's famous bobbin lace is made. Check out the video I took of two women working their magic at the tiny lace museum, Kantcentrum. They were kind enough to let us stop in before the scheduled demonstration hours but as you can see and hear, it's as if we weren't even in the room at all. They were definitely in their own world!

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/33990746 w=741&h=417]