Bruges, Valentine's Day, Babies

Several people in our group went to Bruges, another city in Belgium, two Saturdays ago. It was a pretty cute city. It seems like there aren't really a whole lot of people that actually live there but it's more like a tourist town. It wasn't a French or even English speaking town but we ended up getting around alright. There was a lot of random stuff to see. My favorite part was climbing to the top of this really tall tower of one of the churches. There was a pretty sweet view from the top. The picture shows me with the view. It was a pretty cold and wet day but overall the trip was really fun.
Honestly, Valentine's Day was rather uneventful here. When you think of Europe on Valentine's Day, you might think of little flying cupids and pink hearts floating through the air. Sadly, I saw none of these things. As always, America seems to have done a pretty god job of commercializing a holiday more than the place where it actually originated. At church yesterday I asked someone how their Valentine's Day was and if they got any valentines. They told me that it isn't the same over here as in the States. When you get a valentine from someone in Europe that means they REALLY like you. This might be why the ladies at Chocopolis were so confused when one of the guys in our group was buying chocolate for myself and another girl at the same time.
I just have to say that I absolutely love seeing the little babies and young kids around here. I've always lived in the South so I've never seen kids wrapped up so tight that they can't even move. Sometimes you can't even see them at all because normally strollers will have a plastic covering over them since it rains so much here. When you do see them though, they look like little marshmallow people with their jackets that swallow them whole and their little mittens that dangle from their hands. They are so adorable. I also love to hear them talk. It so amazing to me that these tiny people are better at French than I am and their cute little kid voices seem to sound a bit different in another language. When my friends and get close to babies around here, we usually smile and coo at them. We haven't noticed any natives doing that though. Then again, there isn't a whole of interaction between strangers on the public transportation systems. I guess that could be the same in the States though. However, being form the South, I just can't imagine going a whole day without smiling at people I pass on the street and saying hey.