D recently spent two weeks in Italy. I figure, if he gets two weeks of sunshine, I at least get a morning out. So, I hired a sitter and a friend and I set off to Tongeren, Belgium. Tongeren is the site of the oldest Roman ruins in Belgium, but its other claim to fame is that each Sunday its streets fill with Antique vendors.
(If you're keeping track, Maastricht is the site of the oldest Roman ruins in the Netherlands and Trier the site of the oldest Roman ruins in Germany. IOW, the Roman empire was in full swing in these parts) I had been to Tongeren twice before, once when we were still so new here we didn't know which end was up and the second time with the munchkins in tow. On both occasions the weather was less than desirable and I remember coming home feeling like it just wasn't worth it.
This trip, however, was great fun. Not only did I make a purchase (an old sled I'm envisioning stacking with packages come Christmas time), but we quite unexpectedly happened upon Tongeren's Corpus Christi parade. Corpus Christi is a mostly Catholic holiday that celebrates the Eucharist. In this region of Germany it is a national holiday and most towns have somber parades celebrating the occassion. In the picture with the somewhat papal figure, he's reverently carrying a box, which I can only assume is the Eucharistic Host.
This trip, however, was great fun. Not only did I make a purchase (an old sled I'm envisioning stacking with packages come Christmas time), but we quite unexpectedly happened upon Tongeren's Corpus Christi parade. Corpus Christi is a mostly Catholic holiday that celebrates the Eucharist. In this region of Germany it is a national holiday and most towns have somber parades celebrating the occassion. In the picture with the somewhat papal figure, he's reverently carrying a box, which I can only assume is the Eucharistic Host.
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