Today I woke up and decided that I should take advantage of my day off and go somewhere. I thought perhaps I would finish my Christmas shopping and being bored with Brussels decided to go to the nearby Belgian town (because every Belgian town is nearby) of Antwerp. These adventures are usually improved with company so I called my Australian friend Erin and asked if she wanted to come along. She kindly informed me of the importance of the day in Antwerp--the arrival of Sinterklaas in his boat from Spain!
Sinterklaas is not to be mistaken with the widely celebrated Santa Claus. For those who want to learn more about the most exciting man Sinterklaas I recommend you listen to this amusing bit:
The day was a success. We watched SinterKlaas arrive by boat, followed the hundreds of children down to his parade and watched him give his speech (which I couldn't understand since it was in Flemish). Forget Christmas shopping--who wants to shop when you can celebrate the season with a man in a tall hat and his black faced companions?
That David Sedaris clip is hilarious!