I was at both the Kantmuseum in Bruges and the Museum of Costume and Lace in Brussels last fall which were mentioned in other posts. Here's my take:
Bruges: The museum is quite small, but nice, and they do daily demonstrations, but be sure to check the times before you go. I think the demos are in the afternoon, but I missed them because it didn't work with my schedule. But there is also a lace shop called 't Apostelientje conveniently across the street from the museum. You must visit there! Everything is hand made (certified), both antique and contemporary, and they have even better pieces than the museum (IMHO)! Make sure to go through the main part of the shop to the small room off to the side to see the good stuff. They also have some lace supplies. But be sure to check the hours before you go. www.apostelientje.be Brussels: Most of the lace is in cabinets in drawers in a darkly lit corner of one of the floors. They had some really nice stuff that was worth seeing, and I'm grateful it is on display at all, but is was a little annoying to have to go through all the squeeky drawers and hard to see in the low light. You're trip sounds lovely! And lace makes nice, light souvenirs! Kind regards, Amy O'Malley - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
