We’re only a few days away from Christmas so I’m taking a break from Fes to report to you live from the Belgian Christmas markets.

At the moment I’m somewhat snowbound. Ice,

snow and sleet

take turns at this same window that greets me each morning–though by yesterday’s late afternoon the snow melted just in time…

for me to watch the Christmas fireworks…

over the famed Citadelle that rises majestically above Namur’s Christmas market:

Anyway, on the day that I venture out to the Marché de Noël in my host family’s pretty town,

I am wearing a blend of Look 4…I’ve been fighting the subzero weather in my trusty Prada ski jacket, Hogan shearling boots, and Chanel muffler and earmuffs on top of about 3 or 4 layers of clothes:

And still, the minus 6 weather (even the locals are shocked by this winter’s early biting cold) feels very much like being in an igloo in a swimsuit. No amount of clothing seems to keep me warm enough. The few minutes that I remove my gloves to take these pictures feel like hours, and I have to rush back inside a store to thaw. The pain in my fingers and toes is an all too familiar one I experienced earlier this year from frostbite so I know better than to dilly dally outside in the cold.

But luck is all relative, and it’s what you make of it. If it weren’t cold enough for snow, I wouldn’t be having quite the same white experience at these markets. After a few, I can tell you that there are basically the same vendors of artisan crafts and local foods…

but the markets just feel more Christmasy because of the snow. Everything looks more festive, more like a true winter wonderland:

In particular at the Namur market, there were an ice sculptor

and a small parade re-enacting the Régiment des Canaris…

But I know what you’re waiting for, and here it is. When in Belgium eat as the Belgians do (the gaufre is cute with the earmuffs, non? hehe)…

See you at the next market tomorrow in one of my favorite little towns in the whole world.