Jo, Marleen and me in front of the Atomium
The Grand-Place
The Grand-Place from another angle
The Western Shop in Brussels!
The famous "Pissing Boy"
Since it’s Friday and it’s already been a chaotic morning (I came into to find the alarm blaring … and no one knows the code!!!) I thought I would FINALLY share some pictures I took of our fun and fantastic weekend in Brussels.
Fun and fantastic is a pretty good way to describe it. I had never been to Brussels before and I really liked it. It’s unlike anywhere I’ve been before … that, or it’s like a lot of places I’ve been before but all put in one spot. It’s very contemporary, Parisian, stark ….. everything! My head was on a constant swivel! I’m used to places being “one style” so it was mind-blowing (to some extent) to see everything so different …. on the same street, in the city, in the countryside. It was really innovative that way! And I loved it.
I arrived first (by plane) and Marleen took me straight to her apartment which is lovely. She’s done a fantastic job decorating it and also making it feel welcoming. We say this everytime we get together, but it’s always really nice to SEE someone’s home and neighbourhood. You can visualise it so much better when emailing etc. She gave me the tour and it wasn’t long before we drove into the belly of the beast (Brussels) and picked up Jo.
Well as you can imagine when the three of us get together … trouble and laughter soon followed.
Firstly we were waiting in the arrival area for the EuroStar and despite Jo’s train having arrived, no Jo….. that’s when we found out they came in on a different platform. Off we rushed … but we couldn’t find Jo and she couldn’t find us. Thank goodness for mobile ‘phones. We were trying to navigate towards one another with “orange pillars” the only prominent feature Jo could see. Well I saw the pillars and Jo but she still couldn’t see us so despite saying (like a pantomime) BEEEEEEHIND YOU, poor Jo kept turning around in circles …. It was hilarious.
Two minutes later it was like the three stooges again as we tried to enter the car park. (I tell you if you see three familiar faces pressing buttons and talking into an intercom on “Brussels Funniest Home Videos”, it will be best to look away….)
I also discovered a new talent during my weekend in Brussels. My ability to find Marleen’s car anywhere, anytime. It started at the airport... eventhough I had not actually seen Marleen’s car before (apart from in pictures). I wonder if I can go on the road with this new gift?!!!
Marleen had put together a really fun itinerary cramming in as much as possible and as well as seeing Brussels (on a guided tour), we also got to see Marleen’s work (one word …. P-O-S-H!). We sniggered and giggled as we tried to look “professional” walking through the foyer (we didn’t want to get Marleen in trouble) and I was delighted to meet some of her colleagues, namely Bob Trainor (his wife worked on the Hillary campaign) and Irish Brian who recommended a book to Marleen who in turn recommended it to me. Her desk is lovely too and it feels like a really lovely place to work (in fact I declared I wanted to work there when I move to Brussels!) We also got to see Marleen’s parents apartment and can I just say this about her parents – ADORABLE!!! They had pink champagne chilled and ready for us …. And it’s best to mention here what lightweights Jo and I are as we got giggly then sleepy afterwards!! They live in a lovely apartment with a gorgeous view of a walking park. We also got to meet Anita and Eddie there.
We also got to visit Erik and Nadia and the boys. They live in an absolutely beautiful part of Belgium – so scenic and gorgeous. (It’s famous for stilt walking). This was one of my favourite parts of the trip. Their home is fantastic – very Scandinavian in design and their garden was awesome. They have chickens (COOL) and grow their own nuts (walnuts), fruit and vege. Erik had done all the hard landscaping (decking and so forth) and it was really professionally done.
Speaking of Erik, he looked SO WELL (despite being in his 30s, 2.5 years ago he had a stroke). Their English was impeccable as well. Nadia was about to start a new job in Gent on Monday and Erik starts at the library in October. Nadia had also put on a really lovely spread – cold meats, garlic breads, olives, cheese etc. It was so sweet and thoughtful of them to open their home and welcome us so warmly. I couldn’t help but think the whole time what a remarkable woman Nadia was. Not only was she so friendly and funny with us but everything she had gone through with Erik and having two small boys to also look after.
And of course to top it all off was the Bon Jovi concert. Marleen got us fantastic seats …. Oh and when we entered the Stadium gates, they have a CD booklet filled with facts on Bon Jovi and a bag of sweets – THIS IS MY KIND OF TOWN! The stadium was massive and the opening act was a Flemish Band (Euro Punk) called Nailpin. This quiet, tranquil looking (and not to mention, cute) lead singer would stand there and suddenly go off on one. I wish I could describe adequately how his legs and arms went akimbo and in every single direction at once. It brought a laugh every time! Despite being Euro Punk, it was quite good and I am getting a copy of the CD from Marleen.
Their bass player was getting married that day so they did a video for him and his new wife and panned around so we could all clap and cheer them on their wedding day … and I saw the video on their website. So that was cool too!
Bon Jovi was fab …. And I swear if I only had a hairbrush to sing into, it would have been my teenage years all over again! He sang all the favourites like Bad Medicine, Wanted Dead or Alive, Livin’ on a Prayer etc. Really fun night! And as we left we walked past the Atomium lit up – really pretty (I want to live in one of the pods!)
All in all, it was a fun, fun, fun, fun and fabulous weekend. I swear despite living in the Northern Hemisphere for seven years, I can’t shake my Australian upbringing because despite this being a European / British summer (and if you live here you KNOW how unpredictable it is) I was optimistic enough to bring flip flops and cut off jeans! Next time, even if it’s in the middle of a heat wave, I am packing a bit of everything including Eskimo furs! LOL!
And that's because there WILL be another time!!! Marleen was a really great host!
The costumes in Elizabeth, particularly, were STUNNING!
Very powerful acting and a powerful message too. I really recommend it - one of the best movies I have seen in a really long time.
