brussel’s always seems to have something exciting going on in their grand-place when i come a visiting.
the whole of this month it’s done up like a winter wonderland with some very eeery music and fancy light show.
here a dark little video containing the scarey soundtrack of kids giggling:
Download movie (480KB)
there was a life sized stable with real sheep in the middle of the square too:
i’m sure this boat was fully seaworthy, but i was a little worried about all the secret doors it seemed to contain.
how much comfort do i need ? it’s only me in this little hotel room.
i’ve so many cushions i feel like lying them all over the floor and play a random jumping game like the kids do at home.
but i suspect the person in the room downstairs from me won’t be too impressed !
where did dr evil from austin powers get his mini-me from ? this shop probably.
what a way to celebrate the 200th glove ! it’s one resting on the railings with the mannequin pis in the background.
i was so excited to see it i went off and bought myself some fingerless gloves from the glove seller round the corner.
hoorah for glove collecting and significant milestones.
click to admire !
my boots were very dirty. so i phoned the hotel reception and got them to clean them (a rare complementary service in the pay-for-everything hotel).
they’ve done a great job !
i got up at 6 this morning (which is 5 UK time) to go for a walk before breakfast. it was very dark but i did see this nice tree with church behind.
click to inspect
poor man’s jenga was played at length on our recent holiday to the isle of wight.
kezia is particularly daring when she lunges for her piece. but she knows this and enjoys the danger !
To celebrate the successful removal of each piece she gave it a quick kiss. We thought it so funny we’ve incorporated it in to our house rules for future games
i used to love that ‘maxell, break the sound barrier’ ad. the modern version doesn’t have the same ring to it does it ?
click for big
26things
had it not been for the eurostar disaster i wouldn’t have seen this glove on the other side of Lille.
i’m staying in a right posh hotel in brussels whilst i’m at a conference. the whole idea of the place is to sell you more things whilst simultaneously providing every reason not to leave the hotel.
here are my very own slippers, dressing gown, iron and ironing board.
it’s also full of fantastic little things like this door chain thing which i spent ages whizzing back and forward.
Download Movie
i asked at reception if there were any good restaurant nearby the hotel i’m staying in. the receptionist said what sort, and i said “i dunno, mcdonalds or something”.
she looked me in the eyes and said accusingly “are you american ?”.
anyway, i ended up going to a nice restaurant as you can see from the food i got.
it seems it’s the custom in Belgian for late comers to restaurants to say hello to people who are already in the restaurant eating.
but it seems it’s NOT the custom to shout goodbye to people as they leave from your table.
look at this fantastic biscuit box and the lovely profitable-tolls.
i’m in brussels for the next couple of days and i had an absolutely disaster of a journey. All went well until we got to Lille when they decided to terminate the train due to someone being splatted on the tracks ahead of us.
In the UK they would have called this a ‘fatality’. But, since we were in france, they called it a ‘suidide’.
anyway, they chucked us out and told us to go to a different train station, but didn’t tell us where it was. so hundreds of people were walking all over Lille looking very lost with big suitcases.
things went downhill from there, but i won’t bore you on how i had to sit on a train floor for an hour and a half on a squashy train.
but at least i got to see some new and interesting train stations en route.
gas can be a problem for some people. it’s usually something to do with their diet.
if things get really bad, you know who to go to.
