The Future is Europe {Brussels}

At the end of August we went to Brussels for a weekend. It's really easy flying aways for just a couple of days from Manchester and it helps having friends scattered all over the world! 

We started the trip with an evacuation from the boarding hall that brought a 4 hour delay on our flight. 1 hour flight. 4 hour delay. because somebody smoked in the airport bathroom. 

Anyhow, by 3 o clock in the morning we were at our very sleepy friends house, he was so kind to arrange a taxi for us , by that time we missed the last bus to town, and surtout wait for us!

We were lucky enough to have sunny and warm days until the very last hour there, and we were able to walk around the whole time.

Being a Political Science alumni I was eager to walk by the European Institutions, but I guess being an old and grumpy and (almost) British grownup let the magic fades away a little. Do we still believe in this? Who does? If there was a referendum like in the United Kingdom in all the other countries , what would win? I never thought brexit had a chance, and yet here we are. 

There was a lot of food involved in a two day trip. Street food fish that tasted like gourmet Michelin restaurant, huge roasted pork shank for dinner, and infinite chocolate and waffles store windows to stare at.

 

Belgium is the country of Tin Tin, and he is everywhere: the walls graffiti reminded of him and even people just walking around!

People standing in line to take a picture of a little pissing man. 61 cm of bronze that officially symbolise the sense of humor of the people there, and, according to Wikipedia, their independence of mind. A pissing man. OK.

Goodbye Brussel! Goodbye Parliament! Always in the hope that YOU will BE the future.

My Home Might Be No Palace {Berlin}

At the beginning of July we went to Berlin for a weekend. 

Officially to attend a concert, (my Christmas gift!), we were also finally visiting friends after years of talking about it.

I didn't take any actual decent picture at the concert as I really wanted to be in the moment and immersed in those couple of hours. 

It was a short time and the main event was the concert of course, but we were able to walk around a bit before and after. 

When I'm visiting some place I always try to see as much as I can in the shortest time I can, but this time around, because of the logistics of it all, we were more chilled out and I have to admit that I really enjoyed it. 

It helped a lot that the concert was one of the greatest I've been to, the weather was great, the people were my amazing people.

I'm one of the lucky people to have a group of friends that might have changed slightly during the years but with basically always the same core since high school. 

Since then we've been apart, from time to time. Emotionally, or physically scattered all over the world, the universe, for a short time, for infinity. 

It's overwhelmingly surprising to realise though how easy it is to fall back in comforting, warm bond just as soon as we are together, and even more, to be sure it'll happen time and time again.

{Last year} A Walk in The Woods

December 17, 2016. 

Sunday walk on my hills, the one I've know for all my life, with my new found friend C. 

We met through her dating of my very good high school friend and just like that we discovered so many things in common

Isn't it weird how friendship works? It can come from long times spent together or more surprisingly from coordination of thoughts and balance of attitude. Hard to find. Gift to treasure. 

I'm pretty sure that wasn't her really first impression of me, as I'm told, I defended him against her on the very first day we met . I have no recollection of this whatsoever.

But I must have recovered somehow because I really consider her a true friend.