So, those of you who have been following the show for a while know that there’s another blog somewhere out there in the intertubes. And in this blog, I detail stories of how, as a young traveller, I met some insanely cool people on a train in France and in a stroke of blind luck, discovered the hospitality and charm that characterizes the Kingdom of Belgium. And then, I went to their wedding. And then they came to visit. And then I went to visit. And they came with their friends. And I went with my friends. And we’ve continued this for about seven years running now. The lynchpins in this epic saga are Dimi and Elke, two people of tremendous generosity and warmth (and style). The last time I left, Elke sent me a text expressing that she hopes we all continue to maintain our connection and that she looks forward to the day that our children will forge a strong friendship and have their own adventures together someday. True to her word, around May of this year there came another stylish Belgian to visit. His name is Felix and he is adorable. He’s good at making funny faces and chewing on his tongue. I’m sure he has other talents too, but he’s like 4 months old. Give it a minute. Anyway You know Shefali was on overload having a new tiny friend to play with. We stayed for the first time at Dimi and Elke’s new (to us) house in the very room I helped demolish the last time I was here. The place looks much better now. Between the new house and the new waffle, it was great to visit and see them together as a family. You can tell they have a lot on their plate, but they handle it well. And I should probably mention that there’s more than just two congenial, urbane, hospitable people in Belgium. D&E have a lot of friends and a great support network. Jan (John when he’s pretending to be American) and Katy are part of the adventure too. Jan was actually the fourth Belgian I met the first time around. Anyway J&K are both talented musicians (you see Jan playing the piano in the middle of town) and it was great to reconnect with them as well. They all made time to show us around, eat some epic food (Dimi is a beast of a chef) and try some of the best beers in the world (which is hard not to do in Belgium). We toured through Brugges, Antwerp and Ghent, which i’ve been affectionately calling my future home ever since my first serendipitous visit. It’s a place we’ve been to a few times already, so we could focus on spending quality time with our friends (although I still managed to occasionally lag behind or just run off in search of an optimally composed photograph). Our last night there, little Felix was a bit under the weather (don’t worry, he was fine the next day) and couldn’t sleep. So, at Felix’s behest, we all stayed up past our bedtime for the best time till the next time. I like to think he was just building that bridge with his future hosts in the States. It was our last night in Europe, and I was grateful we could spend it catching up with good friends (and getting to know little new ones) instead of some smelly randos in a forgettable dormitory. We headed out early in the morning to come back to the States for wedding season.
[1] http://www.flickr.com/photos/97388931@N08/sets/72157637232040305/