On Tuesday morning, following the terrorist attacks in Paris, I arrived to an empty Charleroi. Five-six persons on the bus to Brussels. Surreal. As I walked to the metro, I felt too aware of my surroundings, catching myself giving short suspicious looks to the people around, especially if they were holding rucksacks or bigger bags. … Continue reading
Category Archives: Life
Cats or there is always a way to reach out
I noticed her in passing, sitting behind the window of a furniture shop. A big tiger cat with clever eyes, observing the world immersed in its Saturday night business. Fat cats sleeping behind the windows of all sorts of shops is something usual for Brussels but not in the night, not all alone. I stopped … Continue reading
Saturday night fever
On a Saturday night we meet at the Lebanese resto AL JANNAH in Rue Blaes 59 for a chitchat and some delicious food. We move to La Samaritaine for Lola Bonfanti’s concert with the evocative title Avant la nuit dans la ville. She has got the voice, the enchanting stage presence and the songs. The … Continue reading
A box of chocolates
I couldn’t wait to leave. As July was advancing, Brussels was becoming as usual a ghost city – abandoned and empty. This was about to reach its peak in August despite the Brussels Summer Festival and all the other activities planned to make the city less lonely and sad. Fortunately I was not going to … Continue reading
The invisible river
“What was the name of the river in Brussels?” he asked me between the tandas. “There is no river in Brussels. Only a channel. And some ponds.” This happened in Germany. A couple of weeks later a friend, who had hailed from another part of Germany, pulled me into Halles Saint-Géry, attracted by its look. … Continue reading
Terrorism, jazz and free hugs
After a week of travelling, I was happy to be back to Brussels early on Saturday morning. Just the right time to have a relaxing weekend full of jazz. The annual Brussels Jazz Marathon had started the previous night and I was very much looking forward to it. Besides it was the day of the … Continue reading
Lost in Brussels
I rushed out of the office still hoping not to be late for my class in the gym. I was planning to go to place Chatelaine after to enjoy the lively atmosphere of the Wednesday market and get material for a post in my blog. Just before entering the metro I grabbed a small Milka … Continue reading
Babylon? No, Brussels
French, English, Spanish, Italian, Bulgarian…One of the things I have always loved about Brussels is its multilingualism. Wherever you are in the city, languages reach you with their melody and mix in a beautiful polyphony. The eternal music of Brussels, our contemporary Babylon. The main difference however is that, hey, we do speak foreign languages … Continue reading
L’Amour Fou
My love story with Brussels will complete its eleventh year in three days. I arrived here on 17 February 2003 late in the evening. Early next morning on my bus to the European Parliament I was already in love. I must admit that, as in any relationship, we have had difficult times. I had my … Continue reading
Not My Life
I was at the screening of Not My Life on Friday night at the occasion of the EU Anti-trafficking Day. Robert Bilheimer’s documentary provides staggering examples of human trafficking and modern slavery. It follows the stories of the victims in different parts of the world. Africa, Asia, Europe…Around 880,000 children and young women in the … Continue reading