Holidays, at last!

I did it! I survived these almost seven months, and now I’m finally and officially on holidays! It was a quite difficult period, full of challenges and too many changes. It was a period with far too many trips and too little sunny days. But it was also a period of many teachings and quite a huge learning. And now, more precisely tomorrow, I’m going on holidays. And will head south, far away from the Brussels’ grey skies, searching for the sun and for the sea, and for the warmth of the land and of the people who care about me. And I am super excited about it, and can’t actually think of anything else! Therefore, you will have to forgive me for not telling you how it went the meeting in Paris, or the evening with great friends at the Buddha Bar. I will only say that it was great, and you will have to believe me! Take care!

Great Friends, Great Week

After those nice days spent in Lisbon, with good friends and my son, and with heat and sun too, I came back to Brussels for a quite hectic week which included a short visit to Madrid. I travelled with a good friend, saw some others who now live there, and enjoyed a little bit more of sun and heat. I did well, because here in Brussels the weather interludes one day of sun and blue skies, with one of heavy rain and dark grey ceiling… I don’t understand it, and I officially stopped trying… But the week won’t be remembered for the busy days at the office and the frustrations created by the rain only. This week was the one in which I met a wonderful new friend, got closer to another lovely one and enjoyed two very nice dinners with two different groups of really nice friends. This was also the week in which I felt sorry because one of my friends was robbed, and the week in which I realised that I’m going to miss another one who will be leaving Brussels soon. But it was also the week in which friends made me feel special, by telling me nice things and giving me beautiful gifts. Finally, this was the week in which I totally surrendered to the Hôtel Costes’ records (by Stéphane Pompougnac) and discovered Amy Winehouse’s voice and lyrics. Two suggestions from two great friends! So, all in all, despite the rain and some not so good news, this was a great week. As I guess all of them are when we have such great friends and are able to appreciate what we already have instead of always seeking for better and higher.

Lisbon

Temperature in the low 30s, blue skies, plenty of sunshine, beautiful people, parties everywhere, good friends around… I am in Lisbon! I arrived on Wednesday evening from a rainy and grey Brussels, and since then have had a smile on my face! Lisbon is a great place to be, and even more so in summertime! Every time I come here I realise how much I miss it… the sun, the light, the people, the whole ambiance… as a dear friend of mine recently put it, how could I leave it? When I’m here, I don’t know… Coming to Lisbon for professional reasons though it’s a bit weird… Even though this is the place I feel at home, I don’t have one here anymore, and staying in hotels makes it kind of strange… also, the fact that I don’t have a car and therefore depend on taxis or friends to go around, is also a bit weird… and, on the top of everything, being so close to my son and not being with him yet… is a bit painful and reminds me a bit too much of my family life… anyway, the conference I am currently attending will soon be over, and until I go back to Brussels on Sunday, I will have enough time to enjoy the city and my son! And that’s exactly what I plan to do!

This time I can’t even use Facebook as an excuse… Well, anyway, as I wrote in one of my last entries, I was in Romania. First, in Bucharest, attending a wedding; and then in the Dobruja region, enjoying a couple of days off in the shore of the Black Sea together with Pedro. To be honest, we wanted to go abroad, but as it wasn’t possible to rent a car that could cross the border (!), we had to change our plans. After an adventurous trip through the unique Romanian roads, we found a nice and well-located hotel in the Constanţa waterfront and decided to establish there our base to explore the region. We started by Mamaia, a beach resort immediately to the north of the city. We paid the entrance toll and the parking, bought the most expensive towels and sun lotion ever, had a nice swim in the sea and got sunburnt… Then, we decided to go south and stopped for lunch in Eforie, near the Techirghiol Lake. As it was a bit warm and we were sunburnt, we decided not to go back to the beach immediately and continued south, until Mangalia. Then, when coming back north, we stopped in Costineşti and decided to stay there for a while. Costineşti is the most popular summer destination within Romanian young people and students since the 60s. A hotel, as well as several villa complexes were erected during the Communist era, and kept being used by mostly under-30 tourists. This contributes to the fact that the atmosphere here is livelier than in any of the other Black Sea resorts, and maybe because of that we enjoyed it a lot. In our way back to Constanţa, we had to stop in a supermarket to buy some after-sun rehydrator cream… and that was for sure our best move in the whole day… The next day we headed to the site of Histria, the first Greek colony on the west coast of the Black Sea and, as such, the oldest town in Romanian territory. The ruins of the settlement are quite well-preserved, and the archaeological excavations started in 1914 managed to identify several layers on site: Archaic, Hellenistic and Roman. Unfortunately, the burning sun, the lack of guidance and the total absence of support services, make it almost impossible for a tourist to enjoy the visit to what could be a very impressive historical site. So, we decided to go back to Costineşti and enjoy the sea, the sun and the nice views… but first we stopped in Sacele! When we headed back to Brussels, on Thursday, we were welcomed with rain and a temperature half the one we had enjoyed in Romania… so, it was like coming back to winter… still, the truth is that it was nice to take these days off. It was a good aperitif for the real holidays in around twenty days! And I can’t really complain, as on Wednesday am going to Lisbon!