Family tradition

In my family, it happened (and it still happens) that when we go on vacation or abroad, suddenly one of us needs a dentist.
I'd love to say that all the effort I put in taking care of my teeth protects me but truth is that my first month in China I ended up at the dentist for an emergency root canal procedure. We're doomed I'm telling you.
Because I didn't want to have to repeat this experience in my first month in Singapore, I dragged my feet to the dentist for a check-up. Of course she found something, otherwise it would not be fun.
So I signed in for three appointments hoping this will protect me against our family tradition.
All I ask is for 30 days in Singapore without a dentist appointment, nothing more.

30 days

In 30 days we are flying to Singapore to start a new chapter of our lives.
30 days only and so many things to do, so many people to see.
Something tells me, like last week, sleep will be optional to focus on what's important.

A feeling of emptiness

Piece by piece, our furniture are leaving the house. While it's good as it means we're selling all the furniture that are not coming with us to Singapore, it leaves us with a lot of empty space.
Where there used to be the kitchen furniture with the fruits etc., there is now nothing.
Where there used to be bookshelves, now there are boxes with the books piled.
Where there used to be a sofa, now stands our garden furniture.
Feels like camping in your own living room...

Another screw up of the travel agent

Last night I decided to check in to save time this morning. I was a bit puzzled when I saw the proposed seat number on row 31. That didn't sound like business and it was not because it's economy.
At midnight I called the emergency line of the travel agency and asked. I was indeed booked in economy despite all the messages I received from them telling me I'm booked in business. Seems there was some miscommunication somewhere. But at that time, 8 hours from the flight, who cares about miscommunication?
The scary part is that the emergency service being based in the UK can't access the company preferred fares as I'm based in Belgium i.e. abroad for them.
I nearly lost it and spent 40min on the phone with an agent to try to find out a solution. Which he did by canceling my booking and making a new one, but at the market price not the negotiated price. With the idea that I would complain to their Belgian office and get the money back, when they are back on Monday morning.
Unbelievable but at 1am, what else could I do?

This morning I left extra early because something told me it wouldn't be straightforward. And I was right.
They still had two bookings under my name, which in theory is not possible for the same flight, and I had to call back the emergency line to clarify and update the system. Another 30mim wasted and really really unnecessary stress.

I'm now sitting in the plane to Amsterdam hoping that everything will be fine now. But based on my experience with this travel agency I expect the worst. So far in maybe two out of three trips booked by them, something went wrong.
Not filling me with confidence...

Someone is having a good dream

Ladies and Gentlemen, my niece!

Nora, my niece.
Born July 18th 2012
2kg430

Isn't she beautiful?
I'm very proud and very happy for my brother and Lisa. They made a lovely "petite crevette".

and still waiting

Seems my niece is taking her time :)

Waiting

My niece decided to come a bit earlier. I received a message during the dinner that my brother and Lisa were going to the hospital.
Now we're all waiting.
Exciting!

Degustation

Tonight we had the "degustation" for the wedding dinner.
Some time ago we had selected two options for each course and booked a trial run with the caterer.
To help us assess the food and wine we had invited a few experts in the name of Alice, Aurelie and Romain.
I was a bit stressed before we started. What if the food was not good?
That worry was quickly pushed away as everything we tried was very good (except one of the starters that was only good).
Once the question of overall quality was cleared, remained the one of the choice.
Starter was easy as there was a clear winner.
Main course was harder and we ended up asking to mix elements from both dishes we tried.
Dessert was really hard as none was really doing the job so we creatively brainstormed on what else we could do. Don't worry we did figure out something that the chef took to the next level.

For the wine, it was harder but with Romain's expertise we figured out that none of the white ones would do. One of the red ones was ok though. In other words, we need to go and try a few more wines before making a choice.

Overall this was a fun experience to eat thinking: is this good? is this ok for a wedding dinner? what happens if you have to cook for 100 people? does it all fit together?...

If you are asking yourself what the menu will be, you have to wait until December :)

MOMU

It took Aude to come to Belgium for me to learn that there is a fashion museum in Antwerpen. Today the two of us drove to the MOde MUseum to discover the exhibition of "Living Fashion" displaying clothes from women 1750s to 1960s, or so.
Here is a selection of some of the outfits we saw.
Evening dresses:

 Maternity dresses and corset. I still cannot figure out the point of having a pregnant woman wear a corset, but apparently that was the case back then.

 Objects of torture to ensure one would look thin (read VERY narrow waist) and with a big skirt. Scaringly some of those remind me of what I will wear on my wedding day. Seems not much progress has been made since then.

 Sports outfits were not really designed for exercising back then. Apparently the invention of bicycles helped moving fashion away from big skirts as obviously they don't work with cycling.
A hat that was described as "with pheasant feathers". The fact that the head of the bird is on the hat was apparently not worth mentioning.
And a winter coat I would love to wear.

In Brugge

Aude is visiting this weekend. First time in Belgium so I planned for the best: Brussels and Brugge.
Despite the bad weather, we decided to hit the road hoping it would clear up during the day. It did, every now and then. In between two showers we explored both cities.

Brugge, classic.
I've been to Brugge so many times, and yet I never get tired of it. The good thing about the bad weather is that there were not so many people which is luxury.
I took a few shots here and here as we walked the streets.

Brugge, unexpected and maybe a bit weird.
We entered a church to hide from the rain and what we found inside was not exactly what we are used to.
The church was transformed as a venue for an exhibition by Geert Bisschop with a light sculpture saying "YES HERE NOW" as the center piece.
I had to take some pictures because nobody would believe me when I say that there were a bed and a massage table right in the middle of the church.
Once again, a piece of modern art I simply don't get. But will talk about for sure.

 

Bon 14 juillet a tous les francais qui sont loin de leur pays

Weapon of choice

There are many weapons out there available to kill your spouse: guns, shovels, knives, poisons, cars, even spoons as I discovered lately. The list is endless.
But Wolfram did not pick any of those. As we were having dinner last night, his knife fell from is plate, straight down on my foot. Luckily for me it was not the cutting side that landed on my foot so I did not get cut.
BUT the worst was yet to come when I discovered that this knife had just cut some cheese and some of it was now on my foot. Wolfram weapon of choice is a knife with cheese on it.
If the knife will not kill me, the smell of the cheese will, especially the Maroilles.

Are you trying to tick off your 100 things to do before you die?

That's the question my sister asks when I expressed my wish to visit the Sainte Chapelle in Paris, right after we had just visited the catacombs.

This weekend we had a family gathering in Paris. Sometimes it is easier to meet half way, at least for those not living in Paris. On top of very important things like finding shoes for the wedding, I wanted to visit the catacombs.

When I moved to Paris to study I wanted to visit them. Back then they were closed and stayed closed for many years. By the time the re-opened, I was working and could only go there during the weekends. The few times I tried I faced a line that was at least 3-hour long and gave up.

This time was the one. I dragged Wolfram out of bed early enough so we could be there at the opening. Sadly we were not the only with that idea and there was already quite a queue. Estimation from Wolfram: 400+ people. The catacombs only allow 200 people inside at a time; this meant we were facing two hours of queuing. This time as I said I was determined. We had picked up breakfast at the bakery and were ready to stand in line. At least me, not so sure about Wolfram who kept looking desperately for a Starbucks he could quickly go to.

The line was moving very slowly, but we stayed.

It rained a bit, but we stayed.

Wolfram wanted coffee, but we stayed, for two hours, patiently.

Until we reached the entrance. We were number 414 and 415 that day.

We quickly walked the 130 steps down to enter the catacombs and its labyrinth of tunnels.

The first part of the catacombs is only tunnels. I somehow find fascinating to walk the streets of the city, underground and unnoticed. Basically it’s a whole city that is down there, hidden from us. As the city was being built, stones were extracted from underground leaving this labyrinth. In my mind I could picture all the adventures that happened down here: thieves escaping the police via those tunnels, messengers going from one building to the other unseen…

Second half is breathtaking. It’s the ossuary. From 1787 to 1814, bones from the graveyards of Paris were transferred to the catacombs. There are six to seven millions of bones stored! Strangely or maybe in a macabre way, the bones have been placed in a way to look pleasant to see. I was expecting stacks of bones, and I found bones that were neatly organized by size and drawing lines or arches. Very impressive, especially as we walked by the bones of people who died during the French Revolution in 1789. I was picturing the owners of those bones, fighting in the streets of Paris for their rights.

Sadly I forgot to bring my camera (Wolfram had his). This means I’ll have to come back another time to take pictures.

That’s one thing less that I wanted to do at least once in my life.

The next one was the Sainte Chapelle. I lived many years in Paris, I’ve visited some places several times, but some never. The Sainte Chapelle is one of them.

Another early wake up for Wolfram, this time on a Sunday (sometimes I wonder whether he fully realized what it meant to marry me). We grabbed breakfast on the way and were in line by 9:45am. Not the first ones, but close enough to visit the place with limited number of people… until a group of 50 people showed up.

The Sainte Chapelle was built in the XIIIth century upon request from king Saint Louis (Louis IX) to house the relics of the Passion of Christ. It’s a pure gothic building. Almost an archetype of what gothic style means.

There are two chapels in the place. The lower one has a very impressing painted ceiling. The upper one is unbelievable. After climbing the steps, as you enter the upper chapel, everybody stops, realizing what they are facing. Stained glass windows all around in a level of details as it’s rare to see.

15 stained glass windows, no less representing 1113 scenes from the bible. Everywhere you look it’s beautiful and brings the question of how many hours it took to create this. I was speechless, still am. All these years in Paris and never realized I was right next to such beauty.

Again, no pictures as I left my camera in Belgium. But I will come back and maybe even attend a concert as something tells me it must be an outstanding venue for classical music.

All this time it was right there

I found out last week that there is a Neuhaus factory store near Brussels. I've been so many years in Belgium and never found out. Until a few days ago.
Yesterday I looked where it was located exactly and what did I find?
The store is 300m away from the hospital that I now visit every week.
All this time, it was right there and I had no idea.
Today I stopped by and bought a reasonable quantity of chocolate. Can't wait to open the bags.