After a week of research, I finally bought two tickets to Seattle. It has been many years since my last ocean-crossing. I am hoping that the post-pandemic international flights will not be too miserable. That D and I may enjoy the journey. Fingers crossed!
Category Archives: Travels
A September Weekend
It was stadsfestival (city festival) of Harelbeke this past weekend. Because Friday was rainy and cold, D and I did not go to the pre-braderie music performances. Saturday evening, we biked to and parked at the train station, and proceeded to visit several music podiums, watched fireworks, and drank something at Ratrock.
Sunday, we headed off to Brugge to attend the yearly beer festival. It was an eventful weekend blessed with lovely weather.
Cosmo & World Cuisine
Last evening’s gathering of friends was fun. I drank a very good Cosmopolitan made by the host. Food was a delicious and interesting range of world cuisine. The dishes consisted of pan fried gyoza in cucumber salad, quiche filled with chorizo, labneh with all the trimmings, and herby baked breads.
The cocktail brought me back to Las Vegas and New York City. The food transported me around the globe and back. 🙂
Vilvoorde
The first time I went to Vilvoorde was in 2022, for the art and music festival known as Horst.
Yesterday, D and I went to almost the same location to pick up my passport, which now contains a tourist visa to the United States. Yeah!
A Minute
Today at ten fifteen in the morning, I have to attend a scheduled visa application interview at the US Embassy in Brussels.
D and I drove off at eight, we arrived early but it was for the best. The whole process took almost an hour, most of it was spent waiting in line. The two schedule and security checks were a breeze, and checking-in was uneventful. However, lining-up for a new photo (mine was not in the right format) at the photo booth was annoying at best because not everyone is tech-savvy. Then, there was a preliminary information and photo check, more waiting, and finally the interview.
The interview lasted probably around half a minute to a minute. Why do I want to go to the US? What do I do for a living? Is my partner traveling with me? Do we own a house? And just like that, my tourist visa was approved! There was no interrogation. Well, it is logic and to be expected though, the United States and I go way back to the early 90s. 😉
Gentse Feesten ’24
The last Gentse Feesten that D and I went to was in July 2018. We were occupied with visiting friends in 2019 and then the pandemic happened. And just like that six years have gone by?!
Yesterday in the evening, D and I went to Gent, parked at a P+R and took the tram to the city centre to enjoy the festival. The weather was lovely (it was rainy the day before) and there were a lot of people. Because D could not find a food stall that sells things he likes, we sat down at a restaurant to drink beers and had a pizza to share. After a few hours at the festival, we got home safely by one thirty in the morning.
We are older now, do not live in the city, and have learnt how to enjoy things in a mellower manner…
Amsterdam Kortrijk
Yesterday was the last full day the family have in Amsterdam. Thus, we took it easy and went for a short walk after breakfast. We did some sightseeing and had drinks at Café Doffer. In the late afternoon, the six of us ate Cantonese take-away in the hotel dining lounge.
This morning, I had a very early breakfast with my parents at six thirty. Then D and I saw my family off at the front entrance of the hotel when they left for the airport at eight.
With many hours to spare until checkout, D and I went for a leisurely breakfast, took two walks, and spent some time in the hotel room before taking the tram to the train station. We took photos of the surroundings, drank beers, and got on a rather full train bound for Antwerp at two twenty.
Our two train rides took three and a half hours in total, and we reached home safely by eight thirty.
Eras Weekend
- Breakfast at Midtown Grill.
- Visited Zevenlandenhuizen (The Houses of Seven Countries).
- Drinks and snacks at Bar Kartel. All three activities were with parents.
- Taylor Swift – The Eras Tour
- Rijksmuseum.
- Mikkeler beers.
- Casa Di David.
Kortrijk Amsterdam
D and I boarded the train in Kortrijk at 11.50am. We then changed train in Antwerp at 13.44pm and reached Amsterdam by 15.35pm. A short tram ride later, we were waiting at the hotel lobby for the rest of the family to arrive from France.
Easy peasy… 🙂
Eleven Days
Eleven days have passed since D and I came home from the nine-day trip to London.
Our travel bags are once again packed for an upcoming seven-day trip.