I’ve a long journey ahead of me — on my way back to Brussels. Flying this summer is ill advised, but a girl has gotta do what a girl has gotta do. I’d take advantage of the flight vouchers Delta is giving away if only I didn’t have to get my buttocks home to close out my move. Meanwhile, Joe has oversaw the packing up of our stuff; tomorrow he’ll witness it go on truck. I get to sit in airport after airport. My flight to Phoenix was frustrating — lots of delays and rude folk. My flight back doesn’t promise to be much better. My original route has been cancelled, and now I’m headed to Salt Lake City for a 5-hour layover, which will hopefully get me on time to my Amsterdam flight, which will hopefully easily get me on my Brussels flight, but I’ve read Amsterdam is a mess, so we shall see. I’ll eventually be back in Mons.

My week and a half home with the kids was worth every minute of flying hell. We went camping, did some shopping (woo hoo Oma worked out the credit card and even bought herself some new shoes and cool clothes), lots of eating, some swimming, and lots of family chill time. It’s always good getting to spend time with my loved ones, and I needed this little break from the stress of once again moving.

If I get home tomorrow night, I’m sure I’ll pass out, but will have to wake up early to begin the close-out process. We’ll have a few weeks before the big flight fiasco to Guam, but I’ll worry about that then. And then it’ll be time to begin the whole home hunting, new job acclimating, new life adjustment thing, which I should be a pro at by now, but it’s always different.

A few days before I flew home, Shannan flew in from Columbia for a few days. It was great to see her, and she got to witness Dou Dou at its finest. We even got caught in the crowd that surrounds the dragon slaying. I had a few “am I gonna die this way” moments, but we lived to tell about it. AND no Covid. I swear after all these crowds I’ve been in, I consider myself pretty damn lucky.

Here’s a link to video that shows the sacred chariot being ‘pushed’ up the big hill. Yes thousands of people help push it up the hill; some fall and get bones broken. Chariot link

Check out these fools going for horse (er, I mean dragon hair). Dragon slaying

Well it’s after 7 p.m., and I was told KLM reps would be at desk by then, so it’s time for me to finish my wine, and waltz on over to beg for a comfy seat. Fingers crossed I’ll be back in the Belgique by tomorrow!

It’s been forever since I knew I got the new job, but now that I’m just a few days away from closing out my old one it feels like my time here is going by too quickly. We’ve been packing in our weekends with all sorts of fun. Our original plan was to try to visit as many places we have not yet been to as much as possible, but we quickly discovered that’s insane. What we really need to do is enjoy our time here with our friends, who have become like family.

I type this as music from the Grand Place blasts in the background. Dou Dou, the great Mons festival, is finally back, and the town is giddy as all get out. LOL there are so many bands and DJs it’s like one big mashup of songs, and it’s only Thursday. The real party begins tomorrow, which in the past pulled in thousands. I’m guessing even more will come, but I’ll write about this weekend probably when I’m on a layover for my flight home to visit the kids (next Friday).

Two weekends ago we flew into Nice with some friends and stayed in a lovely nearby village (cannot remember its name, but it begins with a V). Our friend rented a car, so we also drove to Monaco — again we didn’t look at events when we booked. So, we strolled the busy streets of Monte Carlo while Formula One roared nearby. Had we known we would’ve booked tickets, but it’s all good we saw enough fancy cars and heard plenty an engine rev, then we escaped before the crowds got too crazy and had a seafood feast on a Nice beach. It was such a great, relaxing, amazing weekend. Wish I took the time to write about it when we were experiencing it! But, here are some pics.

Last weekend we had fun in Brussels. We finally got to go to a Red Devils game where they lost badly (it’s all good two days ago they won 6-1). I love Belgium, but oh my goodness sometimes it also has the weirdest way of doing things. We are living as if Covid is not. A Red Devils match is a big deal, but the way you enter the stadium is you find your zone, enter the mob pit and slowly millimeter your way toward the ONE turnstile that lets you in one by one. Apparently creating line queues is not possible. But, whatevs, we eventually got in, and we had a great time. Our pre-game tailgating was in front of an Arabic bakery and sandwich shop where we ate the best savory pastries (the curry chicken one oh yum yum) and drank Jupiler (lol the party beer for sports and festivals). Lots of cheering, singing and loving life.

The next day we did touristy things like visit an automobile museum (Torin Oma bought you some gifts), sip at lots of places, including the Beer Project, and lol strolled through a sewer museum, which I’ll have you know is by reservation only, and ate a tasty meal. Another perfect day.

Basically, we’re doing what we do best imbibing and inhaling the good that life has to offer. Next week is my last week of teaching, and then we’ll be doing the close-out tango, which rarely is fun.

Until then it’s Doudou madness!