The first two days were devoted to hard work and there are only a limited number of events to be highlighted. First, that I ate horse for the first time of my life and I feel terribly sorry for the poor horse (however, I eat lamb without feeling anything special). I could also experience a traffic jam under the rain in Brussels, but a real one, with dozens of cars unable to move a centimeter.
I had dinner on Friday in Mechelen, a beautiful and cosy city with a wonderful cathedral. It was quite a nice evening with my Belgian friends and the restaurant was amazing. I also had an encounter with Zizou, one of my arch-enemies... The only negative point, quite common in Belgium though, was the rain: it was raining without stop for the whole evening.
The next day I went to Gent, where Charles I was born. It is remarkable that there are not much traces of the Spanish presence in the city in the Middle Age (one of our kings were born there, as already said), but for some names, such as Cataloniënstraat. Gent is a very beautiful city, with a wonderful city centre and a castle (by the way, the musem in it, with some torture instruments, is not advisable to sweet spirits).
I had some problems in getting there since I took the wrong tram line, but as soon as I watched one of the towers I decided to go out of the tram and walk towards the tower. And it was not because I was not properly informed, since I asked a woman which turned out to be Spanish...Also remarkable from Gent and dedicated to my admired Homer Simpson, this device I found in the toilets of the restaurant where I had lunch. The device automatically cleans the toilet after each use. Quoting Homer: "they are years ahead of us".
On Sunday I went to Brugge (also known as the "city of the broken umbrellas" as I subsenquently suffered). The weather was horrible and therefore my opinion of the city is partially biased. Brugge must be amazing when the rain and the wind do not ruin your day and two umbrellas. The city centre is great and it takes us directly to the Middle Age. The view from Belfort (the tower of the Town Hall) is quite remarkable (unfortunately, there are no glasses up there and when I climbed up the 400 steps it was too windy and cold as to stay longer than a minute).
In the Blood Chapel in Brugge, a relic of Jesus Christ is kept (one of his fingers). I did not dare to watch it but... On the train back to Brussels, a man sat close to me and he was the perfect man for the "DaVinci Code" and similar films: quite misterious and freaky (he used a Dutch-Hungarian dictionary and seemed to be in permantent hurry).About my days in Brussels, the show of opera and lights in the Grand Place is thrilling and it is worth the visit. I went to Koekelberg Basilica but it is quite far away from city centre and it is not so cool. The funny thing is that I did not pay any ticket for the trip by tram but the guilty feeling was too heavy as to do the same in the underground.
Finally, in my flight back home I was seated closed to a Spanish Minister, what made the whole crew of the flight get too excited. So excited that they forgot to give me my lunch, I only got a salad and I had to ask for the whole menu... I think I will blame the minister, it is easier.
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