Autumn Getaway!

This year we headed east of the country (with the car) and invaded Luxembourg. It is relatively much smaller than Belgium. The guide book (from Rough Guides) only mentioned 4 highlights for the country. But what with our busy schedules (like every year end) we did not read up much about this beautiful country. So although we had a good week exploring many romantic and colourful sights – we did miss a few good ones too. But we will return. And there was another valid reason that we couldn’t do too much either – we invited B’s parents along. And with old folks, as they tire easily, walking everyday is out of the question.

Most tourist spots (Museums, castles and ruins) in Luxembourg are only open from April to October. They have pretty harsh autumn and winter seasons. With heavy snowfall, most small and beautiful villages are very tricky to get to. I’ll let the picture do the rest of the talking = )

Chateau Beaufort

View from the Chateau Beaufort

Cathedral in Echternacht

Gem of a find thanks to an old guide book dated 1903!

Luxembourg City

Vianden

One of the many enchanting sights along our walk in Beaufort.

We were in awe to be able to walk amidst such a beautiful & breath-taking trail in Berfdorf.

 

 

Also in Berdorf

The Absentee ; )

I have been horribly absent here – the poor blog! Left all dusty and lonely! My apologies, if anyone is still here, coming around constantly to check on updates. I must admit that I have just been too lazy, too busy and too overwhelmed since N started school and things at work have become somewhat challenging (in a very good way).

Our summer was spent away in Istanbul. Such a beautiful city by the sea! Crowded, colourful and oh so charming! Very touristy though, you can’t go anywhere without someone trying to sell you something or coax you to eat at their restaurant. But we love the hotel we stayed in, excellent customer service, great food and comfortable rooms! We were offered many goodies too, like free lunch buffet everyday and complimentary drinks at their rooftop terrace to watch the sunset. One of my favourite moments has to be the rooftop experience, watching the sun setting against a magnificent backdrop of minarets! Truly such a refreshing sight. We bought a lot of beautiful marble & ceramics souveniors too – it was risky but it all arrived home in one piece! = )

Such colourful delights can be found at almost every Bazaar.

Sunsetting on Istanbul

And of course, it is always good to see family and friends again. Our Eid was well spent back home! All that delicious food, familiar sounds, smells, loving and friendly company of our loved ones. Nothing beats all of that. The country itself has changed even more in the last year. It is getting way too crowded, too expensive and too foreign for me personally. I am now officially a tourist in my own home country. I hope the government cherish and preserves the old and familiar sights.

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The concrete jungle where I come from

N started primary One! Scary time especially for her parents! So much changes and challenges! More subjects, homework almost every day and to top that, it is all of course in Flemish. So, I am managing ok but I can’t imagine as she goes further having to deal with maths, science, history, geography and whatever else in Flemish – argh! But I am so lucky to have B by my side. And when she has school only in the morning (every Wednesday), we send her to art class at the local Musuem. So far she has been very enthusiastic about her classes and her art work. We are impressed. She had an introduction to drama class recently but we have yet to sign her up for that. She’s in 2 minds about it.

And of course, every year in September, I get a  year older but sometimes none the wiser! This year is a whole big number! Bowling with the extended family and throwing ourselves a small party for 3 aside – I did a lot of reflecting and I went through a lot of melancholic moments this whole month! Being thankful for my life now and how I wouldn’t change anything in my past!

Work’s getting more interesting too – if everything falls into place – I should be able to start on a course soon. And this helps to “bump” me up at work or if I ever get retrench, having such a diploma is helpful too. As if that wasn’t enough, I bravely agreed to take up a Dutch language course again – once a week but top that with household duties and running around for N. I hope with all my heart God helps me to keep it all together.

But knowing women like J and F, helps me to take on my challenges head on! So wish me luck my loveliest of readers, it is going to be such a super busy end of the year period for the whole household!

Autumn

It's here! My favourite season! Yayy!! 

Ghent Festival / Gentsefeesten 14-23 July

An annual event that every Gentenaar can be proud of! It attracts crowds by the bus loads from neighbouring countries. Our medium size city is always bursting at the seams to accommodate all our guests. The festival offers concerts, recitals, plays, stand up comedies, theatre, all kinds of shows, musical extravaganza and many more. Lots of small street performances which is one of our favourites to look out for. To be honest, the crowd does put me off but if you go early or choose what you want to do and see, it is enjoyable. This year, the weather Gods hasn’t been kind to us, the first day parade was rolled out on a cold, windy and very wet day. It was not just rain, it was like the whole of Ghent was standing under the shower! N and I decided to stay indoors and not brave the rain.

But, yesterday, the weather became bearable and DRY, so we managed a piano recital of a friend and braved the early evening crowd to go check out the children’s section of the festival. For dinner, we had one of our favourite seasonal dishes – Mussels & Belgian fries = )

One of our national dishes - Mussels & Belgian fries

One of the many festival site, colourful, crowded and lots of good food, great music and wonderful company!

Breakfast / Ontbijt

In the previous chapters of my life, I am used to eating 3 warm meals a day – rice or noodles – 3 times in a day! Hardly much of pasta or bread or potatoes. And I did not even have issues with my weight back then. Now, after close to 10 years of living in Flanders, I can’t even manage 2 warm meals in a day! If I do stuff myself silly then I feel awful afterwards. And I have issues with my weight here! *yikes* But every once in awhile, I do miss all those delicious breakfast readily available just almost everywhere on the island!

Our typical elaborated breakfast (of croissants, half boiled eggs, orange juice and cup of coffee) when we have the time, usually it's just bread and a cup of coffee.

 

And these variety below, used to be my daily breakfast choices.

Lontong

Nasi Lemak

Nasi Sambal Goreng

Egg Prata serve with Fish curry