December 8, 2006
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Monkey Wrench
Sometimes plans are just pointelss, aren’t they? My last blog entry had me enjoying an art opening Thrsday night, going to yoga tonight, and planning a trip to Lapland for the holidays.
But life had other ideas in mind for me.
Late Wednesday night, I woke with a horrible, terrible, very bad sore throat, cough, headache, and chills. Thursday at work was excruciating. I tried to go to the art opening, but I was so exhausted from hacking my lungs out all day, that at 5.30 pm I threw the towel in and went home. I was fast asleep by 7.30. Today I’m feeling a bit better. I’ve been drinking water, ginger ale mixed with OJ, and tea all day long. Soup and jello for dinner. Cough syrup every four hours with cough drops, immune system boosters, and tangerines as snacks. Needless to say, it was not a day for yoga.
However, it was a day for trip planning. After scouring the world for a Lapland holiday trip in our price range, I’ve come to the conclusion that comfortable visits to the Arctic Circle are only for millionaires. One day, when I’m rich, I’ll frolic with the reindeer and mush huskies on a dog sled. In the meantime, I’m more than happy (thrilled!!!) to roam European cities like a proper tourist. Shaun and I booked a three night stay in Brussels from Tuesday, December 26 until Friday December 29. So after a cuddly X-mas in Glasgow, we’re off to eat Belgium chocolates, drink Belgium beer, and hopefully (fingers crossed) see La Traviata at the famous La Monnaie de Munt opera house. I can’t wait!!! Our hotel is cute and cuddly and right in city centre. And flights from Glasgow to Brussels are so cheap! And our hotel had a special “book two nights, get the third free” offer. Very nice. I can’t wait to wonder around and take pictures, see opera, and eat bon bons with my true love.
In other news, Shaun posted pictures and tales from our Isle of Sky trip on The Loch Ness Blog.
So go check that out and read my husband’s telling of the myths behind the places we visited. They are lovely.
______________________________________________________________________________What do you think of making plans? Are you fine when they end up changing?
Comments (5)
I tend to think of most plans as tentative, subject to change without further notice. Really, that’s the practical thing to do, right?Belgian chocolate and Belgian beer … great companions for the holidays.
Brussels is a great time. Belgium has the best beer *and* the best bartenders on the planet. Those guys can stone pour a beer — every beer (not just ever brand, every beer) has its own distinctive glass, and these guys pour it with a perfect one-finger head a millimeter from the rim. They’re also friendly and make great recommendations.Lambics and Framboise and Krieks! Oh yum!There are scads of good places to eat and drink around the Grand Place. Fourteen years ago, there was a wonderful little wooden bench and long table cafe (so-called “Dutch kitchen” style) in an alley off Rue Tabora. They had a terrific lambic and tasty snacks. It was also a fun adventure finding the place.I don’t know how many of these places are still there, but Mort Subite at Rue de Montagne-aux-Herbes Potagères (near the Grand Place) has a *yummy* Kriek. At the time, I even found a Timmerman Pesch, which was great, even if peach is a bit sweet for my taste.Oh my, now I’m really jealous… : – )Have a great time!
Plans. I love to gt organized and make them, but just as a framework if all else fails. Spontaneous things are great, but also because things like sickness can be a part of the it’s a double edged deal. Glad you are feeling a bit better.I had no idea Lapland was that expensive. I went there once for a few days when I was on a trip to Finland to visit a friend from high school (she was a foreign exchange student from Helsinki). I did not take it for granted in the slightest, but I did get ill from eating berries on a climb. However, now I can see a bit more into the actual luxury that we were given.I remember that her father was an exporter and his company owned a block of cabin/cottages there and the whole company shared them. I wonder if they do such things as sub out days here and there to outsiders. Like time share subs. Yay for Belgium! Beer and chocolate both! And I hope whatever plans you make this time go as you would like them to!
I hate making plans. I hate buying plane tickets, reserving rooms and cars, and I hate packing (and unpacking). BUT, I like going places. And I don’t really mind when I’m somewhere and we have to change our plans on the fly. Once we went to Boston for a concert that ended up being canceled and instead of being sad, we went to the Cape and had a beautiful time. So, if I had to swap out Lapland for Brussels I’d probably be ok with it, but hate the process of getting there.
I’m sure you’ll have a great time in Belgium. If nobody’s mentioned it already, you can’t go wrong with chocolate and beer.
I don’t know if you’ll see this, but I saw something you might like the other day. I was bored during a flight from somewhere to somewhere, so I picked up the American Airlines inflight magazine and actually looked at one of the articles (okay, I was *really* bored). There was a whole write-up about the comics scene in Belgium generally and Brussels in particular. Apparently, thre are a lot of great comic strip murals around Brussels (Tintin, Asterix, that crowd). The three recommendations were:Belgian Comic Strip Center — 20 rue des Sables, +32.2.219.1980, which includes a book store with lots of Belgian comics translated to EnglishComic Strip Trail — a self-guided tour of the Brussels comic strip murals. Comic Strip Walking Map available from the Belgium Tourist Office in Town Hall ont he Grand-Place. +32.2.513.8940La Boutique de Tintin — All things Tintin near the Grand-Place, 13 rue de la Colline. +32.2.514.4142Have a great trip.