Like a chance meeting with an ex-lover

It was a beautiful sunrise that greeted me on my last day in Entre-deux-Mers seen from across a sea of vines.  Two nights before there had been a dramatic distant electric storm that lit up the night sky, and got the birds starting to sing at 2 AM, adding a high counterpoint to the gruff croaking of frogs from a pond in the nearby wood.  

By eight o clock the car was packed and we were saying our goodbyes.  Twelve hours, one thousand kilometres, one and a half tanks of fuel and 75 Euros worth of péages later I catch a glimpse of the Basilique at Koekelberg.  It’s been the landmark for ‘homecoming’ for me for almost the past five years.  (A suitably impressive landmark as it is among the ten large churches in the world).  This time, after seven months away it was like unexpectedly running into an ex-lover on the street or at a social gathering.  You remember the things that loved about her (the way she bit her lip when thinking) and those you hated (calling you ‘hun’ all the time and making you feel you were playing a bit part in a American sit-com).  

Driving through the road tunnel that (sometimes) fast tracks you from Basilique to Sainctelette a wave of conflicting memories and emotions came flooding back.

Just to share a few (in no particular order).

Some things I love(d) about Brussels,

• Muzique Publique (and particularly Bal Queimada)
• La Musee des Beaux Artes
• The Friday night roller blade rides, when large parts of the road network are closed down to let a bunch of crazies race around the city on roller blades (and bicycles)
• The Royal Greenhouses
• The European Parliament (as both a structure and an inviting and inclusive institution, welcoming hundreds of delegates and visitors every working day)
• The organic market in Rue des Tanneries
• The jumble of architectural styles.

And hate(d)

• The weather (statistical fact: it rains here more days a year than in London).
• The run down state of much of the Metro. (I moved here in 2011 when work was afoot on upgrading Art-Loi, one of the two major hubs of the metro system where the north south and east lines cross).  When I left Brussels in October it was still a building site – I am willing to bet it still is).
• The Wathelet Plan
• The ‘Quad Bike Crew’ of the Quartier Maritime (these last two together have made my quarter unliveable over the last two summers).
• A lack of trees and swimming pools.  (the two the closest to me have both been closed ‘for renovation’ throughout much of my four year stay here).
• The ‘leave your trash on the pavement someone will take it away’ mentality of some local residents.

I guess there will be more.  What are you pet loves/hates in relation to Brussels?