And we thought our election was bad
Our September ad-Frenchure is over, but here are a couple of short, yet significant codas to round off the trip. The first of these is the our stay in Belgium at Jenny’s parents’ place.
- Part 1 – September ad-French-ure
- Part 2 – Show me the Monet! (Giverny)
- Part 3 – The abbey on the rock (Mont Saint-Michel)
- Part 4 – Villains at Villandry! (Villandry)
- Part 5 – The lady of the lake (Chenonceau)
- Part 6 – Blois, Blois, Blois… (Blois)
- Part 7 – Da Vinci would’ve thought of a better post title (Amboise)
- Part 8 – Viva la revolution! Hic! (Fontainebleau and Reims)
- Part 9 – And we thought our election was bad (Wetteren and Leuven) (You are here!)
- Part 10 – Moon Festival (Hong Kong)
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Although Jenny and I helped out with the Federal Election, we didn’t stick around long enough for the results; we didn’t know which government we’d be coming home to. But if you think Australia’s got it bad, spare a thought for the Belgians. I won’t embarrass myself by pretending that I have any idea about politics, and instead refer you to this article on Wikipedia. Suffice to say that the country hasn’t had an official government since June.*
Not that any of this had any bearing on our trip. We gladly sank back into a semblance of domestic life:
And a rare treat… video! Flippin’ fantastic:
But our Belgium stay wasn’t all just staying at home. No, the week that we spent there was punctuated with several activities. The first of these was a visit to the town of Leuven. We were invited over for lunch by Stefan and Wilma, good friends of Jenny’s folks, and afterwards they gave us the tour:

Stefan either used to be a chef or owned his own cafe, I forget. But he makes an amazing endive quiche (one of his specialties).

More of that crazy intricate European architecture (and of course, out of frame, there’s construction going on).

The locals call this “the longest bar in the world”. It’s frequented mainly by students from the nearby university. Figures.

This place went to great pains to make sure that their trendy fa?ade was not misinterpreted by lusty foreigners.

Some Transformers hiding out. Don’t worry Constructicons, your secret is safe with me! (But seriously, what is that steam blasting thing?)
Next on the agenda was a family lunch with Jozef’s other children. This was our first time meeting our brothers and their families, and as with every gathering where young children are involved, it was a noisy, messy, hectic and fun-filled affair. Just don’t ask me to remember their names!
And last, but by no means least, Jozef and Suzie treated us to dinner at the classy Geuzenhof restaurant:

We were the only ones there that night, but there was a wedding party in the function room next door.

Parents had the set menu with goose for the main. I found it a bit tough, but the potato things were ace.
And that, in one post, was our stay in Belgium. It’s was a particularly sad and poignant occasion because Jenny’s parents are selling the place and downsizing, so the next time we visit we probably won’t see this house again. I mean, even though I’ve only been there twice in my life (and Jenny not too much more than that), it’s still “home” – you know what I mean?
We had such a relaxing time right throughout our two weeks in Europe, and as unlikely as it sounds, we weren’t really looking forward to the fast-pace, high intensity rush of Hong Kong.
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* Another interesting point of comparison was the fact that when we arrived “home” to our parents’ house in Belgium, the local government was in the middle of undergrounding the TV cable. I could wax lyrical about how efficient the whole process was, and draw similarities with the NBN and why its opponents are barking up the wrong tree, but I’ll spare you.