Antwerp rocks

Seriously. I always have the best time whenever I go there. Obviously, it's the people. Caroline and Liesbet, their friends and family, are warm, lovely people who remember who you are, and are chatty, hospitable, entertaining. I had one of the (many) aunts approach me at the wedding after-party and say "So, still single, eh?" -- I'd attended Caroline's sister's wedding unaccompanied (in fact, as Caroline's "date") seven years earlier and she'd both recognized me and remembered me. And, as befits an international jet-setter with her own private plane, several people I'd never met before knew who I was when I mentioned my name. "Oh, Caroline's flatmate from Salamanca! You built the Arch of Love!"* So Caroline's friends and family think that I''m a crazy spinster with too much time on her hands. Great! (It's only half-true).

I kid, I kid. I had a great evening out with Liesbet, Nathalie, and Anke on Friday -- just having some tapas at a Spanish bar, trying to work out why they were all single (conclusion: men are idiots). Saturday was wedding central, complete with mojitos, salsa, and lots of cake. Sunday involved a restorative 4-hour sojourn on a terrace before heading to the airport for my (slightly delayed and overcrowded) flight home. I spoke Spanish, I spoke Dutch -- in fact, more Dutch than I'd spoken in my six years in the Netherlands and my Belgian hosts even pretended to understand me! Now that's generous and welcoming! I've received invitations to visit from such nice people, and have delighted in being able to reciprocate. And while it's strange to feel so at home in a place you've only visited 5 times, I know I could be very happy there.



* The Arch of Love: a visual representation of the relationship of the King of Spain's younger daughter and her Olympic handball player husband. It's ... impressive. And mildly disturbing. And at my parent's house, safely stuck in a scrapbook.