Things of Beauty #72
Postcards from Belgium
I'm back! And you know what? As predicted, those messy piles of things were basically right where I left them when I got home. Nothing magically fixed itself, but nothing got exponentially worse, either. Noted.
Sharing a few snapshots today that highlight why collecting piles of imperfection, in service of stepping away from my daily life, was exactly the right thing to do.
Things I squirreled away in Belgium:
🐿 Magical hotels. I always thought that picking out places to stay on a trip was one of my favorite parts of the process, until this trip. Even more fun: showing up to a hotel picked for you by a fabulous guide and getting to be surprised by all the delightful details. This was our first time doing a guided/planned tour with a group, and Jessica (Journeys with Jessica) is a master at choosing hotels that surprise and delight.
🐿 We happened to be in Brussels during a celebration of the European Union and stumbled on a dance party in the Grand-Place (which is the central square in the city). It was amazing to see the gothic buildings lit up, while a DJ played dance music from a balcony — such a mix of old and new. People of all ages packed the square and danced and sang along. It was probably one of my top travel memories ever (I feel like the best ones are always unplanned).
🐿 Dogs. The first picture is of Simba, who famously runs the house at 't Brugs Beertje (and is very hard to catch for pictures). We met Cherry at Stroom Brewing in Ghent — another top experience of the trip for me where we got to have a long conversation with one of the co-owners/brewers about both the beer and life in Ghent (I also love their commitment to featuring local artists' work on the cans).
🐿 Cheese & spicy mustard. The combination I didn't know I needed. Most bars didn't serve food, but did have a list of snacks: one of which was almost always kaas (Dutch for cheese). We learned quickly that this is a small dish of cheese cubes served with a spicy mustard (think horseradish-type spice) and toothpicks for sharing. We also learned that this is clearly the best way to eat cheese. The closest re-creation I've found so far is gouda with this mustard.
🐿 Poppies in the sidewalk. Just outside of Brussels Beer Project, these had clearly blown down the street from a patch of them in the beer garden and were just hanging out where they landed, being their bright and beautiful selves.
Here's hoping you're finding some brightness and beauty in unexpected places this week. And if you've got some time off coming up and are feeling the pressure to tie up all the loose ends — you know what, they'll be there when you get back.
Be well, find tiny joy
Mary-Chris