Charlotte and I just came back from our tour of downtown Brussels. I have to say that while I was excited about coming to Belgium to visit Charlotte's home and family, I never expected to enjoy Brussels as much as I have. The architecture is AMAZING!! I took over 400 pictures of the downtown area alone!
The parks are like those that pictures are made of (and many of mine are) and the little streets are all lined with biscuit and chocolate shops and antique bookstores. I was in Heaven all day (turns out I DID get to go after all!).
Tonight her family is having a dinner party for 15 of their close friends. It's the first time since Christmas that the three children (Charlotte, her brother Louie and her sister, Lucy) have been home together. Charlotte's brother is bringing his girlfriend of 6 months home for the first time as well, so it should be fun to see how the family all responds to her. It's so fun to be a wallflower in another family's home!
I am enjoying my stay here with them immensely! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed being around Charlotte since it's been over a year since I've seen her. She's definitely a "kindred spirit". Everywhere we went today, she took me to places that she knew that I would specifically enjoy. We were two peas in a pod: music festival in Brussels town square, both with cameras in tow and ON at all times, an antique bookstore and eating some of the best chocolate in the world!
Her mother has been preparing a feast for our dinner tonight. She's been highly acclaimed by the family as being an amazing chef, so I'm really looking forward to dinner--and to just enjoying the conversation that seems to flow so easily between us--even with the language barrier.
I feel like I've experienced SO much so far and it's not even been a full week yet! I can't even imagine how "full" I'm going to be when I come home, but I'm really looking forward to each and every next "bite".
