23 Jul 2012

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND ?



This meme helps you to remember what you did on the weekend of 21 July.

As Saturday was the National Day in Belgium, there were lots of festivities going on everywhere ! Of course also in Waterloo. I went with Ilona to her mother who lives just in front of the place where the festivities took place. After a good chat and laughing, (her mother is 88 but in full shape !) we went to have a look what was going on.



This was supposed to be a country music show, but the dancers were as stiff as brooms and their faces were as if they had swallowed a glass of vinegar ! Poor Ilona who is a very good dancer and has the rhythm in her Hungarian blood, couldn't stand it so I just took these pictures and we continued our walk.



People had a lot of fun by sitting together and mostly drink the good Belgian beer. The mayor walked through the crowd and said hello to everybody he met.



There also were a lot of activities for children.

We didn't stay long and I returned home. The weather was nice and I could have mowed the lawn but on official holidays and Sundays, mowing is not allowed.



The grass is growing and growing and I wonder how I can mow all this !



Only Rosie and the other cats are happy to have such a huge salad field !



and of course after 3 weeks of non stop rain, the flowers rot away ...

On Sunday the sun finally came out and I took Nicole to the big Brussels Midi Market. She only had been once there and enjoyed it very much. This market is the second biggest one in Europe after Ventimiglia in Italy. It has up to 450 stalls of food, clothes, leather goods, household appliences etc.


Nicole searching in a mountain of T-shirts and pullovers

We walked through the stalls and were looking for bargains and enjoying the special atmosphere, not only it's very international, but also because of the locals. This is the place where you still can find the real Brussels' people speaking their special "French" which is a mixture between Flemish and French. On the picture above left, you see a typical Brussels' gentleman explaining something. This language is so rich and funny that only listening is a pleasure. These people too have a lot of humor. We sat there in the sun and drank a beer and then continued our walk. Nicole was spending some time at a stall with blouses and T-shirts for 1 € (1.21 $) ! She bought two ! The prices there are just unbelievable.

After two hours walking we were tired and took our bus back home.

Late afternoon a friend of Mr. G. came for a short visit, and the day ended with a crime story on TV

8 comments:

  1. Oh I always have such a lovely laugh at your descriptions! Your lawn is amazing! Almost a flower bed on its own. Have a great week, my friend. Jo

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  2. Aw that's too bad about the dancers. The French I would probably not understand then lol
    The Beer sounds great as does the shopping. :)

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  3. I love line dancing and only gave it up last year when my head was too slow telling my feet what to do. I admit I was a bit stiff and sour faced too as I had to concentrate so much or I would be facing the wrong way. I dance alone at home now with only the cats to know if I make mistakes.

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  4. You can't mow the lawns on public holidays and Sundays??? I suppose it keeps the neighbourhood quiet but it sounds a bit communistic hee hee.. Glad you enjoyed the national holiday. I believe your beer is good. I would love to stroll around that huge market and listen to the language, not that I would understand anything.

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  5. It was raining the whole time in my part of the world and I enjoyed every minute of it! The sound of the rain had a calming effect on me. The weather very cool and it was amazing how I was able to sweat when I did my exercise! :D

    Stay happy!

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  6. A fun and full weekend indeed Gattina! I loved hearing about the "special language" -- something I would never have known about.

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  7. I think that I need to visit that market some time soon.

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  8. That is indeed an enormous market! I was interested to learn of the no mowing allowed rule.

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