from the archives: Brussels, the final chapter
Grand Place
April 24, 2004
Dear all,
It is the last weekend of my Brussels adventure and it is with very mixed feelings that I contemplate my return to Canada on Monday - sad that my four month vacation is over, yet happy to be returning to the familiar. I completed work on Friday; I have made a number of good friends in the office and there was a really pleasant group lunch in my honour yesterday. I hope to keep in touch with one or two of them, and have even discussed with a couple of them the possibility of coming back to work at the Commission again one day once I am done school - we shall see. It was a very interesting environment in which to work, although the bureaucracy is mind-boggling. But I think I would like to try living and working here with more money. The presence of the European Union really makes this a city where a person could, without much difficulty, spend a lot of money.
The last three weeks were a lot of fun. My friend, Greg, was here for one week, during which I did not work. We spent many hours strolling around Brussels, taking in some sites I had already seen, and many that I hadn’t gotten to yet.
Although I am very fond of traveling alone, it was also nice to have a companion. My landlady, after trying for some time to get me to drive her car, convinced Greg to take her to the airport and then said “take the car for the day” so off we went on a road-trip to Antwerp, and then on to the coast where we had moules et frites in a seaside town. This was really a trip highlight; imagine the most mussels you can, doused in the richest cream sauce you can, and then double it:-) It was over the top, made both of us feel more than a little ill, but it had to be done!
We then took the train to Paris for the Easter weekend. We stayed in a hotel within walking distance of the core of the city, and ended up walking pretty much without stop for three days. It is a marvellous city, even though it was empty of the French and completely chockfull of Americans. When not walking, we spent long hours in cafes drinking (depending on the time of day) cafe creme, beer, or wine. The weather was beautiful and I returned to Brussels with more sun on my face than my colleagues who had travelled to more southerly destinations for the holiday.
In Paris, we made a couple of cultural observations worth sharing. If a woman and a man are touring together, the woman almost invariably carries the map. Certainly this was the case with us (although I am sure no-one is in the least surprised at that!). However, it was observed time and again on the street. Interestingly the predictability of this feature of couples broke down a bit by the end of the weekend. I have a few theories - the woman had already figured out the way from previous perusals of the map, so was humouring the man by letting him think he was in charge, or perhaps, she had become fed up with being falsely accused of leading them astray. Other theories are welcome.
I think it’s worth a quick comment on Parisian toilets. First, one should never go to a toilet in Paris without some cash, and without considering how much they are willing to pay in the circumstances. Gives whole new meaning to the expression “spend a penny.” Or indeed may be the origin of said expression, although certainly in some cases it’s more like “spend a euro”. If one has in fact paid to pee, I believe one should expect (a) a toilet, and not just a hole in the ground; and (b) the automatic light not to go out midstream. Call me North American, but it’s just how I feel.
And of course, what trip to Paris would be complete without food! The gastronomic highlight was the foie gras - although I am aware of the good ethical reasons for NOT eating this, I am prepared to overlook them, since it really is heaven. I can certainly understand why the French drink so much red wine to break down the fat. Or at least I can certainly why they believe it has this effect!
Since the road trip with Greg, I have given up my vow not to drive in Brussels, and have been tooling around a bit running errands for my landlady, her sons, and myself. It is, however, NOT an easy place to drive. The difficulty seems to be reading the map from the driver’s seat: a bad practice in any circumstance, but certainly more complicated with cars flying around corners at high speeds, relying on everyone following the “give way to the right” convention. To the uninitiated, the simplest response is to stop at all the corners, but this, as you might imagine, has a very bad effect on cars in one’s wake. Anyone, so far no-one has been killed! I will however never complain again about the moderate pace and general orderliness of traffic in Victoria.
Notes from the Commission:
My office overlooked a small rooftop garden on a neighbouring roof. The other day I watched the supervisor of the Gardners and decided this was a job I might enjoy for a day or two. For the entire morning, the supervisor observed the work of two gardeners. He did no work. I can only imagine the healthy salary he commands. Unbelievable. In a similar vein, I recently walked into a colleague’s office to find him clipping his nails. I know he makes in the neighbourhood of 7000 euros per month, most of which is tax free. The general waste of money continues to shock me, but not many others I am afraid.
Best Flemish word:
The trip to Antwerp provided more Flemish synonyms for my already-favourite Flemish word: omlegging meaning detour. In fact, one of these synonyms, wegomlegging, has indeed become my favourite Flemish word. I’m sure you’ll agree it rolls off the tongue beautifully.
Belgian chocolate:
Although I have been told many times that Belgian society is among the most corrupt, I have only just this first hand. Many of my colleagues and my landlords are all in the real estate market right now - either buying or selling. Imagine my surprise - being a naive Canadian - to learn that in the neighbourhood of 20 percent of the money exchanged in a Belgian real estate deal is under the table! The land transfer tax is so high that vendors and purchasers make cash side deal, which are known to the realtors and to the lawyers, but of course, not to the authorities. Imagine withdrawing or being handed 100,000 euros in cash! This is known as ‘le chocolat’ - and here all this time we thought Belgian chocolate was found in Leonidas.
So this is my last missive from Belgium. I fly to Toronto on Monday and then on to Victoria next Friday. To those of you I will see in Toronto, I look forward to it very much. As always, my time is limited and booked up with dental appointments and the like, but I will at least try to give a phone call to those I will not have a chance to see. And then school starts on May 3. Yikes!
Celia
Note new Vic phone number 250-382-9715.
Celia Chandler, Law Student, UVIC