December 2010

BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS & IRELAND

Arriving to Genk, Belgium after 3 long exausting train rides from Venice, was a huge relief.  However, the whole train situation was a real adventure!!, and going back to it I wouldn't change a thing!! (believe it or not).  It was now the evening of December 25th, so I had missed a whole day on trains. Well, once in Genk, I was welcomed by my friends Gigi and Yass at the train station.  It was so nice to see them, cause it had been about 5 years since the last time we saw each other.  Gigi, Yass, and myself, worked together at a resort company called CLUBMED in Punta Cana, Dominnican Republic.  Gigi worked with me at the Front Desk of the hotel, and Yass was Choreographer of the shows at the resort.  We go back a long way and share a lot of memories of our lives there as GO's.  Actually, that is where they met, and ended up married :) very sweet story.

It was very cold and slippery in Genk, it was full of snow when I arrived, and we had to walk a little carefully to the car.  They took me to Gigi's parents' home, which is where we were to have Christmas Eve dinner the night before....anyway, they did have the dinner, but I wasn't there, I was spending this time on a night train on my way there!! :(  Well, this time I was there.  The house was absolutely stunning, very tastefully decorated all in black and white.  It had a nice chimney, a beautiful kitchen, and nice big backyard.  Gigi's parents are the best! such a nice couple.  I was introduced to them and a bit later, her aunt and uncle joined us as well.  They were so sweet, they gave me a Christmas present as soon as I walked in the door...actually it was two, one from the parents and the other from Gigi and Yass.
Gigi's mom, Enza cooked a favulous meal (picture), we had some wine and nice conversation in good company.  So finally, even though I didn't make it to Christmas Eve Dinner, here I was having one on Christmas day with this nice family.
We only stayed about 2 hours, because I had gone through a lot of travel and really needed a shower and rest.  So we left, cause I was actually going to stay at Gigi and Yass' appartment.  The appartment was so nice, their first as a married couple.  Nice open wall kitchen, cute balcony, two bedrooms and again nicely decorated as well :D  Gigi and Yass were great hosts, we talked, played, went out, had drinks and just relaxed sometimes in the appartment.
I could write a lot about this family, but it would take many many pages! they are just great...everyone is as crazy as my little friend Gigi.  She took me to meet almost all her family, at different bars that they own, at their houses, we went tobogganing in the snow, had dinner at her aunt's house, I met her cute cousins and uncles,..nice genes by the way!!! ahhahah and also a couple of family friends.  Anyway, this family is absolutely huge, and I thought mine was. Also, they are all crazy!! in the good way :D :D :D very fun people to be around....it was good times...
I didn't do much sightseeing in Belgium because I had already been there in 2009, when I took a trip to Brussels and gorgeous Brugge for about 10 days.

Here's a picture in Brussels and one in Brugge for you :)...



So continuing...Gigi and I went to Maastricht, Netherlands... by car.  It was her cousin's husband who drove, and her uncle also came with us. It was a very nice place, we really had fun just walking the little streets of a nice town of Maastricht and having a drink at a heated terrace outdoors.  All the buildings around were old style architecture, it felt as if I was inside a picture or an old movie. There was a very good ambiance since it was still Christmas holidays. 
Gigi's uncle Angelo who was with us, is very handsome actually :). Gigi of course was trying to be our matchmaker, and it may have worked if Angelo and I could communicate, but he spoke dutch and none of the languages that I know...and my dutch is just a little weak....ehhehe ok ok...more like nonexistent.

Now I would like to take these couple of lines to just say thank you to Gigi and Yass for taking me into their home and their family for those 5 days...I really enjoyed them and appreciate very much all their kindness.

I spent one last day with Gigi in Genk, and then another friend of mine who's also Belgian came to pick me up.  His name is Jerome, very sweet guy.  Jerome also worked with me in CLUBMED but at another location, so he and Gigi did not know eachother.  Jerome worked with me at Columbus Isle, Bahamas. While I worked at the front desk, his office was right behind me so we saw eachother on a daily basis day and night. He was the transportation manager there at Clubmed, so unfortunately for him, he had to deal with us receptionists very often...poor Jerome, we must have caused him a lot of headaches!!

So Jerome lives in Brussels, which is closer to the airport.  He was nice enough to come pick me up from Genk in bad weather spending 1.5 hours driving, plus another 1.5 to go back with me to his place.  He lives in a beautiful appartment in Brussels.  It is located closer to the countryside so it is surrounded by farm areas.  The place is very nice and comfortable, 2 floors, 3 bedrooms, nice large open concept kitchen with connecting living and dinning area...I loved it!!!
Jerome took me out to dinner to a nice chinese restaurant,  "Le palais du Dragon"...it was very very good food.  We had some time to talk over some dessert and wine after our main.  We talked of old times and our Clubmed years and also of our plans and hopes for the future.  He was very nice company and a great host.  When we went back to his place, he offered me one of the bedrooms which was big and comfortable, but I decided to stay downstairs on the comfy sofa, there was a good movie on, and I was nice and relaxed just laying there :)  The next morning he took me to the airport and even waited for my plane to take off to make sure I was okay.
Thank you Jerome for your hospitality and your nice company. If you come to Toronto in the future, you know you have a friend...


My plane was on time, and I arrived to Dublin, Ireland.  I was supposted to stay 3 nights there but it was cut down to only 1 night (almost 2 full days).  I stayed at a nice Bed and Breakfast called "Egan's Guesthouse".  It was a big house of approximately 15 guestrooms.  The room was very comfortable with 2 double beds, private bathroom and a TV.  Out by the lobby, there was a common living area with a larger TV, movies, boardgames, and a piano. 
So...since I only had those 2 days, I went out to explore the city.  The weather was not great, it was cloudy, so the city did look a bit gloomy.  It's nice though, I saw the bank of Ireland, which is the former Parliament house, Dublin's City Hall, passed by the Guinness storehouse but did not go in, Temple bar, and just walked on the streets to see where they take me....I just explored :) very nice city, but I don't believe I spent enough time in it to know it well or give a proper opinion.  As I have been told that there are places on the outskirts of Dublin which are beautiful and worth visiting....maybe next time :D