While sitting in the darkened interior of the cafe overlooking the town square in Diksmuide, quietly enjoying our dinner while the world outside enjoyed its afternoon drinks in the glorious sunshine, we once again fell into that “pinch me” mode wondering if we really were here, or would we wake from our dream and find ourselves back half a world away.
Earlier in the day, with both of our brains still in what our phones so quaintly call “aeroplane mode” we forced ourselves to hang around in bed, enjoy a large, late breakfast, and check out of our hotel at exactly check-out time.
We can’t recall ever doing that before, and it was quite nice. In the process we have developed a new respect for our phones and their ability to pop in an out of “that mode” on demand, because it’s quite clear that we can’t.
This, combined with our propensity for having no plan, found us standing in the hotel foyer at one minute past checkout time, wondering where we might go from there.
It wasn’t really the “where” as there was a rental car with our name on it waiting at the airport, but the “how” that consumed our wondering.
The train would be easy enough, but it was raining a little, so in the interests of staying dry we opted for an Uber car. Within minutes of making that decision a distant relative of Max Verstappen arrived, and whisked us entertainingly through downtown Brussels at the speed of light, apparently certain that in the event of a mishap, the discombobulated state of our sub-atomic particles would render us immune from harm.
The rest of our journey was significantly more sedate, and barring a few missed turns, entirely uneventful.
Tomorrow no doubt, we'll wake up early and wonder how we came to be in a B&B two villages away, and not on the boat.
2 comments
Entertaining as always, Peter. My brain is with you as I have such fond memories of our last meeting in Diksmuide. Looking forward to reading more of your posts and maybe even catching up with you somewhere. Our plans are also in aeroplane mode, or if not, on snooze. As yet, we don’t know what we’re doing, but there’s a small house in France that beckons first. Love to you both!
It would be a shame if we can't cross paths this year - we always seem to manage!
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