Theres so much, really, so forgive me for no rhyme or reason to this.  If it pops into my head, I will write it.  

Did you know that Belgium has brothels?  Lots of them.  Actual bordellos.  I think there is a difference, but I. Not sure what.   They have flashing lights outside them.  Some are big big old houses.  I was looking to see if I could see anything, but I couldn't.  Not even a car in the parking lot.  Maybe they have underground parking.  LOL

When we were driving on the freeway today, i couldn't help but think about the war.  I know, morbid, right?  But there was such big battles here one hundred years ago.  All the people that were killed for nothing.  Displaced from their homes, etc, etc.  it's just normal, flat farmland, and imagine what it looked like 100 years ago.  Totally different.  And it's so sad.  See?  I was in a deep mood today.  What a thing to,think about.  Sigh. 

Once again I didn't get supper.  I would give anything for a salad.  Seriously.   I am craving it.  But, I am becoming an expert in ordering at the patisserie next door. Today, I did it all in french.  Can you believe it?  Deux croissants, s'il vois plait.  Almonde ou chocolat?  Almonde.  I even got the amount right.  Look at me.  Talking like a native.  LOL

Divo bits.  It bothered me all day that I didn't post this.  Because I noticed it several times.  There is this muscle in Seb's throat that quivers when he holds those long long notes.  It's really cool to,watch, to be honest.  Shows how much he is working.  That he really stretches himself to match the others.  The clarity and strength of his voice just gets better and better.  And he has such an easy smile.  It's infectious.  

David's pants didn't fit properly in the second half.  They were way too big.  And something was wonky with his cumberbund.  Poor David.  Sounds like I am picking on him, and I don't mean too.  He was lovely and laughing and jovial, as he always seems to be.  And he laughed so hard at one point when Urs got messed up with a story he was telling it Dutch that he had to turn around.  His whole body was shaking with laughter.  So so funny.  

I have no bits about Urs and Carlos that I didn't already say.  But if I think,of them orifice B reminds me, I will be sure to post them.  There is so much I am missing.....I just know it!  It as been a whirlwind, let me tell you. 

Oh!  Who commented about being a blogger forthe guys?  Carolyn, I think.  What a fabulous idea girl!  You know my boy Keith?  He has someone who blogs on the road for him.  Plus he blogs and videos himself sometimes and posts those.  I think it's a fabulous idea!  Who do I contact?  I think.people would love behind the scenes, back stage stuff, don't you?  I would.  That's what I love to read.  I figured everyone else must love it too.  T reporting for duty.  I would be a great behind the scenes reporter, don't you think?  Hehehe.  I'd tell the people what they rEally want to know. Who dyes, who doesn't.  What is Urs REALLY like.  How many bracelets dosE David have?  WHatg do they eat.  Who gets along.  And most importantly..........why is Carlos' chest red?  Enquiring minds want to know and T will get to the bottom of it.  :) :) :)

Dont quit my day job, right?  Hehehehe.

Hugs to everyone. 

Nite nite

T.
Xxxxxx

Or, as I have named it,...........break down in a public toilet day.  Come on, we all knew it was going to happen.  I wish not but..........this is me we are talking about.  I warned you.  I warned myself.  Despite my best efforts, break down in the public toilet occurred.  Except it wasn't a toilet, in was a restaunt, which could be worse, really.  It felt like everyone was staring at me, but it was so busy in there, probably not.  I hope not anyhow.    To make it worse, the supplies I brought along for just such an event were absolutely useless.  I had pictures of home........they made me bawl harder.  The play list?  Made me think......you are not any of those things, you big loser.  I even had two printed out pages of snippets from emails and things filled with encouragement, and I couldn't read it because my eyes were so blurry.   Big loser is right.   Loser T.

Eventually I got it together, thanks to this little teeny tiny blonde toy someone send me. To bring along.  I forgot I had her, but she made me smile.  And so I carried on.  Not really any choice was there?   Nope.  The show must go on.  

So, the bus was full but luckily I sat in the aisle seat and no one sat beside me.  I think I was the only one who had that.  The other singletons got stuck with strangers.  That, and I had my grump face on for just such a reason.  Couldn't deal with that today, I just couldn't.   The commentator was awful.  Truly.  Frank was his name, and no, Frank - Mr. Chain smoker - you are not eating aa tip with you lackluster commentary and tsk tsk directed at those of us you tsk'd for not following your recommendations regarding food and drink and boat cruises.  No.  You get a kick back for it - I saw them give me money based on the people that came inside - so just NO.  I do not need to pay 24 euros for lunch when I can go across the road and spend 5 euros for a grilled cheese, fries and a coke.   No.  This was highly reminiscent of the Stonehenge debacle of the 90's but I will save that for another day.  Some of you know the story.  No tip. I don't care what you say. 

So.  Now that I have all,the grump and bawling out of the way and a fresh cup of tea.what did I like?  They took us to the cathedral in Ghent.  We really only had about an hour in that town.  I wandered around in the crypt .........and it was kind of......crypt- y and creepy.  And cold.  Lots of old things from the middle ages though, so,that was kind of interesting.  Went and got a coffee and wandered in the shops, which might have been the beginning of the melancholy, because the shop owner was so nice, and the little dog so friendly.   I never should have pet that dog.  It was the beginning of all my troubles.  

Bruges is very very beautiful. My dad would have loved it. I wish I could post pictures on this dumb thing, because I would like to show you.  The architecture and the buildings.  So pretty.  All the canals and little shops.  Easily could have spent several days there exploring.  The only down thing is all,the tourists.  Because there are thousands of them.  Me included.  I couldn't help but think that the locals must hate it.  There were two elderly ladies, helping each other down one of the side streets, where it was quiet, and they were just shaking their heads at the craziness.  Not that I blamed them.  It was chaos.  But beneath all that.......really beautiful. 

I was going to take a canal cruise, as they suggested, but it started snowing.  Yes, snowing.  Where are we?  Canada?  Hehe.  It was so so so cold.......I just couldn't face getting colder.  Yes, mum and B, I had a sweater and a coat and a scarf, and I was still cold!  BRRRRRRRR!  Anyhow, it was a lovely lovely afternoon, despite the cold weather and the breakdown.  If only my leg felt better.   Ugh.  I am becoming a cripple.  Luxembourg tomorrow will be a challenge.  But the show must go on.

Bruges is really beautiful......the swans and the horses and the Lake of Love.  I will,post pictures when I get home.  Let's hope no. Bawling in Luxembourg ladies.  I can't take any more.  I'm allowed one, that's it.  And I've had it.  

You know, there is something comforting about watching Back to the Future, after a sort of meh day.  Even with the Dutch subtitles, it makes me feel better.  

T.
Xxx

So, I know a lot of Il Divo fans read these blogs - strange how the numbers keep going up - ot that I am complaining.   Anyhow......I just though I would say some of the little things that I notice about them.  Stuff I would find interesting.......I am all about the behind the scenes stuff and the little quirks I noticed.  Not that I know about behind the scenes - although I would LOVE to - but I like the out of the norm stuff.  So, here goes.

David is very theatrical.  To the point that it was almost comical to me.  Don't hate me for saying that, it's just my observation.  I don't know if he means to be l,e that and if it is genuine - but it didn't seem like it to me.  It seemed a bit weird and over the top to be honest.  The faces he made and the arm movements and doubling over.........too much.  That in no way reflects on the quality of his voice, because it is beautiful, but the fake theatrics are not necessary.  Unless that is really how he is.  But I don't think so.  No one is that into singing.  It was like he wwas trying to win an award or something.........but, again, his voice was perfect and beautiful.  I just don't think he needs to augment it the way that he does. 

Urs is serious.  Serious but when he laughs or smiles, his whole face changes and it's like sunshine.   He spoke a lot in Dutch, even sang in Dutch.  I had no idea what he was saying, but the crowd loved it.  And he laughed a lot, but was serious almost an equal amount.  Sometimes he closes his eyes and mouths along to the others parts, like the music is just washing over him.  It's much more subtle than David.   But maybe they express it differently, right?  Oh, and he wears this amazing grey suit at the end.  It's awesome!

Sebbie is like a musician.  You can tell he plays a lot of instruments.  His hand is constantly going at his side.  Whenever there is certain percussion From the orchestra or different melodies, he's going along with the rhythm and keeping time.  His hand punching the air..  It's sweet.  And a big smile on his face.   Oh, and I love that he has all these silver bracelets on his wrist.  Suits him. 

Of course, I left Carlos for last.  Hehe.  He flirts and it's cheese and everything else that you know and love and hate about him.  There is nothing new there.  But his voice.............there is none that can compare.  He hits those notes and I get chills.  And at one point got 'upset' with Seb for feeling his butt.   LOL. Cheese, cheese cheese.  Oh, and he has either a rash or a sunburn on his chest.  It's strange.  The colour is normal, and about the third undone button, his chest is bright red.  It looks painful, really.  Someone jokes that maybe it was waxing gone wrong. LOL.  But I don't think so.  It looked like a skin condition.  Poor guy. 

I could write a million other things, but I promised myself a 10 pm bedtime tonight.  Early morning and long day tomorrow.  Full report of that if I am not too tired.  I seem to be awfully busy, don't I?   Wow.

Oh, before I forget, Leuven is a lovely town.  And the market,  I can't get over the flowers at all the stalls!  And how none expensive they are!   So, so, pretty!  And they have pansies already!   :). Thanks for showing my around, B!  I love your town!  I even know how to pay for the bus now.  Hehe.e

Okay, night night people.   Big hugs. 

T.
Xxxxx

Oh oh oh oh!  There is so much to say and so little time and so little cooperation from the iPad.  I don't care what anyone says.....its a terrible contraption.  Maybe mine is defective.  Mine's broken.  These are broken.  (movie quote anyone?). Let's see what I can do.   Umm.......where to start?  

B's mama was our chauffeur to Antwerp.  Brave mama.  The traffic and freeways are crazy crazy here.  But she did a great great job!  We arrived early but it was a good thing.  Had time to get our tickets and have a drink and get settled.  Oh! And buy some souvenirs.  Hehe.  Magnets!  They have magnets!  I have all kinds of concert magnets on my fridge - the boy fridge I call it!  But I didn't have divo.  Now I do!  Yay!

This couple -VERY POSH - saw my Canadian passport as I was getting my tickets and they approached me about it.  So we had a little chat.  They were obviously "important" or thought they were.  I felt a bit out of my element, but i can hold my own, i guess.  Thankfully i was dressed nice.  That gives confidence, you know?  And so does working for Loverboy for years.  Youmjust get through.  Plus, being excited about divo doesnt hurt.  Hehe.  Anyhow, They were very nice, but very french Canadian.  Turns out they are from Westmount in Montreal and live in Brussels for work.  I found out later work was NATO.  Ya, NATO.  He gave me his business card and told me to email him for Divo pictures. We'll see.  He did have a really good camera.  Anyhow, it was interesting.  

The concert was just amazing.  AMAZING!!!!  The show was starting, and I looked away for some reason......and when I looked back, of course there they were!  Coming up out of the floor. And sounding just spectacular!  I think I might have teared up a bit, but mostly I just smiled like an idiot, because I couldn't believe I was there!  And they were there!  And I was in Antwerp.  It was just........ya.  So so so so cool!  

I could tell you the songs and the schtick that they do, but those reports are a dime a dozen.  Their repertoire is much more relaxed than it used to be, looser and funnier, and it really seems like they try to outdo each other in trying to make their mates and the audience laugh.  Some of the gags are obviously part of the show even though they are meant to be 'original' moments, but I say just go along for the ride.  It's fun and so much better than the stiffness of previous shows.  I like it and they made me laugh.  Their smiles are infectious and it's fun.  Of course, their voices  are absolutely beautiful.  So much that it gives you chills at the most unexpected moments.  Especially when Urs is staring right at you!  LOL. My seat was pretty much centre, and for some reason we got a lot of Urs.  Not that. Am complaining.  We got a lot of Carlos too.

Ok, gonna post this and continue with part two in case iPad decides to act up.   

To be continued..........

Since you asked so nicely, one more blog post :)

Here are our signs.  I think Miss B was afraid to hold hers up but I held mine up when the Señor was talking about being single and looking for looooooooooooove. He smiled and winked at me but no action. Check in later for the full concert report but I know you wanted to see the signs.

B's sign

See the little goat?

Kissy kissy kissy

Hi Everyone!  I'm alive.  I'll be back later with a detailed blog but since I have a chance to post some photos I thought I would. In fact I have a personal secretary named B who is typing what I'm telling her because the keyboard isn't the same as the English and it was taking too long.
*B says Hi :)

We both say goodbye for now.

This is in the main square in Brussels.

This is Galeries St-Hubert

The Atomium from 1958 World fair

This is appetizers and champagne at Luzine!

Guess who?

If you don't know who this is you should not be reading this blog :)

I posted part two, and it all disappeared.  GRRRRRRRR!  But I had copied it so I just popped it back in.  

So, my parents dog is named Tonka.  What does that have to do with a fancy meal in a parking garage?  Well, for dessert, the menu called for........Tonka.  I kid you not.  So, J& F, if you are reading.........I ate Tonka yesterday.  And he was really good!  Hehe. Turns out it was a bean.  Tonka is a bean.  And they made some kind of ice cream out of it.   They brought us coffee, with hot foamy cream to put in it, and a plate of ten different chocolates.  It was divine and so extravagant.  What a treat and once in a lifetime!  The food was amazing........but the company was better.  :)

Spent a lovely afternoon with B, met her charming mum and they were both so kind and hospitable.  Beautiful, beautiful ladies.  :). B and I dissolved into fits and fits of giggles as we sat at her kitchen table doing an arts and crafts project relating to kisses and little goats.  Bet you're all wondering what that is about, aren't you?  Well.........

With that teaser I am going to sign off.  Tune in next time for an explanation of the little goats, and a concert review.  Because tonight................we go to Antwerp for the concert!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Look out Carlos and the rest of you Divo boys............Canada is on her way!

T.
Xxxx

So, in we go.  It really is beautiful.   Low lighting and elegant surroundings and the service........attentive and impeccable.  We sat in the lounge, and we're immediately brought champagne.  So, anyone that knows me knows champagne and I, alcohol and I, are not the best of friends.  LOL. And at 1 pm in the afternoon? Well recipe for disaster.  Diz-a-sta as GaGa says.  Hehe.  Anyhow, it wasn't a disaster, it was just lovely.  They brought us tiny little appetizers to try and we settled on the three course luncheon.  I had no idea what we were getting as the menu was in Dutch, but B assured me it would be good.  So......let the adventure begin. 

We were show to our table, more appy's, more wine! And we hadn't even started the three courses yet.  You get a different wine with each course.  I was worried about getting drunk and falling down those stairs we had to cliamb up when it was time to leave., but since this was once ain a lifetime experience, I wasn't going to not drink the wine.  I have no idea what the first one was, only that it was good.a. Rally agood.  And i never say that about wine.   

B and I chatted like old friends.  It's sort of weird and scary to meet a penpal - I was so nervous! - but it was just fine and not weird at all.  Was it weird, B?  I think we were both in disbelief that we had actually met, but besides that, it was really good.  :)

We ate things like quail and caviar - yes, I ate caviar!  I couldn't bring myself to try the eel - I had this vision of Julia Roberts smacking the eel to kill it in that weird John Malchovich movie Mary Riley.   Hehe.  Eel was a bit much for me, I must admit.  We had sea bass and chicken as a main course.  It is all about the presentation.  The portions are very small, but the plate looks like art.  It is so beautiful.  I would have taken pictures, but it would have been uncool in such a classy place.   But I will never forget what it looked like.  

Part three coming up.......

Stupid iPad"............I think I am returning it when I get home.  I don't like it at all.

I don't usually have trouble typing a blog,  Tonight I have started this a dozen times times and it is just not coming out right.  Maybe I am on overload.  It's been a busy busy few days and in some ways it feels like i have been here forever, not just a few days.  Maybe jet lag is catching up with me.  I'm not sure, but I fear this isn't going to be as lively as it should be.cause of all that and really I had the best day.  So,.........

Today I met B in her town of Leuven. Of course I was late and nervous and hot......ugh.  Not the impression I wanted to make but what could be done?  Of course she was right where she said a she would be and just as lovely as I thought. SO so kind.  She whisked us into a taxi to the world famous - well maybe Belgium famous - Luzine restaurant.  Imagine my surprise when we pulled up in front of a concrete parking garage in the middle of nowhere.   This is a restaurant?  Really?  It looked like.....nothing.  A building that could be anywhere.  So we climbed up Lots of stairs to find an actual parking garage with a car..........then this beautiful candelabra lighting a corridor.  It was kind of creepy looking, but very cool at the same time.  We went inside and wow...............beyond the door was this beautiful, elegant posh restaurant.  Like nothing I've ever seen before.  It was incredible.  Beautiful.  Hidden away in a a parking garage.  Wow.

Hello again.....it's morning now and I still feel as discombobulated as I did last night.  Maybe the jet lag caught up to me, I'm not sure.  I've decided in a lazy day until it is time to leave for Leuven, then Antwerp for the concert.  Maybe after resting - okay, am I 95? - ill feel a bit better.  I'm just completely out of sorts today.  Strange.  Landlady Sofie says I a doing too much.   She's so sweet.   Ayhow, I hope to be right soon.  Can't let myself feel crummy today of all days.  It's DIVO Day!     WHOOOOOOOO!

But, we have to get back to Luzine or I'll never finish it and if I get behind, I'll never get caught up.  So, here we go, back to the parking garage.  Hehe.  Can you believe that?  A parking garage?  So, in we went, and........I'm going to post the rest in another entry because we all know how stupid this thing is........I'll probably lose half of it if I type it all out in one post and that would send me over the edge today.  

Stay tuned for part two of The Parking Garage.



Beautify

So back to the chocolate shops.  I went into one that had a cookie buffet.  Seriously, there was about twenty different kinds.  So I bought a few.......I thought a treat for the week.  I could have one at night.  I almost fainted when they said twelve euros!  AI YI YI.  Highway robbery but what could I do?  I had to buy them.  Haven't tried one yet, but they better be worth it for that price!