Tuesday 30 June 2009

Our appartmet in Tokyo, not so empty anymore

So, got news from the tenacious Mr M this morning. He's moved out of the hotel and is as of today officially living there. The guys from IKEA came to deliver the stuff he purchased last weekend, so the living looked like this:



He then proceeded to put together teh sofa (yes, it's yellow. We decided to go crazy in Japan)



And the bed (rather important if you want to sleep, no?)



So now we're fully functional. The basics are there! Mr M foresees an evening of IKEA fun, putting together the dining table and chairs.

Sunday 28 June 2009

Things I am going to miss from Brussels (part I)

Ok, ok, it's not that we're leaving forever, just a couple of years, but still. In no particular order:

  • my friends, also known as the "Brussels Bunch" (I won't name them, but you know who you are)
  • the Aperos Urbains in the summer
  • the Place de Chatelain on Wednesdays
  • the Egmont park
  • the Tenbosch park
  • the Wolvendael park
  • the Fond' Roy park
  • HEMA (it's actually very hard to leave empty handed)
  • DILLE & KAMILLE (same as before, one of the cutest shops ever)
  • WATERSTONES (my monthly dosis of magazines and books)
  • DE GRIFFE (shoe heaven)
  • DOD (cheap and chic)
  • caffe lattes from the "Natural CaffĂ©"
  • Saturday lunch at TEA & EAT and MAMY LOUISE
  • our "passegiatas" with Mr M through Ixelles while having an ice-cream
  • tram 23 (always empty and comfy)

to be continued.....

Saturday 27 June 2009

The countdown is ON!

Just returned from saying goodbye to my parents in Zaventem. Althoug we'll be seeing each other in September for my Dad and brother's birthdays, it is still an uneasy moment, all those "see you later, call when you arrive home, etc". I have been living in Belgium for almost 7 years now, and that amounts to a fair share of airport goodbyes, but it is still hard.
Anyway, with the papas departing, it means that the countdown to the big move to Tokyo is ON. Definitely on. In little more than a week, life will chage big time. It will definitely be a big adventure and I am completely looking forward to it!
In the meantime, this next week will be my week to say goodbye to Brussels. There'll be friends coming over for dinner on Monday, dinner with the parents in law on Wednesday and I am still debating whether to actually go to Werchter on Friday or just sell the tickets. I bought them ages ago when the whole Japan thing was a mere nugget to a shred of a thought and now I don't really feel like it anymore. Oh, well, only to see The Killers! It will be a sin not to go.
And tomorrow, in very un-typical Belgian fashion, most shops will be open because of the sales season. I am definitely going to have a glance, ha!

Saturday 20 June 2009

Suitcases

So, it is happening. Mr M is packing his suitcase. He leaves tomorrow, first to Shangai -where he will stay for 4 days- and then to Tokyo. He will stay in a hotel for one week while he does a trip round to the nearest IKEA and buys all we need to set up our home in the land of the rising sun. Man, that's gonna be one hell of a lot of DIY. As he says, he'll "prepare the nest" for the family. I foresee the nest to be full of empty IKEA boxes, hehe....
Bibu and I will join Mr M in two weeks. I am so not looking forward to travelling for 15 hours with a one year old. It's going to be, erm, "interesting", I guess. Anyway, I'm blacking that thought out of my mind for the moment. One step at the time, ommmm.....
House is full these days, with my parents and my aunt and uncle from Spain visiting, so it's easy to block any thoughts other than what we're going to eat for lunch or whether we need to do yet another round of laundry. In a way, it helps. In a way, it's crazy, but I know the craziness has a deadline and in a couple of weeks it's going to be only the three of us for some time, so it's OK.
What's not so OK is that I am going to miss Mr M very very much these newt two weeks. And will miss him during the "interesting trip" with Bibu. Aw, we shall see.

Sunday 14 June 2009

It's alive!!!

Or sort of. Anyway, The Mighty Detour exists and has seen the light. Not much to it yet, but promise that when life becomes a tinsy bit more chilled (surely not before Bibu and I depart to Tokyo following the tenacious Mr M) posts will flow like lava from Mount Doom.

Howevah, keep your eyes glued to this space. Who knows, you might get a little surprise!