The sign says France and an arrow points that way, there could not be clearer sign that I am leaving the country. It is probably the tenth time I go under the Channel using the shuttle service but it’s the first time I do with a motorbike. I don’t remember seeing motorbikes the other times I took the shuttle and I distinctly don’t remember any common rooms, bars or even seats outsides the ones provided inside each traveller’s car.
Sadly I remembered well and I have to stand leaning onto the side of the coach all the way to France. Fortunately it’s not a long journey.
![20150920_142511copy](https://x10loupe.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20150920_142511copy-620x374.jpg)
On the other side things are very straight forward, you get out of the terminal and you go straight all the way to Brussels.
![20150920_153311copy](https://x10loupe.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20150920_153311copy-300x450.jpg)
I am going to Brussels to see Fabrizia, a very good friend of mine whom I have not seen in many years. She told me to be careful as Brussels is closed to motorised vehicles on Sundays but I forgot and promptly find myself at the outskirts of the city when the closure is still going. Thinking drinking alcohol might be a bit risky, given that I have a few miles still to cover before getting to Fabrizia’s place, I opt for a pause under the golden arches in the company of some french fries.
When they lift the closure I get going, on my way to the Ixelles district. I did not get to see half as much as I would have liked of Fabrizia. She works in the cabinet of Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission and, as we are in the middle of a pretty tense negotiation over refugee quotas, she is literally burning the candle at both ends.
A nice dinner in the steak house down the road from the house is however a great start and a good opportunity to catch up on the last 20 years of not seeing each other.
![20150921_153329copy](https://x10loupe.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20150921_153329copy-620x349.jpg)
On Monday I meet her for lunch and after that she takes a little time out of her gruelling schedule to show me the inner sanctum of the Commission: the iconic, if not terribly architecturally exciting Berlaymont building.
![20150921_145030](https://x10loupe.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/20150921_145030-620x539.jpg)
To balance that I then take a walk in the town centre and rediscover the wonder I shared with Tarn on our third or fourth anniversary, not sure i remember which one it was. I remember though that it was much colder then, that’s February for you.
I remember her reading to me, as we were driving into town, a piece of the guide book that was describing how the concept of planning restriction was not present in Belgian cities. Not sure why but it stuck with me and I still find myself going around searching for idiosyncrasies and curious juxtapositions of styles in the built environment.
![20150921_160942copy](https://x10loupe.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20150921_160942copy-300x533.jpg)
The good thing is that they are not difficult to find and, in my humble opinion, they add to the overall charm of the place.
![20150921_161023copy](https://x10loupe.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20150921_161023copy-300x494.jpg)
The Monday night meetings are as demanding as the Sunday night ones. For all the EU critics back home I have to say: these people really work hard for their money. The consequence is that I have to bail out Fabrizia from her cocking promise and provide for both of us the perfect “end of stressful day” meal. I found this spectacular cheese shop near the Grand Place and the dinner is three assorted cheese, biscuit and a bottle of Carine du Roy puisseguin saint-emilion 2013. Just a perfect compliment to our “making sense of the world” conversation.