room with view

finished. my holiday/travel plans for this year.

next week i am going to brussels, for both work and pleasure. the first two days are packed with meetings with various sets of authors (one of which based at the EU commission - the famous four wings building, you know?) and a dinner at a traditional belgian restaurant, to inaugurate a new project. the two days as a tourist will be spent to check out the new magritte section at the musee des beaux arts, visit the recently restored atomium, the antique shops in rue haute (or hoogstraat) with a stop at brasseire ploegmanns for lunch, where last time we were too late to eat. museum horta is also in my list, since we found it closed last time.

before going to the USA in may, i shall go to italy for easter, but this time i have not arranged anything. it will be a relaxing week with my family, visiting my friend at her new house, meeting my other friend's new baby, and seeing my bride-to-be friend. on the other hand, USA required more organisation, but everything i could do from here has been now done: flight and train are booked, accommodation in chicago and san francisco reserved. the rest of week in madison we will be guests at steve's brother and his family's house. the only two outstanding items of my planning list are the car and accommodation in yosemite and lake tahoe, but we may do it at the last minute or even when we are there.

we splashed out with the hotel in chicago which was recommended by the BBC holiday programme. it will be our treat for this holiday. in san francisco we went for a homey solution: we will be staying in a gay B&B. at first, i was a bit skeptical whether to stay in a place that advertises itself as *gay*, because i found it a bit discriminatory and feared not to be accepted. but after i talked to michael (the well-travelled manager) and read some reviews, i realised that everybody is welcome, even children (the B&B offers small size dressing gowns for kids - how sweet). so, i was happy to go for it. his house is lovely, located in a very nice quarter (so the guide says), filled with cool memorabilia from travels, books, a parlor immersed in the green, and buffet brakfast served till noon. lol! the room we chose is intimate and with a charming view over the golden gate bridge. so, i believe we could not find a better place to stay. after all, we are going to san francisco, the liberal and gay city par excellence, so we had to do gay somehow! michael has been also very helpful, and in his last email asked me if we wanted him to arrange something special for us. : )

of course, now i have to think what i want to do/see, but i have already some ideas (i have been annotating things in my black notebook, including where to shop and nightclubs) and i am sure michale will assist me in finding funky *experiences*. ; )

"...all the things i carry with me
and all the things i left behind
and all the things that wait to meet me
over in the air tonight

if i can only keep on moving
and never stop and think of me
and freefall through the years and decades
terminal velocity

we hope you had a very happy pleasant flight
this is our final destination so goodnight
like a stone we are now falling from the sky
farewell from af 607105"

Charlotte Gainsbourg, af 607105, from 5:55