topics
tools
editor's choice

Learning with the International Primary Curriculum

Remote training for expatriates

Should our kids go native too?

Pre-school activities in Belgium

How expats are learning the local lingo

Expatica countries
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2270.63 -0.42
DAX 6788.8 0.59
IBEX 30 8902.1 0.60
CAC 40 3424.71 0.43
FTSE 100 5895.47 0.33
AEX 325.12 -0.06
DJIA 12890.46 0.05
Nasdaq 2927.23 0.39
FTSE MIB 16653.83 -0.09
TSX Composite 12497.94 -0.18
ASX 4357.1 -0.15
Hang seng 21010.01 -0.04
Straits Times 2981.17 -0.03
ISEQ 20 503.71 0.33
You are here: Home Life in Blogs & photos Bloomin’ Brussels
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


27/04/2009Bloomin’ Brussels

Bloomin’ Brussels Blogger Kimberley Lovato rejoices as spring dashes colour across the Brussels landscape.

Whoever says Brussels is a grey city has obviously never arrived in Springtime! Parks are full of sunny yellow daffodils and sunbathers, and walking under the canopy of trees along Avenue Tervuren gives the sensation of swimming beneath the sea as the new lima bean colored leaves casting their tint onto the sidewalk.  This time of year also brings  the opening of various gardens.  Some public, some private, all worth visiting. 


The Royal Greenhouses of Laeken open their doors for 3 weeks only, during spring, and a visit here is like falling down Alice's rabbit hole into a garden wonderland.  Geranium leaves the size of my open hand, fuscia plants suspended above like little dancing fairies and flowers in all the colors of lifesaver candies.  If ever you want to see a sight in Brussels, the Royal Greenhouses, built by King Leopold and on the property of the Royal Palace, are a must.  Some of the plants, like the buildings themselves, date back 100 years.

South of Brussels in the forests near Waterloo, the bluebells have arrived.  On sunny days, there is nothing like strolling along the majestic purple carpet that glows beneath the newly greened leaves that sprinkle the light. 

A friend recently went with me to see the tulip gardens at the Castle of Grand-Bigard, just outside of Brussels.  She started to skip when she saw the garden awash with blazing color.  "How can you not be happy around all these flowers?" she asked.   It's true. So I skipped too. If ever there were a place to skip, this would be it.  Rows and beds and mounds and hollows of tulips in every size and color were omnipresent.  We bent and laid in the dew covered grass to smell them all.  Some were scented, but it was the hyacinth's sweet perfume that announced to me that spring had definitively arrived.  On days like today, in bright and colorful Brussels, there is nowhere else on the planet I'd rather be, or skip.

Royal Greenhouses of Laeken


Kimberley Lovato


www.abroadinbelgium.com



1 reaction to this article

James Drew posted: 2009-04-29 16:59:15

I now have a quite lovely image of you skipping fixed in my mind's eye, Kimberley - thank you! ;-)

1 reaction to this article

James Drew posted: 2009-04-29 16:59:15

I now have a quite lovely image of you skipping fixed in my mind's eye, Kimberley - thank you! ;-)

Inside Expatica
Looking for work in Belgium

Looking for work in Belgium

This handy guide from Expertise in Labour Mobility includes how to write a CV, application procedure, interview dos and don'ts, Belgian management culture.

Practical, easy-to-use, free and... in English

Practical, easy-to-use, free and... in English

Belgium’s first alternative directory assistance services - available through the shortcode 14-14 - can now be accessed on the internet.

Finding a rental home in Belgium

Finding a rental home in Belgium

Moving to Belgium presents a host of challenges to expats, not least of all finding the right home.

Learning to cope with life abroad

Learning to cope with life abroad

The psychological effects of global mobility can be physically painful.