May 10th – 11th “you get around a bit Sir”

I get this comment from the girl at the car hire desk.
Something I think is a little over familiar for a Belgian they normally don’t stray into the personal area just for car hire.
 
The question which provoked the comment was “is this your current address”
Pleasant Road,   no
Vine Crescent,   no
Bakery Cottages  no
Rue du Suisse   no
Pitts Road    no
Lauren court  yes

now there were actually 4 other locations she missed but hey who’s counting.

So it is about 11:30 pm and I have actually paid to keep the car hire open as my plane landed at 11 pm when technically they are closed. An interesting ploy I think. Maybe they could open from 11 am to 2 pm and charge people who come after hours which would increase their margins.

Anyway my car is a Ford Fiesta small and black, so small it may possibly fit into the back of my Pilot back home but you really don’t want a big car around here. Small is good. So I throw the bags in and start it up. It is a diesel and has that throaty rattle you associate with these engines. Off I go into the night on a route I have taken countless times into the center of Brussels.

There is a familiarity about the place everything seems to be the same although I am not expecting big changes. It has been close to 4 years since I left but Brussels is sort of timeless and change is not the norm. I instinctively switch lanes at different points as I know through experience where I should be. Arriving at the hotel and manage to find a parking space within 150 meters which is a bonus. The Hotel is probably only halk a mile from where I used to live so I know exactly where I am.

Booked on the net via one of these “find me a hotel” sites it is not 5 star but quite nice. 
Now given I specified on the booking and commented when I rang to confirm late arrival and asked the receptionist for a smoking room of course I get a none smoking one but it’s fine. It is a terrible habit and how can I complain.   

It is late now so off to bed, well after I get the soccor scores that is, something just can’t wait.

Tomorrow “nostalgia it’s not what it used to be”