Family dinner in Limal

With the train line Ap I have it is so easy to purchase tickets. To get to Brigitte’s place we need to take an Intercity (IC) train to Ottiginies, which is about a 5 minute drive from Brigitte’s. we caught the train from Central Station and it all went very smoothly - but unlike the trip to Antwerp where our tickets weren’t checked, they were checked this afternoon.

We arrived on time and Brigitte was there to meet us. We had a bit of stuff with us as I will be moving in on Monday and thought we may as well start bringing stuff over, plus we had wine and chocolates as well.

The rest of the family arrived over the next couple of hours. Brigitte’s kids Nathalie and Stéphane haven’t changed much since we saw them in 2019, but Sohan and Emma are nearly teenagers and have grown up so much. Luc arrived next, he is Brigitte’s ex husband who is such a nice guy and who she and the kids and grandkids all have a great relationship with. This was the first time Ian had met Luc. The last to arrive were Gui and Geertje who are also so much fun and easy to get on with. Their kids aren’t coming tonight, in fact, we won’t see Lisa this trip as she left for a trip to South America about a week ago and Rob had a prior commitment, we will see him tomorrow at Gui and Geertje’s for dinner.

Brigitte made a great dinner of pumpkin soup, charcuterie, wonderful cheeses and three fabulous desserts, including a cheesecake with raspberries (that I even liked!), a chocolate tart and a Javanais ( a chocolate and mocha delight) which was delicious. We drank lots of champagne and wine over the evening and it was great to catch up with everyone. I was so engrossed in our conversations (plus I drank quite a bit of champagne) that I hardly took a photo which is so unlike me.Read more