On top of the World!

Another hot and sweaty day in Belgium! Storms were forecast for today and most of the week, but so far there's no sign of anything and it's been extremely hot and humid.

I've taken lots of blips of the Butte du Lion before, and I've been planning to blip the view from the top but have been hoping for a day with clear blue skies. It's been a bit hazy today, so the view isn't as good as it could be, but I decided that if I wait, I might not get another opportunity before we leave.

So I climbed all 225 steps despite it being 27 degrees at 10.30am - it's good exercise and is worth it when you get to the top. The view is amazing, and this shot is taken looking towards Brussels in the distance. You can also see some of the Waterloo battle fields and the buildings of the visitor centre. The white circular building houses a panoramic 360 degree painting and model of the battle. Its very realistic and even provides sounds of the battle taking place.

On my way back I took the car to the car wash as there were so many dead bugs on it after our weekend away, and then I took my neighbour to the bottle bank, where we literally had a smashing time! She'd asked me some time ago if I'd take her as they don't have a car and said that she had quite a lot of bottles. That was an understatement! She filled the boot of the car and we have a big boot! So I stayed and helped her to dispose of them - it wasactually quite therapeutic. Unlike us they weren't wine and beer bottles, there were hundreds of jam jars or the like. She must have been collecting them up for a long time!

Then this afternoon I've been to meet a friend from the gym for a drink and to say good bye as she goes away next week, so unless I see her at the gym in the meantime I won't see her again before we move. We sat in the shade as it's too hot in the sun, and they had a fan which kept spraying fine water on us which was lovely.

Anyway, I'd better go and cook our dinner as the estate agent is bringing someone round to view our apartment later. I apologise if my commenting isn't very frequent at the moment but we've now only got 10 days before our move and the time is flying, but I'll do my best to keep up with you all the best I can.

Have a look at the larger view.