If You Like Pina Coladas...

We got caught in the rain in that damned Bois de la Cambre yesterday.  (Love the bois when it's sunny, mad at it in the rain...)  We were ducked under a tree until i could not hold the water off any longer, forcing us to find another refuge... and at that point, most of the trees couldn't hold off the rain so we got pretty soaked.  I was thriving on the survivalist element of it all at first, but that got old and we just wanted to the rain to let up so we could leave.  Never have been much for camping and the outdoors...

You can't really tell, but it's raining.  Boy-o, is it raining!

Before our tree sold us out.

This is a window dog who popped out to say hi while we were eating outside at a cafe.  I was tempted to post him on the window kitties site, but I'm trying to keep it real over there.

Yes!

Possibly the cutest mini in the world.  Sorry, Mini Driver, but it's true.

Urban Woods, etc.

Oh, I went on a fine stroll today! I found a great organic (or "bio" as they say here) pet food store so that I can keep my babycat fed with the good stuff. I also stumbled upon the border of the Bois de la Cambre, which is a giant park in Brussels. I only nipped the edge of the park (honestly, without any breadcrumbs to drop I was afraid of getting lost), but I will come back to explore further. Also encountered an organ grinder and... oh, just see below!

One of the entrances to the Bois de la Cambre.

It's probably hard to tell from the iPhone shot, but there are tiny saplings they're nurturing (with stabilizers) that are only about 1-2 feet tall. It will take hundreds of years before they reach the height of their predecessors, but I love the idea of fostering a new generation of trees in this old forest.

I heard the most enchanting music as I was walking along the Chaussee de Waterloo... and then I stumbled upon this new friend. I gave him a 50-cent piece so that I could snap a picture without rushing (or guilt), and he lit up for me. Of course, the two dogs were a major selling point. (And, if you must know, of course they were intact. Does no one neuter their dogs over here?) But anyway, I totally want to hang out with this guy more--pet reproductive choices aside.

This was a new development since I've come back. Someone livened up one of the stones on Rue du Prevot (the street where our temporary apartment is).

And you know I love this. A Shih Tzu waits patiently at the Delhaize grocery. Oh, what a good day!