Visit Belgium


Visit Belgium: Rue des Bouchers in Brussels.
Life certainly takes you in unexpected directions. In the autumn of 2004 I suddenly found myself in Belgium after turning down an attractive job offer in Italy. There was a girl, you see, and she convinced me to dump pasta and pizza for waffles, chocolate and a life with her in Belgium.

Visit Belgium.
Unfortunately, that giant leap of faith didn’t actually work out for the relationship. However, instead of swiftly exiting stage left (pursued by a bear), I decided to stay in Belgium. I ended up having an unforgettable four and a half years in the country. Raking through my photo archives of those times, it makes me smile to think of just how much of Belgium I got to see.

Visit Belgium: In the Old Quarter of Namur.
In fact, I had two home bases in the country. For almost three years I lived in the lovely university city of Leuven. For nearly two more years I was based in Brussels, a period that I look back on fondly despite never truly falling for the Belgian capital.

Visit Belgium: The Stadhuis (Tow Hall) in Leuven.
For better and for worse, this was a highly eventful time of my life. I found love, lost it and found it again. I also made lifelong friends and took on one of the biggest challenges of my early teaching career. In between, there were fantastic adventures exploring the country.

Visit Belgium: The charming city of Ghent.
To find out more about my experiences living in Belgium, check out my travel articles on:
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I’ve also written a short story collection called Based in Belgium.