Sliding Doors

There are some very nice side effects of blogging. And the most surprising one of them is that you get to make new friends. Not that I am already over the fact that I have seemed to have hurt certain individuals. Still, the best thing that happened to me since starting this adventure I got to meet one in the flesh!!!

I am not going to give away all the details but yesterday I had one of these very nice days that can make my heart smile. I was nervous about meeting a person who contacts you by reacting to a blog post but according to my sixth sense this one was going to be worth it!

So while I was standing out there waiting for her to appear (fired up with a bag of Belgian chocolates for her to enjoy! She is chocolate lover!!) I became very anxious. My thaughts were running wild. Like always I had forgotten her number to call in case of an emergency. Typical Stallie!! 'Uhm, in case she is not going to show up I will eat those chocolates myself!', was perhaps my 'worst' thaught!

While observing the many people (some locals and many 'lost' tourists) at the Metro stop where we had pledged to meet up I came to think of how much I miss this city. It is a very particular sensation I experience while being on my own wandering through my capital city. Once I am on the metro heading for 'Capital Adventure Land' I ease down. The moment I get to look over the many colorful faces of my fellow passengers I feel so much different.

When M suddenly popped out of the metro (you should know I only saw one picture of her on her blog in which she is wearing sun glasses) I happened to just look at her face. It was radiant and her eyes were sparkling. She was so sorry that she was late but that didn't matter to me because she made it!!!!

We walked, talked, ate (I had the biggest ice cream on the menu of Haägen Dazs) and got to know each other better. It was amazing what I just told her openly at that first meeting but I don't consider her a stranger anymore. I do admire the fact that she followed her husband, left her home country and took along her two kids and dragged along her belongings to start a new adventure.

She worries about many things. Especially the new challenges her daughters will face. But I just sense that she is up for that. She has got what it takes and has embraced already Brussels in her heart and also managed to change her new apartment into 'home sweet home'! For the moment she even prefers the typical Belgian weather!!! Oh boy, she most have Belgian in a previous life!

M will be here for 3 years and I do hope to take her along many times on outings. I can't wait to show her and her family the country that I do cherish. M showed me very nice images of her family and she told me very nice things about the loved ones she had left behind in Greece!!

By the time we descended once more to get our rides for home it was a bit surrealistic that M ended up getting me of at the right stop and also showed me the right way to our next ride! Guess she is a fast learner. Once I was back on my own I came to think of how fascinating subways can be!

Yes, I still get lost in the one of Brussels but I don't mind. I have been on many rides all over the world. The numerous times I took the subway in Brussels heading home afer a long day and feeling relieved to be back where I truely come to life! This year I minded the Gap in the London subway with my mum. Still vividly remember my solo ride on the one of Paris just moments before I got hit by a white van (learning the hard way that you never can trust a white van) in front of L'Odeon in the pouring rain! The rides I took with my sister on the underground tramline of Zürich were the ultimate punctual rides I ever experienced. And I go one for hours what meaningful rides I did spend under the ground!

But they all have one thing in common the moment the doors slide open and I get of I head for the unknown. Because once I pop up above ground I connect back with life and seem to have been granted a few precious moments to reflect about my own ride of Life and were I heading for. Yesterday the ride took me to a new friend!! One I hope to sit on the metro with many times!! M, once more thank you for the nice afternoon and hope to let you taste many excellent, delicious chocolate in the 36 months to come! Always welcome to hop on!

P.S.: One of the rather suprising movies involving sliding doors of elevators and subways was 'Sliding Doors'. Aqua ended up on the Soundtrack with this song. And yes, sometimes I do think it would be nice to turn back time! Especially when you are enjoying ice cream in good company!