V l a d y

roses are red 

violets are blue

sugar is sweet

quite not like you

the roses are wilting
the violets are dead
the sugar bowls empty

and so is your head! 

Vladimir pink version - looking better than a tsar.

We, the zinnekes

In the wonderfully rich and almost disappearing Brussels dialect, zinneke is the word for a street dog, whose origin is difficult to determine. Many of us in Brussels are like a zinneke, with diverse origins and varying cultures and languages. Every zinneke has her/his story. Since the year 2000, the Zinneke Parade brings together all of us 'zinnekes' from here and there, making us parade through the city proudly showing off our diversity.

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Nel ricco dialetto brussellese, zinneke è la parola che descrive il cane randagio, la cui origine è difficile a determinarsi. Qui a Brusselles ci sono in realtà tanti zinneke tra di noi, con origini diverse e di culture e lingue varie. Ogni zinneke ha la sua storia... Dall'anno 2000, la Zinneke Parata riunisce tutti noi zinneke di ogni dove facendoci sfilare per la città e sfoggiando orgogliosamente la nostra inestimabile diversità!

floralia concoction

We are just out of Brussels, now in Flanders. The tram makes it very obvious as it stops giving its bilingual announcements to the advantage of Dutch. Our eyes catch glimpses of an industrial setting and at the same time of a village that once was. Tiny brick houses and office blocks stand awkwardly side by side. Just as a few white cows are grazing quietly on a backdrop of trucks and containers, on a soundtrack of motorway's rumbles. 

Luckily, it's a sunny day. Otherwise, this strange place would look slightly depressive. It's not quite where I'd expect to see a castle! Yet, the Castle of Groot-Bijgaarden (or Grand Bigard) appears as a surprise from behind a hill. We are here for the yearly Floralia. The castle's owners have opened their modest adobe to the public, pleasing us all with a sweet flowers concoction. 

una cosa bella

E' una piazzetta qualsiasi nel bel mezzo di Ixelles/Elsene, un quartiere tanto sopravvalutato quanto i suoi angoli anonimi restano sconosciuti ai più. 

Eppure, qui la grigia circolarità di place Henri Conscience è graziosamente impreziosita da un gran castagno che vi spadrona al centro con la sua folta chioma e il suo colorato...abbigliamento. Sì, questo Signor Albero è infatti ben vestito, ricoperto di stoffe colorate abbinate un pò alla sanfasò. 

Ai suoi piedi, una sedia e un'altalena. Una sedia vecchio stile, di quelle che immagino ritrovare in una grande pattumiera parigina dell'usato, e un'altalena che, neanche a dirlo, è lo spasso dei tanti passanti. Nell'insieme, l'inusualità di questa scena infonde una dolce spensieratezza. M'incanta anche a sera.

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It's technically a little square like any other, located in the middle of Ixelles/Elsene, a neighbourhood as much overrated as its anonymous corners remain unknown to many.

But the circular place Henri Conscience is nicely embellished by a chestnut tree standing in the center with a rich foliage and a colourful...outfit. Yes, because Mr Chestnut Tree is elegantly dressed in cheerful fabrics put together a bit sans façon. 

At its feet are a chair and a swing. A vintage chair that I would imagine to find in a fancy Parisian dump of retro things, and a swing which amuses many passers-by. While curious, the unusualness of this setting puts you into a serene, tranquil state of being. Also at night, it plays its magic.