Ardennes

In a few weeks time I am leaving for a trip to Scotland with my sister. We will be hiking along the Westland Highway trail and were in some need of practice to prepare for the trip. So, we decided to get in the car, drive an hour north and explore our Belgian hills and mountains: The Ardennes.

This is us with our backpacks and hats (I am the taller one who looks like she's about to fall - I didn't), looking all professional in a big field. I should mention that hiking is severely underrated. Definitely when you go up and up and up a hill and every corner gives you a little hope that soon the road will get flat again, only it very rarely does. And with the sun beaming down on you it sometimes can feel like you're on an actual highway to hell. Maybe I should have worn my AC/DC t-shirt?

Here are some wildflowers along the road that brighten up the hike.

This beautiful dog is a friend that I made when we visited a tiny chocolate museum. I never managed to find out the little fella's name (maybe he wasn't even a fella), but (s?)he loved scaring doves and chasing goats. Around the museum was a honeybee walking path with amazing views all around.

All in all this was a great trip and I had great fun.

It is amazing how a weekend away can feel like a long holiday.

Some of my instagrams from the trip (taken at Durbuy and Han-Sur Lesse).

Speak to you soon,

Lize

Kasteel van Horst

The Castle of Horst has always been one of my favourite childhood memories. When I was only a little girl, we went on a schooltrip here and were amazed by all the different stories attached to the ancient halls. One was of a Lord who got his head cut off and had been roaming the lands around the castle for decades.

A forest walk-trough.

I planned a day-away with my mom to visit Horst when my exams finished. I was so excited to get there and here all the stories again from one of the castle guides, but unfortunately the castle had been going trough some renovations and wasn't yet opened to the public. So, we went on a walk instead. Luckily, no sign of the Headless Lord.

This one looked like it came straight out of Pan's Labyrinth.

Walking trough the forest, my ears got filled with a lot of cuckoo-ing and crowing from the birds that were sitting on high-up branches and flying above our heads. A lot of wild flowers decorated the side of the paths leading up to the castle.

I also spotted a lovely tribute to Mother Mary on a tree outside someone's house.

Despite the fact that we could not visit the castle, we still managed to have a nice afternoon. Even going on a walk 20 minutes away from your home, can make you feel like you're on holiday. I hope to be able to come back soon and get my ears filled with bird chatter and stories.

Speak to you soon,
Lize

Outside is the right side⎪Camping

Camping out in the garden

It seems my photo is a bit out of focus, but I honestly didn't even have enough place to look trough my lens.

I have been gone for a while. I guess I was figuring out what on earth I was actually doing. Holidays always leave me in sort of a daze, being happy and sad at the same time can be so confusing. I decided that I still wanted to do this for myself, though. For that maybe one day when I'm old and bored, I can come back to this place and read about how I used to spend my time off and what I hoped to become.

I spent last year studying, trying to figure out if I made the right choice and studying some more. I felt unsure of the choices that I made and even now I'm hesitant about what my future may bring for me. Since I didn't pass all of my exams, I have to retake two of them this summer. They're in two weeks and I started studying yesterday. It felt like a big adjustment after weeks of trying to not think about school at all. I wasn't in the right mindset for it and it left me feeling very tired, which is when I decided to set up my tent in our garden and create a place to be alone with my thoughts and become myself again.

This tent is actually meant for four people, so given the fact that I was by myself in there, I had enough place to sleep in different positions without having to feel too claustrophobic. I have always been font of camping, even though I have never actually done it out in the woods. Most of the time I stay in our own back garden. Close to home, but it still seems so far away when you're in there and the zipper's up. I made hot cocoa and watched Submarine and I felt so at ease with myself that when I woke up this morning I was happy to start studying again. It kinda made me feel like I was going somewhere.

I once made this photo set of screenshots that I took whilst watching the movie. It looks so peaceful out there.

I must admit I felt a bit nostalgic, though. Last time I camped out I was in high school and everything seemed so much easier, so effortless, so logic. Thankfully my cat joined me by nightfall and I felt a bit less alone. I still wish I could have been someplace else when I woke up this morning. As if the night had brought me a peace of mind and a different place to restart. To begin again, not to merely go on.

Where do you like to go when you're trying to get away for a bit?

Speak to you soon,

Lize

Outside is the right side ⎟Garden Tour

You may have remembered from my last post that recently I decided that outside is the right side! I have always been one of those gawky kids who was reluctant about going outside on a nice summer's day and rather spend it inside cooling off. As a result I still am the exactly same shade of white today that I was when I was born, apart from a few holidays tans that have faded away a long time ago.

But since I am leaving for Barcelona in just a few days time and I can safely say Spain is one of the hottest countries that I have ever visited before, I felt like it would be a good idea to prepare myself for outside fun times and took my camera outside to photograph my vibrant garden!

As you probably can tell, I'm a very lucky girl and have a big beautiful garden to relax in and discover when the sun decides to come out. You may not be familiar with Belgian weather, but I'm sure you've heard of London weather before and let me tell you, we're stuck in the exact same situation.

Thus, when the sun comes out, it's a true blessing for us and therefore try to enjoy it as much as we can. 

As you can see in the background of the picture, there are lots and lots of big trees. Those belong to my neighbour who owns quite a few sheep and has a huge ground that they can walk around on. I can imagine those trees are decades old, since there are so many of them. I think our whole neighbourhood sees them as a blessing, because they really make our view even more beautiful.

And right at the back of the picture is the forrest.

You can only begin to imagine how lovely the view is from our roof!

Our garden stretches out more to the left as well, as you can tell from this picture. We've been growing  an apple tree and a cherry tree there, but they're only a few years old and look more like the skinny first graders of trees. There's a also a huge amount of plastic on the floor that is supposed to be our pool, but still has to be filled up with water. So, that's why I didn't include a photo of this in my tour.

Towards the right of the picture you can see our lavender starting to grow.

I think this is my favourite part of our garden. These flowers make our garden look a bit more wild and rough and are a home to many kinds of insects in the summer. As long as the snails and bees stay over there and I can just enjoy looking at them, without getting stung or slimy, I'm okay with it. 

Lavender always reminds me of the south of france where there are loads of lavender fields across the roads. I remember those drives as one of the best memories of my childhood. Being a little kid in a different country always made me feel like an explorer, which I why I find travelling to be such an awesome experience.

"Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful;

they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul."

- Luther Burbank

Speak to you soon,

Lize