Bruxelles and Back

Very productive LabourStart retreat.  Happy to say I wound-up on the Executive Committee.  Unhappy I couldn't take a few more days off and spend some time in the city afterwards.  Left Tuesday night, returned Monday.  Had an hour or three (and an equal number of luscious beers) with an old friend the day I arrived and a few hours walking and talking with him and another after our meeting was over.


The Hotel Chelten was a very nice little tourist hotel.  Oddly dim breakfast room but the buffet breakfast quite pleasant.  Wonderful terrace on the roof.  Nice neighbourhood.  Some pleasant reasonably-priced restaurants nearby.  Five minutes at most to the nearest Metro station.  Some interesting neighbourhoods within 20 minutes walk in several directions.  30 minutes walk to the old centre of the city.

Great rail connections all over Europe.

City walkable,  Great beer.  And by that I mean GREAT beer.  Problem is, they have a great many really high-alcohol beers.  Which don't taste like other 13%+ beers (i.e. like a light beer with rubbing alcohol added), but are actually quite tasty.  Till now the high-alc winner in my little contest was a Sri Lankan stout at, I think, 12%). Found a touristy-funky little bar in the old city centre that served flights of beer.  Wonderful little beer shops all over the place.

And an all-Tin-tin book and everything else Tin-tin shop.

Photos of the non-LabourStart bits of the trip HERE.  Photos of the LabourStart bits HERE and an account of the retreat itself can be found HERE.

Day 9 in Aix

1. Les Deux Garcons is a ritzy brasserie on the main drag, Le Cours Mirabeau. You're not supposed to take photos in it as its owned by the local mafia and they get tense around camera but I snuck a couple. Enough to give you a sugar overdose but quite pretty in some weird wiggy historical sense. Look for photos HERE.

2. The bartender/owner at Le Bar PTT, our newly-identified local, is a hoot. He has now identified us as ragulars and Geri gets kissed on both cheeks, I get a handsake. Not long before I get the two kisses the other regulars get I'm sure. Am shying away a bit. He's well-lubricated all the time and his replacement on the night shift gets up to speed on arrival with four quick shots. Both are continually on the edge of disaster wheil pouring or delivering glasses to the table soutside, but somehow seem to manage it.

3. The bar's regulars have loud disagreements over the previous night's tabs with the staf while the bar tender continues to pour us drinks he doesn't charge us for until we force him to.

4. I've settled into a rhythm with the available papers. Even number days are beer and L'Humanite. Odd are rose and Liberation. Seems to be working so far. Liberation I read at home online and is no surprise. L'Humanite a bit dumbed-down. But no where near where The Times (London) has gone. The Guardian sold out this morning so I got one for Geri. My god, it has become just another tab or close to. A pentasyllabic The Mail.

5. 200 neo-Nazis held a celebration on Saturday of the 125^th anniversary of Hitler's spawning. Thankfully outnumbered by 500 protestors.

6. Having a fabulous time.