Is There Ever a Bad Time for a Summer Heatwave?

The parched fields of Luxembourg where once verdant grasses grew!

Well, the simple answer is, "yes." As you know, I often gripe and grumble about the lack of sun, and the constant drizzle here in Luxembourg. In truth, I have become somewhat accustomed to this Northern Europe murk. That said, we do relish the summer when it does decide to arrive. Unfortunately this year's record-breaking heat came just as our most recent guests landed. Our dear friends, Angel and Mike, hailing from our hometown of Alexandria were looking forward to a break of the mid-Atlantic's mantra of 'Hazy-Hot-and-Humid', but, alas, they were charmed by a Luxembourg on fire…yes it's true that there are very few places air conditioned here in the Grand Duchy, and unfortunately our apartment is not one of these oases!

To keep hydrated we offer our guests lots of Aperol...

…and they were kind enough to not perspire whilst photos were being taken ;)

To escape the near 100℉ heat, we spent our first few days in search of these climate controlled refuges. Therefore Mike and Angel were treated to a trip to Luxembourg's oldest and most storied shopping mall, La Belle Etoile. There they were introduced to a local phenomenon I like to call, 'The Belle Etoile Shuffle.' To be honest they missed the excruciatingly painful Saturday morning version, but they did get a little taste of 'the shuffle' which goes something like this;

1. Grab 2-4 of you best Luxembourg friends over the age of 80
2. Walk 3-5 abreast down shopping aisles, stairwells and the main mall concourse, where-ever
3. Gently swerve left and right…no too fast, just enough so no one else can get around you
4. Don't forget your grocery carts because the Belle Etoile is also home to the quintessential Luxembourgish hyper-marché, Cactus
5. Stop abruptly for no apparent reason
6. Rinse and Repeat!

By the weekend, the weather began to abate, and we hosted a American-ish brunch complete with (you guessed it) a Bloody Mary Bar! Many of the faces familiar on this blog made it over, and we got to share another one of favorite summertime things to do here in the Grand Duchy…Day Drinking until well after dark! 

Chilling on the patio with Brie and Gianni.

This was actually at the Jazz and Blues Rallye with Michele…but you get the idea!

The center of the Old City in Ghent all lit up for the Genste Feesten.

Following our brunch we next headed up to the Flanders region go Belgium to visit the town of Ghent which also vies for the title of, 'Venice of the North'. Although beautiful and well preserved, it isn't even a contender in my opinion. It is, however, a beautiful and vibrant city that melds modern and majestic effortlessly. This was my second trip to Ghent, and in fact we've become such fans of the Flemish region that I've begun rrrrolling my rrrr's! Thanks to Mike's connections we were able to secure a fantastic hotel right in the heart of the Old Town, and kudos to him because we arrived smack-dab in the middle of Ghent Festival 2015! Yep, just us and 2 million other tourists soaking up the culture, beer and revelry for a ten day street festival that encompasses literally every quarter of the ancient capital of East Flanders.

Partying along the canals of Ghent...

where contemporary collides with classical!

I mean, really? It's a living post card...

The beaches of the Belgian coast.

After a couple of days and nights running the street parties, we decided to cool off a bit more and head further north to the Belgian coast and the seaside town of Oostende. What a nice surprise it was. Wide sandy beaches with welcome breezes that finally blew away that oppressive summer heat. A nice calm afternoon on the North Sea was what we deserved. Our visit ended back in Ghent where we said out goodbyes and bid our bests adieu for the time being. 

Just another serene canal in Flanders.

For their next visit, I promise to dial up some good old Luxembourg gloom. Until then I must apologize once again to Mike and Angel. They anticipated a nice cool week of temps in the low to mid-70's, but this, however, was not to be. To add insult to injury I began writing this morning and the outside air temp was a nice 45℉ heading to a high of 70℉. C'est la vie! I now bid you adieu with a few parting shots…

Those observant readers may just find the irony :-0

…and one last shot of these Beautiful Besties!