The week has passed unnoticed! Well, almost… Apart from being bombarded with phonecalls, messages, e-mails and pigeon letters ( got to add this one, even if it’s not true), there hasn’t been any substantial change. Some lessons to learn though if you are planning to rent in BXL:

if the advert says ‘60m²’ - count to have 16m²

if it’s a ‘duplex’ – expect a pathetic little fox hole with a mezzanine

if the walls are ‘all white’ – wait until you see what a current tenant has done, you are most likely to get a jungle-green bathroom here

but…

if they don’t pick up the phone at the real estate agency – pass by to make an appointment, I discovered how friendly and helpful the agents can be.

The verdict: on Monday (unless faced with an utter disappointment) I’m prepared to make my final choice between an 8th floor penthouse and a 60’s flat just around the corner from the Trinity church…for those who know Brussels, Trinity/Bailli/Chatelain is the loveliest neighbourhood ever – it has been kind of young designer district back in the days, because that’s where you find La Cambre fashion academy, but right now it is a very casual shopping area with a bunch of smelly second-hand shops and small private boutiques for local BoBo's, and of course numerous restaurants.
I should do a real shopping guide for the area, but at the moment I have only one snapshot from a must-visit outlet "Degrif "(on rue Simonis). It’s a renown shoe-outlet where you easily find Prada, Jil Sander, Hugo Boss among loads and loads of lesser known brands. The other day this Casadei sandal caught my fancy, but unfortunately I wouldn’t last a minute without tripping over my own toes, granted a chance to wear these. Well, it’s a show-piece anyways and it’s good enough to look at, because they somehow remind me of the mid-century Scandinavian teak furniture.

But I’m currently more preoccupied with the interior decoration ideas than outfits, so bear with me while I turn this blog into a self-obsessive interior-design frenzy in the nearest couple of weeks.