Clean up your house.

Go for bagels with friends.

Kiss famous people.                                               ..............Or a cow...............

Chat with a pigeon.



Go bare feet in the grass.

Have a beer...                                                   or a frozen yoghurt.

Smell the flowers.

What are your favorite things to do on a sunny weekend?

When we moved to Gent in 2007, we received a map of all the pubs there and BabyLuv & I decided that we'd go to all of them. Unfortunately the map teared when I tried to move it to another wall and I had to throw it away.
Early November 2009, I got a new similar map but it pointed all the Gentse restaurants! This was just perfect because we adore going to the restaurant. So we decided to try every restaurant in town. What a challenge! We're on the right track already and we still go to our favorite places often but we like to try a different one now and then.

IntrÔvert is at about 5 minutes by bike from our home. We've been there a few times already and we enjoyed the closeness and the food a lot. It's situated next to a canal where the rowing teams practice and compete: there's a beautiful sight and a huge terrasse. The inside decoration is pretty awesome! I don't have a picture yet but I'll definitely take a few next time.

Tonight we chose to eat outside since it was so warm and sunny. We were lucky to be placed in a corner where we could see the whole terrasse. We took something to drink and it was very refreshing.

We chose to have a starter because BabyLuv craved oysters. I took some shrimps in cocktail sauce. The oysters were so good, it's the first time I actually liked the texture. The shrimps were really fresh and tasty. I love cocktail sauce too.

The waiter brought us some deeelicious brown bread. If I could only eat one sort of bread, it would be it.

We had the misfortune to wait 1h30 for our main course: one of the waiter gave our plates to another table! The waitress apologized three times but it wasn't her fault. She was very kind and helpful and so energetic! She was going around the tables like a real pro!

BabyLuv's salmon salad was delicious (he always let me taste his food) but I was a bit disappointed with my duck filet salad because it's not what I expected. It was good but I didn't enjoy it as much as the smells of the steaks and entrecôtes on the other table... I think I was just ready to eat a warm meal but BabyLuv changed my mind just before ordering. Next time i'll go with my guts!

Restaurant IntrÔvert
Griendijk 17
9000 Gent
Tel : +32 (0)9 227 13 32

Specialties: French/Belgian cuisine.
Atmosphere: pleasant and relaxing.
Service: quick and friendly.
Food: very good.
Bathroom: clean but tiny.

Closed on Mondays.
Open at 10:00 from Tuesday to Friday.
Open at 14:00 on Friday.
Open at 11:00 on Sunday.
Kitchen open everyday at 11:00 (Saturday, open at 15:00).

BabyLuv and I started off by cleaning the house: it smelled so fresh and clean. It really made me happy. Then Emi came over. We sat on the balcony to enjoy the sun and we chatted a little before heading for lunch at Or Expresso Bar to have some bagels.

Emi had to go early but we had plenty of time to chat and catch up and laugh.

BabyLuv and I decided to go for a bike ride around town since it was so beautiful out.
We went to the graffiti street and I took a few pictures but there weren't as many good graffiti this time around. I'll post the pictures on my photography blog. We went to a teeny tiny pub next to the canal, Barrazza, that we've never seen before. It was really charming out there, in the shadow enjoying some cool drinks.

Julie & Julia is a must-see. It's funny, down-to-earth, adorable, modern and historical at the same time and it has this sense of it-could-be-me that I love.

Julia is amazing and loves challenges too. Meryl Streep is better than ever. Every time I watch a movie she's in, I'm in awe: this lady can act. I'm pretty sure you could give her any character, she'll make it her own. She's such a chameleon!

My friend Emi gave me some tea a few weeks ago and I just love it. I knew it reminded me of something but I couldn't quite put my hands on it. But tonight it finally hit me: it reminds me of the oatmeal I used to eat all the time when I was an AuPair in the USA.

It's called cinnamon & spice from Quaker Oatmeal. I wish I could find it here, I loved the taste and that it was in portion which were the right amount I needed to start the day.

Maybe I should buy some plain oatmeal and spice it up myself... I'll probably try that. Yay!

I went to my appointment today.

Thank goodness lieverd helped me with the route, I was less stressed about being on time and getting lost.

When I got there, I was a little confused because the office is a house. And with houses come doors. Lots of them. I didn't know where to go and went around the house because I saw some machines on the side. But it wasn't there. I came back to the front of the house and looked at the sign to be sure I was at the right place. I was. But there is another doctor there. Hmmm. I hoped I wouldn't get into the wrong waiting room.

I finally found an open door and a bell. I pushed the bell and entered. The waiting room was on the left. There was a lot of people. Mostly older people.

I questioned a lot whether I was at the right place or not until a doctor came out and I saw her face. So to be sure she was the gynecologist I was supposed to see, I searched on google (my family doctor recommended her and she asked me if I wanted to see a picture of her when she looked at her address and telephone number and I said no, that I shouldn't judge her on her looks. That's why I knew there was a picture of her somewhere.). When I recognize her face on my phone, I was so relieved!

And then the waiting began. Since she put me on a double appointment, she told me I might wait a little longer than usual. Even though I was prepared to wait, I couldn't help but stress and wonder what she would tell me. I just hoped she was kind.

When the assistant finally called me, I was happy to finally get out of the waiting room. She asked a lot of questions. It was a bit intimidating.
When the doctor came, I was confused. She finished something with another patient and came back to her office where I was standing. She asked more questions and asked what was bothering me. I tried to tell her as much as I could. (I can't believe I couldn't remember the name of the pill I was taking, pff!).
Then she examined me and I got even more confused because she was telling me things I didn't know and I didn't understand what was going on with me. I've never been so confused. And I felt pretty stupid for not knowing some of the things she was telling/asking me.
When we went back to her desk, she tried to explain a little more but she said we had to wait for the results and that I needed to have a blood test later this month.

One thing I'm sure right now: she is going to help me. And it makes me feel confident for the future.

My home town became special to me when I left it. I feel so happy when I come back and see how pittoresque and beautiful it is. It's a true French country town with lots of old beautiful buildings and tiny streets. I love to wander there and just snap pictures, it really makes me feel like a tourist.