Di's Friday ...

I went wandering Friday and the early morning kettle incident was a harbinger of 'interesting' - I should have known.

Alison smsed to let me know that her train had left Brussels Central, I left home only to discover that there were no Number 11 trams for a while and so I had to go in on a tram that dropped me off the other side of the city centre.

Not only that but somewhere enroute I realised my cellphone was back on my desk and that there was no way I could tell Alison that I might be late ...

I walked briskly through the back streets of the city, meeting her as she walked down the station steps because she had a similar story in terms of frustration. Her inter-regional train had had only 3 carriages, incredibly short by normal standards and then one of those 3 was a first-class carriage and out of bounds to the common man. She had stood until Mechelen, with many unexpected stops along the way.

Coffee had become necessary to both of us by the time we met up and we popped into Exki to recover.

Next stop was Antwerpen's Photo Museum where Carl De Keyzer , Belgium's Magnum photographer had an exhibition.

His was the best of the 3 exhibitions. As usual, Alison and I were 'amazed' by the 'elevated' and 'artistic' descriptions that gift-wrapped some images ... stunned because it seems like these images exist because of the words that accompany them, not because of their photographic value ... I guess they are 'art' and I'm 'ignorant'.

They introduced the 'tunnels' exhibition with these words: 'The tunnel is, par excellence, the space for engaging in underground activities and programmes and for all action that searches out the hidden and the unseen reaches. In the collective imagination, the tunnel represents the passage towards 'another dimension', a plunge into the Unknown, with all connotations ranging from underworld to virtual reality, and the first and final experience along the path of one's earthly existence.'

The images really didn't match the build-up and some would have been rejects in my folder of work. The thing that intrigues me is how much the word-wrapping contributes to the exhibition itself ... extending images beyond their reality.

The day ended with the Canucks at El Pintxo, Antwerpen's most stunning Tapas Bar. It's located at Riemstraat 49, phone 03 237 06 00 because you really need to reserve a table if going there.

It's a tiny place that serves food made in an authentically Spanish way ... it's well worth a visit if you're looking for something a little bit special.

I ended the evening chatting with one of my bloggy friends on a new system called Sightspeed ... was impressed by the service, it seemed better than skype and he was just as lovely as he'd seemed on his blog.

Tot ziens.