… some friends of mine in Québec about this, they burst out laughing.
And it wasn’t about the crazy idea either, but in total disbelief that this place (and a few others of similar ilk) would exist.
But seeing that Alison and I were out and about in the vicinity this afternoon, we went off to track it down and to photograph it.
Because it’s the kind of thing that you would only ever find in Belgium, and no-where else.
We have automatic machines that dispense drinks, and snacks, and even pizza these days, but only in Belgium would you find an automatic machine that would dispense potatoes.
So say “hello” to a Belgian Potatomat here on the outskirts of Everberg.
The potatomat doesn’t just sell potatoes either.
There were apples and pears on offer, and even chicory too. And it looks as if, with a little bit of simple configuration, it could be programmed to sell a lot more different things too.
It has to be the automatic vending machine to end all other automatic vending machines.
This morning the alarm went off at the usual time but, after having done almost 150% of my daily activity yesterday, there wasn’t much danger of my leaving my stinking pit at that time.
07:15 was a much more respectable time for me to heave myself out.
After medication and breakfast, there were things to do on the laptop and that took me most of the morning.
Alison sent me a message round about 11:30. Did I fancy going out for a couple of hours? And so 15 minutes later I was standing on the corner, watching all the girls go by.
We passed by the Potatomat and then headed into Brussels. Alison took me to show me to a place where she had once lived, and then we went for a look at the offices of that weird American company where we had both worked together 12 years ago.
Seeing that we were down in the south end of Brussels, we decided that we would go for a walk in the Bois de la Cambre.
Alison hadn’t been round here particularly but back in the good old days when I lived in Brussels I used to come here for a walk every Sunday with Marianne
And so I decided to show her around.
It was quite a misty afternoon and reasonably cold too, although not as cold as it might have been.
And we were somewhat too late for the leaves. We should really have been here a couple of weeks ago to see it at its best.
By now, the leaves had gone beyond changing colours and were now tumbling rapidly from the leaves and carpeting the forest floor
Alison didn’t know about the Chateau Robinson on the island in the middle of the lake.
But despite the time of the year, the restaurant was open and the shuttle boat was running across the lake to the island
There were several people waiting to cross over, and so we decided to join them and go to have a coffee.
Although they didn’t have soya milk, they did actually have almond milk.
And even more interestingly, they also had gluten-free flour and so they offered to make Alison some lactose-free and gluten-free pancakes.
They tasted differently, apparently, but Alison said that they were very nice. And, for a change, the chef came out to ask her if they were okay. Clearly a new experiment, but it’s certainly progress.
After the coffee and pancakes we carried on with our walk.
We took the ferry back to the mainland and walked all the way around the lake and back to the car.
It was much more pleasant by now. The sun was doing its best to struggle through the mist and we were even starting to see some blue sky.
While you continue to admire the photos of the Bois de la Cambre, we had other things to do.
Because we were down this end of the town we decided that we would go to pay our respects to Marianne. The Cimetierre d’Ixelles wasn’t all that far away and I hadn’t been to see her for a while.
It’s quite a poignant thing to do, and hard to believe that it was over five and a half years ago that she went off to meet her Maker
We wandered off from there out in the direction of Leuven, hoping to miss the afternoon traffic rush.
And I missed a photo opportunity as we were driving past a garage on the corner of the Chaussee de Wavre.
There parked up at the back of the parking area was a dark green first-series Triumph Vitesse 6 convertible. These are as rare as hen’s teeth in the UK. the chance of seeing one parked up here at a backstreet garage in Brussels are amazing.
We reached Tervuren and Alison took me to a café where there was an open fire and a good supply of coffee.
We needed it too because the temperature was dropping all the time. It’s going to be really cold.
And while Alison unlocked the cars, I watched in amazement as some woman on a bicycle with a baby on the back pulled out of the cycle track right across the main road in front of a couple of cars without giving a hand signal, without looking over her shoulder and without even slowing down.
I felt really sorry for the driver who almost squidged her
We came back to Leuven and Alison dropped me off on the corner.
I came back here and even though it was early, I made myself some tea. I hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast.
Microwaved potatoes with a tin of spicy beans. And delicious it all was too.
Despite only having walked 60% of my daily target, I was for some reason or other totally exhausted.
So there I was, flat-out on the bed for a good hour or so. I can’t keep on going like I used to.
What I’m going to be doing now is to do the washing up, tidy up and pack my bags. I have a very early start tomorrow so I need to be up and about quite promptly.
I don’t much like this idea of leaping on board the 08:13 out of Brussels but it saves me three hours on my day by the time that I’m back gome, so it has to be a good idea.
