Tag Archives: ibis hotel

Monday 6th June 2016 – THAT WAS DEFINITELY…

… the correct decision too, to stay here at the Ibis. The beds are the most comfortable that I have ever slept in (apart from my own, of course) and I wasn’t awake long once I’d settled down for the night. Someone – or something – awoke me at about 05:00 but I was soon back to sleep again, right the way through to the alarm and I remember nothing at all. As far as I’m aware, I didn’t go on a nocturnal ramble, not even for a ride of the porcelain horse.

Once I’d finished off a pile of work that needed doing, I hit the road and headed around Leuven’s inner ring road, past the prison and out on the N3 in the direction of Tienen. I stopped off at the big Carrefour for a pile of shopping for the week and made yet another massive discovery, which I forgot to photograph so I’ll do that tomorrow, and then headed out here.

It was a gorgeous afternoon so I sat outside in the sunshine and read a book for an hour or two before going to sign in for my room. I’m in room 205 now, next door to the one that I had last time I was here. It’s all very plain and all very basic, and hasn’t had a coat of paint for 40 years I reckon, but it’s €10 a night so I’m not complaining. And, of course, it’s out in the countryside in some beautiful grounds.

But despite having had a really good sleep for the last couple of nights, I inexplicably crashed out at about 17:00 and I was stark out until 21:15. I couldn’t understand how come I was so tired – it’s not as if I’ve been doing anything.

But now it’s 23:25 and I don’t feel in the least bit tired.I might even go for a walk in a minute if I can’t drop off to sleep.

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Sunday 5th June 2016 – AND WHILE LAST NIGHT …

hotel premiere classe hotel feignies maubeuge nord france… didn’t match the previous night’s sleep by any means, it was still one of the best that I’ve had for quite some time.

I was up quite late, what with one thing and another, and it took a while to drop off. We had the usual trip down the corridor and then a noise in the corridor awoke me some time during the night, and I couldn’t go back to sleep for ages after that. But when the alarm did go off, I was flat out and away with the fairies.

I’d started off the night back in Crewe somewhere around Gresty Road and I’d met a girl there. I’d had quite a few things to do and she was roped in to help me. We had been making quite a bit of progress, so much so that we had finished long before I was expecting to,and so I was making plans to leave. It was at this point that the girl announced that she was going to miss me very much – a strange thing to say seeing as how she was due to be married in four weeks time – and I had to spend a lot of time persuading her to concentrate on what was going to be her future without me being anywhere in the picture.
A little later on, I was joined by my brother and I wish that he would badger off out of my night-time wanderings. I’d been building up a kind-of database of girls whome I knew, and making little notes about them (I was much younger in those days) and out of the blue, my brother asked me “who’s this ‘blond stunner’ then?” I replied that it’s none of his business and that I would thank him to give me back my notes. He replied that he didn’t have them, all he had were copies, but that led to yet another one in a series of dismal family arguments.

It’s hard to believe that I left home when I was 18, one of the reasons being to get away from all of this nonsense and have some peace and quiet. I can’t believe that after all these years, they are still following me around. I still can’t seem to find any peace.

I had some things to do before I left, and it was 11:30 when I hit the road, stopping off for a baguette down the road at the supermarket. The Lady Who Lives In The SatNav took me round a few lanes and we completely by-passed Maubeuge which was nice because it’s a bit of a maze around there.

The drive up to the motorway services at Heverlee was quite uneventful, and I took my time. I was in no hurry. And by the time I arrived, the sun was out for the first time for a couple of weeks so I sat outside on the grass, ate my butty and read a good book for an hour or two.

It’s no surprise to learn that I’ve booked myself in at the Ibis on the motorway. It’s €69:00 for the night but it’s the most convenient for parking and it’s nice to have a little luxury every now and again. Tomorrow I’ll be off to Pellenberg at … errr … €10:00 per night and that’s quite a difference, both in price and luxury.

Before settling down for the night, I nipped into Leuven and the fritkot on the Jacobsplein for some chips and a veggieburger. Now I’m all ready for a good night’s sleep – I hope. A really deep and peaceful sleep will do me the world of good.

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Monday 23rd May 2016 – MY LIBERTY …

… didn’t last all that long, did it?

Here I am, back in the hospital, in a different ward, and here I’ll be staying, I imagine, until the cows come home. I’ve no idea.

And despite all of the money that I spent on some decent accommodation last night, I had something of a bad night. Having crashed out last night by 21:30, I was awake long before 03:00 and I don’t recall going back to sleep afterwards.

I had a visitor during the night too. A local farmer came to see me back at my place in France (it wasn’t my place in France, actually, but never mind). He complained that I’d been going too fast past his fields and he would appreciate it if I didn’t go so fast and that I didn’t take the short cut through the mountains. I didn’t recognise him so I asked him to show me which were his plots of land, and eventually he whipped out a map of the area, which turned out to be the Arran Peninsula in Scotland. After a good look, I could work out that there were parts of France marked on this map too but I was having difficulty trying to identify them. And while I was doing that, he was explaining that he was part of a committee that oversaw various rules and regulations and had the power to fine transgressors as much as three Euros for any breach thereof.

This morning it was lashing down with rain and there were traffic queues everywhere. Luckily the traffic going my way was moving steadily and I wasn’t delayed by much. In fact, I was at the hospital in the day centre by 09:15, 15 minutes before my appointment.

The place was crowded too and it took a while to be seen, but it wasn’t too long before I was stuffed into a side ward and given what looked like half a gallon of antibiotics. My blood count is down too (although this is no surprise) to 7.4 and so a transfusion is on the cards.

And what with one thing and another (and once you make a start, you’ve absolutely no idea how many other things there are) they’ve decided that rather than kick me out and call me back on Friday, they’ll be keeping me in. Still, focus on the positives – it means that I’m not having to pay any accommodation fees anywhere.

I had to wait ages, though, for a free bed and it wasn’t until 20:30 that I was wheeled upstairs. A different ward, as I said, and no-one speaks English here which is just as well for I need to stretch my Flemish.

I have a room-mate and he seems to be quite cheerful enough and, to my great delight, he doesn’t seem to snore. How I’ve longed for a room-mate like this.

So I’ll settle down for the night now and see how it goes, and I’ll give you all an update tomorrow. If ever I drop off to sleep, that is, because for some reason or other (possibly because I had something of a sleep during the afternoon) I’m not feeling in the least bit tired at the moment.

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Sunday 22nd May 2016 – I’VE ARRIVED …

… back in Belgium this afternoon – but without my mobile phone which I somehow seem to have managed to leave behind at my hotel last night. I shall have to do something about that, and do it pretty quickly too.

It was grey, overcast and raining lightly when I went down to breakfast but strangely, even though I’d had no tea last night, I didn’t feel like eating. But apart from that, I felt much more “like it” than I have for a couple of days. Clearly a good night’s sleep has done me the world of good.

It rained, and quite heavily too at times, throughout the day but that was the only excitement about the journey. The trip was pretty straightforward and I was here at 13:45.

I had a bit of luck too about a hotel. I needed to find a hotel with parking within easy access of the hospital and by chance there was a special offer on at the IBIS hotel at the Heverlee motorway services – just €69:00 for a night which, although it might sound expensive at first sight, it’ll do me some good to have a little luxury before I start my chemotherapy sessions tomorrow.

I settled in quite quickly and crashed out for an hour or so this afternoon and I do have to say that I’m feeling a little better, strange as it may seem.

But last night was fairly exciting though.

When I checked in to my hotel last night I took a menu from the local fast food delivery place to order something to eat for tea. But I don’t remember a thing after about 20:15. I remember once or twice going down the corridor but apart from that, I was stark out until 08:03 exactly. It was the best night’s sleep that I have had in absolutely ages and if I’d been on a voyage during the night, I remember nothing whatever about it. I’d had an accident during the night however, but I’ll tell you more about that at a later date.

Now we’ll see how we get on through the night, and I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.

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