![\"bellini](\"http:\/\/www.erichall.eu\/images\/1703\/1703023.jpg\")
<\/a>After all, the weather wasn’t fit for anyone to be outside. The wind was whipping up quite a storm and there was no-one on the promenade. <\/p>\nYou can see exactly what I mean by looking at how the waves are pounding away on this ship as it was trying to negotiate its way into the harbour. And there weren’t any other ships around in the vicinity as there usually are.<\/p>\n
It really was rough out there.
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She’s another Luxembourg-registered ship, and stands much more chance of sailing up the Moselle River because she displaces just over 2000 tonnes. She’s a chemical tanker and was built in 2000.<\/p>\n But I can’t understand how it is that just recently Luxembourg has now acquired a merchant marine.<\/p>\n It is rather reminiscent of the story about when Austria joined NATO and was introducing its officials to the other members. One of the officials was described as “our Minister of Marine”. I had a look around the other hotels here to see what the prices might be like, but there was nothing that might give me much of a better deal, and I ended up at the Delhaize to buy lunch. Grapes were on special offer, two punnets for the price of one and that was cheap too, so I stocked up.<\/p>\n On the way back I went for a prowl around the shops to look for a new bag to replace the suitcase on which the handle broke on the way here.<\/p>\n They also had a suitable tote bag thing with wheels. The cheapest that I had seen, and it looked it too, all at \u20ac12:99. But needs must when the devil drives so I liberated an example. If it does me until I return home (where I have a choice of several) it will be fine. Back here, I was dismayed to discover that they hadn’t cleaned my room. but not to worry – I made myself some butties seeing as it was lunchtime. Baguette<\/em>, tomato and vegan cheese followed by a bunch of grapes.And then I … errr … closed my eyes for a couple of minutes.<\/p>\n At 15:30 a banging on my door awoke me. The cleaners wanted to do the room. I went out for a coffee – to that good place where I was yesterday, and watched the people on the promenade (because the wind had eased) being blown all around. <\/p>\n After that, I had a good walk and was back here for 17:00 in my nice clean room.<\/p>\n But I’d noticed the one next to it. This certainly wasn’t here last November, so today I went to check it out. And sure enough, it’s a Syrian restaurant called the Damas<\/em> and advertises falafel<\/em>. <\/p>\n As a result of this exploration, I decided that this would be my port of call for tonight.<\/a>But I couldn’t stay in my stinking little pit all day – I had things to do. And it was on my travels that I saw the aforementioned ship, the Bellini<\/em> coming into port.<\/p>\n
\n“Don’t be silly” said Solana, the NATO President. “Austria is a landlocked country. How come it has a Minister of Marine?”
\n“Well,” replied the Austrian President. “Bulgaria has a Minister of Culture, Belgium has a Minister of Justice, so we are going to have a Minster of Marine”
<\/p>\n<\/a>I ended up in a shop called Kruidvat, and this all caught my eye. Weigh-your-own sweets, but with allergy labels. When did you ever see that? I had to buy 100 grams as a gesture of solidarity.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/a>This is my restaurant from last night, the La Margarita<\/em> where I had my good Italian penne last night.<\/p>\n
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