\nI landed in Brussels on Monday afternoon and took the train to Schuman station. At this time of year, it gets dark early, and the weather was absolutely awful. I walked to my hotel to check in, and then I had a meeting at the European Commission starting at 6 p.m. Besides getting soaked walking to these various places, I did manage to make something of the rainy city scenes. Here is the Schuman square:
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![\"R003183\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_1.jpg\")
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\nThe esplanade in front of Berlaymont, visrtually deserted:
\n![\"R003199\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_2.jpg\")
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\nSidewalk, Schuman:
\n![\"R003184\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_3.jpg\")
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\nAfternoon traffic, Rue de la Loi:
\n![\"R003190\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_4.jpg\")
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\nBicycle parking, Rue de la Loi:
\n![\"R003197\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_5.jpg\")
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\nMy late meeting over, I sought shelter and sustenance at Kitty O’Shea’s:
\n![\"R003192\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_6.jpg\")
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\nTuesday morning, the weather was slightly less crappy, and anyway I had to be indoors all day. This is the view from the window of our office in Brussels, the building of EU’s External Action Service. I photographed it in the style of Andreas Gursky (I think…):
\n![\"R003200\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_7.jpg\")
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\nThe facade of Berlaymont (seat of the EU Commission) is always adorned with a huge banner celebrating something or other. I am usually pretty cynical about those things, but this time the message was one in which I truly believe. The Erasmus programme, helping EU students study in another Member State, is indeed a great success story. I have met several graduates of the programme, all of them are formidable young people:
\n![\"R003204\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_8.jpg\")
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\nAfter the all-day meeting, I headed back the usual watering hole, stopping to take a snap of the funny faces outside the Commission building:
\n![\"R003208\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_9.jpg\")
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\nAt Kitty O’Shea’s, I met up with Piotr from the OECD who also participated in our meeting. He was going back to Paris later in the evening, but there was time for a couple of beers. There always is:
\n![\"R003211\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_10.jpg\")
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\n![\"R003213\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_11.jpg\")
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\nNewcomers to Belgium are often surprised at the presence of dogs in many places where they are not allowed in other countries. That is just the way it is. Here a four-legged patron of Kitty O’Shea’s:
\n![\"R003214\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_12.jpg\")
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\nOn Wednesday morning, I had to take a 7:30 train to Paris, so I found myself quite early at the Gare du Midi. As usual, I stopped to photograph this amusing piece of decoration:
\n![\"R003216\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_13.jpg\")
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\nThe Thalys covers the 330 km from Brussels to Paris in 1h 20m, so I was at Gare du Nord in Paris before 9 and had time for a coffee before heading to the OECD. Looking out from the station, the weather in Paris looked much better than in Brussels:
\n![\"R003221\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_14.jpg\")
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\nI stepped outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air before descending into the rush-hour metro. The square in front of Gare du Nord has this funny crooked building:
\n![\"R003222\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_15.jpg\")
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\nOld and new fa\u00c3\u00a7ade of the station. The French are good at combining modern architecture with what is already there:
\n![\"R003223\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_16.jpg\")
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\nGetting from the Gare du Nord to the OECD takes almost an hour on the metro, followed by a 10 minute walk from Muette metro station. Just before reaching the OECD, I saw this curious piece of graffiti, a rarity in this extremely posh neighbourhood in the 16th Arrondissement:
\n![\"R003224\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_17.jpg\")
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\nMy Polish economist friend Piotr again, but this time in a non-beer situation:
\n![\"R003225\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_18.jpg\")
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\nI like the OECD building a lot. It is very bright and luminous:
\n![\"R003226\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_19.jpg\")
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\nI spent the day in meetings at the OECD, but then the day ended, and Piotr and I went for a (surprise!) beer, this time at a brew bar called Frog XVI near Trocad\u00c3\u00a9ro:
\n![\"R003227\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_20.jpg\")
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\nThe Ka…Pow IPA turned out wonderful. I love the improvement in the Paris beer scene I have experienced in the past few years:
\n![\"R003229\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_21.jpg\")
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\nI said goodbye to Piotr and walked back to Trocad\u00c3\u00a9ro from where I was going to take the airport bus to Orly for my flight home that evening. While waiting, I took in the sights a bit, beginning with the iconic metro sign:
\n![\"R003233\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_22.jpg\")
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\nAnd the spectacular views of the Eiffel tower one has from Trocad\u00c3\u00a9ro:
\n![\"R003230\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_23.jpg\")
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\n![\"R003235\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_24.jpg\")
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\nI then made my way to Orly and flew home, arriving after midnight. Thursday was back to the office, and in the evening I had a doctor appointment. Next to my doctor’s office there a bakery\/caf\u00c3\u00a9. At the entrance, I was met by this:
\n![\"R003237\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_25.jpg\")
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![\"R003238\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_26.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"R003245\"](\"uploads\/2018\/3_27.jpg\")
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