Brussels and back

Back from Brussels, and trying to get used to the intensity of light, after a generally grey old time up north. The temperatures, however, were pretty similar.

Looking after A., and doing errands, meant taking lots of public transport, and I can't speak highly enough of the integrated system in Brussels, where the same, time-limited ticket will see you board a tram, a train and an underground train (or a bus) in quick succession, with a minimum of fuss, and at a price which would leave Londoners gobsmacked by its cheapness.

Musical life was good, too, with an extraordinary concert at the Royal Conservatory of Music, featuring Monteverdi choral works accompanied by period instruments, courtesy of Il concerto italiano. Monteverdi was working in what was a fairly recent tradition of giving words their full intelligibility, and having real Italians, and intelligent ones at that, singing the words as if they were theatre was a real 'ear-opener'. The miraculous acoustics of the concert hall helped in no small measure.

Still, it is good to get back to Antibes, which now definitely feels like homecoming, even when, as today, it is blowing a gale, and waves are passing clean over the ramparts.