Bonjour from Belgium 🇧🇪! After a 22 hour journey, this Olympics adventure has begun. It’s early Sunday morning and I’m currently on a bus from Brussels to Spa-Francorchamps for the F1 Belgian Grand Prix – today’s event.

I left home Friday afternoon just as the Olympics opening ceremonies were getting underway. After a train ride to the Miami Airport, I boarded my flight to Paris on Air France, glad I’d cashed in miles for a comfy seat on the flight over. Air France has great food and drink, and my filet of boeuf and a couple glasses of Pommery champagne were no exception.

I caught about 4 hours of off-and-on sleep as we crossed the Atlantic. After landing, the next leg of the trip was by train from CDG airport to Brussels. The day before, there had been vandalism which knocked out the TGV high-speed train lines around Paris, but thankfully they were back up and running on Saturday afternoon.

Checked into my hotel near Brussels Midi station and walked to the center of town. Brussels has a lively center focused on Grand Place with classic buildings which used to be headquarters for the trade guilds in days gone by. I met up with a long-time friend who moved to Brussels last year to teach English to EU diplomats’ children. After dinner and a couple beers at the Stella Artois Cafe, I headed back to my hotel ready to pass out.

Looking forward to today’s visit to Spa Francorchamps, a historic circuit in the Ardennes Forest. It’s a beautiful day for a race – 73F and sunny, which is not always the case in this part of the world. Adventure: underway 😁