After many months waiting for warmer temperatures, summer finally arrived in Belgium too, and with it lots of fun activities and things to do. It felt as if the city woke up after many cold days and especially after 2 years marked by the pandemic restrictions.
My favourite things about this month:
- Farmers’ markets: every Friday evening, there is a very nice farmers’ market next to my place, and even though it has pretty much always been there, it is only recently that I have gone there more often. There, you can obviously buy lots of fruits and vegetables, but also homemade meals and specialties from many countries. Going there on Friday evening with the whole week-end ahead of me, and buying fresh flowers or delicious meals has definitely been one of my favourite things this month!
- Family coming to visit: in June, my stepsister came to Brussels with her boyfriend for a few days, and my twin sister also came from Canada to stay at my place, joined by her boyfriend a week later. Spending time with them after many months without seeing each other and showing them around was really amazing, and I was also able to re-discover the city myself!
- Holiday feeling: with the warmer days, longer evenings and the feeling of having more time at my disposal, plus the time spent with family and the fact that I started teleworking from my mum’s place in the South of France, it was as if the summer holidays had started earlier.
- Kittens: my boyfriend’s neighbour’s cat had babies in early June and we went to her place one afternoon to have a coffee and play with them a bit. I hadn’t seen kittens in a really long time and they were so incredibly cute, I had to include them in this month’s favourites!
Latest adventures:
- Visiting Brussels and eating out: as I said, when my sister was in Brussels, I got to show her around a bit and learn more about the city I live in – which is something I rarely do. I even discovered many new places that I hadn’t been to before! Obviously, this also means that we ate a lot of delicious food (not necessarily Belgian!)
- Teleworking from the South of France: this month was very busy at work, so taking days off was absolutely not an option and I could only take them in July. So, to start feeling summery a bit earlier, I decided to go to the South of France one week ahead of the holidays and telework there. I feel like it really made a difference in my mood and motivaton at work, so I’m really glad I did it!
Hobbies and distractions:
- Plushies for my cousin: my aunt’s due date was the end of June, and me and my sister decided that we would make little plushies for our baby cousin. We made a little cloud and sun, embroidered their eyes and spent some time fine-tuning them. From drawing the shapes to picking the perfect fabric, I loved working on it from start to finish!
- One of my goals for June was to finish a book that I had been reading for quite some time: The House of Spirits, by Isabel Allende. I had already read one of her books last year or so, and really liked her style and writing. I also loved this one! It reminded me a lot of Disney’s Encanto too, because it follows the history of a family in Latin America, that lives in this big enchanted house. Many characters also have special gifts and “magical” powers! Have you read it?
- Going to the gym for the first time: I hesitated to put this one under my “adventures” because it surely felt like one! With two friend, we decided to try the gym next to our place for the first time and try to motivate each other by going together. I honestly thought that I would hate it, but it was quite okay! Now I just need to find some sort of program to follow!
General thoughts:
Somehow, when the days are longer, I manage to dedicate myself to my hobbies much more and it just feels easier and less time-consuming to do things! I obviously loved going out and eating out this month, but I feel like there was also a lot of staying home and reading, writing, sewing, etc. And this is also why I love summer!
Looking forward to:
- A week off in the South of France of relaxing, exploring and eating lavender ice-cream. I would also love to write a blog post about the little towns here, so I might take this as an excuse to wander around a bit!
- Discovering new parts of Italy: after the South of France, I am going with my boyfriend, my sister and her boyfriend to Florence and Rome, and I can’t wait to actually visit both cities and explore them as a tourist!
- More summery days in Brussels, because Brussels can be really great in summer too! And I can’t wait to have breakfast smoothies on my balcony and read in the park!
How was June for you? What are you looking forward to?
Sunny Days with Juliette 
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