This morning after I left Antwerp before I catch my flight to Edinburgh I had a few hours and I got off the train in Brussels to see the famous flower carpet on display. Today was the last day of the installation and I rushed down to Grand-Place with thousands of tourists packed in the small streets leading there. I have to tell what I saw was a very very sad scene. People were taking pictures of the dying, rotten, faded flowers under light drizzle of rain. Nobody was looking very cheerful about what they have seen. It was almost like taking your family to a red carpet event to see your childhood action star and to show the guy to your kids but when he appears with his walking stick and his wife helping him to get out of the car you feel sad and want to leave the place immediately. I think the event was held a little bit too long and obviously the weather also didn't help them to keep the carpet dry but it is a crazy job to do and I really appreciated the effort they put in it. The size of the area is unbelievable. I am sure all the Begonias with every possible color which are dominating the carpet were looking gorgeous right after they finished the installation under bright sun light during the opening ceremony.
On my way back to the train station I watched a string quartet playing Winter of Four Seasons by A. Vivaldi on the street. They were good...
* by Grateful Dead from their song Scarlet Begonias
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