Or should I say “Au revoir“?

To end my recollections of Belgium I’m going to leave you with a bunch of photos and some lessons that I learned about photographing things while on holiday.

The Atomium – Brussels

Lesson #1: Take pictures of cool stuff, especially if you don’t have the time to visit.  Pictures can help remind you why you want to go back to a place.

Lesson #2: Copyrights are insane.

Manneken Pis – Brussels

[No lesson, although some day I’d like to see him dressed up in one of his costumes, which is another reason to go back to Brussels]

Everard ‘t Serclaes Monument [with Person] – Brussels

Lesson #3: Be patient.  If someone’s in the way, don’t just snap a picture and be done with it.  Either wait for a moment when the way is clear, or don’t bother.  Otherwise you’ll be stuck with a photo of some stranger blocking the thing you really wanted to photograph.

Lesson #4: It doesn’t hurt to be a little superstitious.  It is said that if you touch the statue’s arm that you will return to Brussels for sure (you can see the guy on the left doing this).  I did not touch the statue – partly due to the crowd and partly because I was feeling too cool to be superstitious.  I now wish I had, because it wouldn’t have hurt.  Plus, all the touching keeps the statue shiny.

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza – Brussels

Lesson #5: Taking pictures of random things can pay off in the end.  My closest connection to this statue was that I was in “Man of La Mancha” in Grade 11, but I liked taking pictures of statues.  A couple of years later I saw a music video that had a scene shot in front of this same statue.  Now I can proudly yell “I was there!” whenever I see the video.

Theux

Lesson #6: Always name your photos.  Thank goodness for digital photos and our ability to rename them.  If not, I might have forgotten that this is a photo I took of the charming little village of Theux where A and I stayed, played Badminton, ate Tarte aux Riz, and had an all around great time.

 Snow in Liege

Lesson #7:  Even if you’re not sure it’ll work out, take photos anyway.  This is probably the best picture I’ve ever taken of falling snow and I love it.  And it was in Liege, where A and I had a lovely meal with a friend of hers. 

Lesson #8: Always back up your photos.  I once forgot to back up my photos before formatting my computer.  This was devestating, since it was all my England/Belgium photos.  Luckily I was able to get most of them back after using a very awesome recovery program, but it was only the majority.  I lost the picture of me hugging a stone in Stonehenge, and the picture of A and O looking artsy on a train.  So, seriously, always back up your photos.