There is so much to write about L'Art'e Cafe and Gallery ... so much.
The mind-blowingly beautiful location, the friendly service, the truly sublime food, the superb coffee, the exquisite artwork ... and nowhere do I exaggerate.
It's that remarkable!
This was brunch on that first day back in New Zealand.
I stepped back into life here in Belgium and, like an out-of-control magic carpet, life whooshed off with me.
Almost 3 weeks after the return, I finally created a space to go wandering through 2 complete folders from that trip through New Zealand. There are so many more still to explore ... and process but most of the portraits are done now, with some massive ones still to do, Hunter and Clare, Peter and Christine.
Anyway, on our second day in the country, Christine and Peter took us on a North Island Roadtrip. The image below was taken at one the ports of call on that first surreal and magical day.
The Wai-O-Tapu thermal area covered about 18 sq.kms near Rotorua and it was area where collapsed craters, boiling mud pools and steaming fumaroles were the norm.
They told us that the area is associated with volcanic activity that happened about 160,000 years ago and that beneath us was a system of streams heated by magma from earlier eruptions ... water temperatures of up to 300 celsius have been recorded.
Stunning isn't it ...
The fish were doing odd things, there in the park.
She thought I was photographing them but no, I was photographing her.
There's always going to be some guy playing a piano on wheels in the snow ...
Or Belgian paratroopers doing their thing in Central Station.
It has been difficult to return to this European winter ... return from swimming and wading at various beaches all over New Zealand. Difficult to return from a country where you squint in the sun ... to a country where the sun makes an occasional appearance.
Difficult ... yes. Very.
But I filled my life with projects, as is my way. And they're all EXCITING.
And there are lots of projects because other people are so interesting however ... there's only one of me and this attempt to not miss New Zealand has become a nightmare of a workload.
I have 5 major projects. These last two days have been spent, head-in-hands oftentimes, as I recognise that I might have over-committed myself, in ways that I seem to specialise in.
Each project is brilliant. Some have been underway for a while. Some involve 1,000s of photographs I have yet to process. Others are future plans that excite the hell out of me.
Anyway, here's a glimpse from the other day when I wandered into the city in search of boots for the snow. I found these boots and they were cheaper than the price listed here ... half price in fact.
And the guy that sold them to me was the nicest guy. We chatted about the countries we come from while I shopped for my boots. A huge thank you has to go to him because shopping in Antwerp isn't always fun and the people aren't always friendly. When I find the receipt, I'll come back and tell you which shop I bought them in ... so you can pop in too.
Outside, there was that predawn kind of clarity, where the momentum of living has not quite captured the day. The air was not filled with conversation or thought bubbles or laughter or sidelong glances. Everyone was sleeping, all of their ideas and hopes and hidden agendas entangled in the dream world, leaving this world clear and crisp and cold as a bottle of milk in the fridge.
Reif Larsen, from The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet.
Meanwhile, I'm playing this song on repeat and up loud as I work here this morning.
And before I forget, I found the opening quote over on the marvellous Terri Windling's blog.
A glimpse from one of those early morning walks I took, back home in New Zealand ... Cooks Beach, on the Coromandel Peninsula ... sunrise.
