All done, bye bye...

I write this email from Sultanahmet, Istanbul. After four trips to the Chinese consulate, I finally got my 'Z' visa and so I'm of to China. I would post a triumphant photo, but I'm not sure that would be legal :-)

I've spent the last four days decompressing, and doing some touristy things around Istanbul with my family (see photo above). Fitting that I'm at the gateway from Europe to Asia as I leave for China on Saturday.

More photos coming soon on my Istanbul travel blog at: http://www.istanbulfat.blogspot.com/

What I've Been Doing

Another big gap in between posts, what have I been doing? Well getting lots of medical test for my job in China, which has been relatively painless due to the excellent Belgian health-care system. Oh, want to see my lungs?...


I've also been setting up a test-bed for our middleware. We're currently working on 7 papers, which is a bit of a stretch, but it would be great if they were all accepted of course! You can see the test-bed below, currently 9 nodes, soon to become 16.

Graspop Metal Meeting

I just got back from an excellent weekend in Turnhout for the Graspop Metal Meeting with my sister. Great music, great time... pics follow:

Antwerp Train Station

A Leffe Bruin in the Sun

Summer Sunset

Kath + Leffe Blonde

Journey

Korn

Slipknot

Another Day, Another Visitor

The day after Kev left, another old friend and colleague Jo Ueyama arrived to plan some of the work we'll be doing at USP in Brazil next year. We worked on Saturday and Monday, but we had time for some sight-seeing on Sunday. I finally did some exploring of Brussels Upper City:

Fly Costumes for the Summer Solstice in Leuven

Brussels Cathedral

Parc Du Cinquantenaire

Arc Du Cinquantenaire

FP7 Meeting with Kevin Lee

You know its great when you're friends are also potential project collaborators. In this case Kevin Lee, and old friend of mine was in Brussels coordinating an FP7 project, which K.U. Leuven (my University) may be involved in. We managed to fit in a few drinks too (see below)...

Dinner on Rue De Bouche, Brussels

Skull Mugs and Coffin Tables in Le Cerceuil, Brussels


Photo # 107 in the series 'Danny looks miserable while having a good time'


A Kriek in the Sun at De Wharf, Leuven


Kev Enjoys a Kwak in the Blauwe Kater, Leuven

Weddings, Visits... Long time, no post!

So its been a long time since my last post. What's happened since?... well Ben McCarthy and a couple of other guys visited me for a few days on their way to watch the Champions League Final... too much partying meant they didn't make their flight, but we had a blast :-)


After that my family visited on their way back to France and I took them on a quick tour of my favourite Lueven and Brussels bars.


Then it was also Jo and Jamie's wedding, which was really nice. I'm not the kind of person who gushes over weddings, but I enjoyed every minute. In the end it rained, but it really didn't matter. Everyone was too blissed out to care. I didn't screw up my best-manly duties either, I managed to hand over the ring without losing it and people laughed at all the right places in my speech... here's some photos of the bessed event (I'll post some better ones as soon as I steal them from my friends)!

Notice the one photo of me, I didn't smile even though I was having a great time. That's how I roll.

Jamie's Stag-Do

Last weekend, as Jamie's best man, I hosted a stag-do here in Leuven. We hired a pedal powered pub (see below) and after a big BBQ, spent Saturday afternoon thundering around the Leuven countryside while drinking draft beer. That evening we had a big night out in the Oude Market in Leuven, and spent Sunday afternoon recovering in the Delirium Cafe in Brussels. It was great to see old friends and it was an *awesome* weekend.