And probably would be, if I was away on holidays in Europe, simply because I’ve always wanted to be in Belgium on a Tuesday just so I could use that line.  Not going to happen while COVID 19 is with us.

By the way, that line is out of a movie, but I’m not sure which one.  Obviously, it wasn’t that great if I can’t remember it.

But…

Searching for locations for my stories takes a lot of time and effort, using Google Earth and other means like street view.  Finding houses, or apartments required a great deal of real estate research, almost to the point of buying a property.

Is there any better way to see the street it’s in, the neighbors, the neighborhood, and inside the house and gardens.  Almost as if you lived there, which of course you do in the story.

In reality, this time two years ago we were in Canada on the trans-Canada highway heading towards Banff, on icy roads in winter.  Yes, that’s where we were, getting a feel for the place, the roads, the weather, the people, and the places.

Cold, yes.  Atmospheric, yes, exciting, double yes.  Sometimes research is really fun, well, I don’t call it that, otherwise everyone else will think it was not the birthday treat that it was meant to be.

And was.

My wife’s 65th birthday was one she certainly will never forget.

So…

Lamentably, it’s hot and wet, the archetypal Brisbane summer, making the air conditioner work overtime.

I can only dream about being in Belgium, one way having a glass of beer from there.

It’s as close as I’m going to get, to there, Amsterdam, Munich, Berlin, and perhaps Budapest.