Living in the Heart of Europe.

I'm having one of these moments where I feel incredibly lucky. It's connected with the lovely spring weather, I'm sure, and being tired helps too.

Yesterday I had a 15-hour working day, and it was a really good one.

I got up at 5:45 (okay, an awful start) to catch a train to the French city of Amiens. There I spent a few hours in a meeting and a working lunch, before getting on another train to Tournai, Belgium's oldest city, in the French-speaking part of our country.

After another meeting and a small reception in the crypt of Tournai's stunning city hall, I returned to my home town late at night to find my fabulous husband waiting for me at the station because he'd guessed I'd be very tired and not in the mood to walk home. Small actions can mean so much, sometimes.

Cathedral, Amiens (France). March 2012.

Because I travelled by train I also had some moderate exercise, walking through the wonderful city centres of Amiens and Tournai, ànd I managed to squeeze in a 30-minute visit to Amiens' stunning cathedral.

Not bad for an average working day.

Once again it hit me what a great part of the world we live in. Sure, Europe has its economic issues, political struggles and the odd cultural misunderstanding, but that's just one side of life.

It doesn't take away from the profound beauty of our surroundings and the awe-inspiring monuments those same civilisations have created all around us.

While society continues to change, our cities, villages and landscapes testify to the cycles that have been. They breathe our rich and colourful history and never cease to whisper stories, there for our hearts and minds to pick up.

We just need to listen.


What does your environment whisper of?

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