Idle musings

SECOND IMPRESSION OF BELGIUM     Last month, from 23rd to 27th I visited Belgium and The Netherlands to attend a conference on official business. This was my second visit to Europe. It was only today that I filled in the details of those days in the diary I maintain. That triggered memories of the four days. Here, then, are my "second impressions" of my European sojourn !     On 23rd January, I left home at around 11:00 p.m. in the night. The Air France flight to Paris from Bangalore takes off in the early hours of the morning. After completing the immigration formalities and the security check, I plonked myself in front of one TV in the airport. A news channel was on and I found the experience surreal : watching a news channel in the airport at 12:00 a.m. in the night.     Eventually, it was time to board the plane. I found my seat and put in my Samsonite back pack in the overhead bin. Behind my seat, a bespectacled middle aged gentleman behind me helped a younger co-passen