Amidst the turmoil that has been the last few months, the move out of Brussels went off rather quietly. And while the commute has doubled, this one affords us idyllic views of green farmlands and serene lakes and cottages as opposed to endless rows of concrete, stained from years of neglect and misuse. Oh! What I wouldn't give for a house by a lake. Still, it is nice to live in a small Belgian town that is taken over by partying students every Thursday night. One can even make peace with the goods train that passes by under one's bedroom bedroom window, unceremoniously shaking one out of a very deserved slumber. Yes, one can make peace given that that alternative is so much worse. And just because the emotional duress, physical strain and sleeplessness were not enough and I am nothing if not a sucker for pain - I head to Italy this weekend. Bologna to be exact. The city that has just been struck by an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale, second quake in 2 weeks, the earlier one measured six and caused that much more damage. To a country still reeling from the shock.