After enjoying an amazing SixNations match where France beat Italy in a very good way, Joseph de Ca'th Lon and The Grandma have taken advantage of Monday morning to make a quick visit to Lile, a city they know well, but where they will never tire of returning because they are both in love with Flanders,itshistory and its culture. They had just enough time to drive to Brussels and catch the planes back to Basel and Barcelona where they both have to continue with their lives.
Lilein Picard, Rijsel in Dutch, Lille in French, and Rysel in West Flemish is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord department, and the main city of the European Metropolis of Lille.
The city of Lile is the fourth most populated in France after Paris, Lyon, and Marseille. The city of Lille and 94 suburban French municipalities have formed since 2015 the European Metropolis of Lille.
More broadly, Lile belongs to a vast conurbation formed with the Belgian cities of Mouscron, Kortrijk, Tournai and Menin, which gave birth in January 2008 to the Eurometropolis Lile-Kortrijk-Tournai, the first European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), which has more than 2.1 million inhabitants.
Nicknamed in France the Capital of Flanders, Lile and its surroundings belong to the historical region of Romance Flanders, a former territory of the county of Flanders that is not part of the linguistic area of West Flanders. A garrison town (as evidenced by its Citadel), Lile has had an eventful history from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. Very often besieged during its history, it belonged successively to the Kingdom of France, the Burgundian State, the Holy Roman Empire of Germany and the Spanish Netherlands before being definitively attached to the France of Louis XIV following the War of Spanish Succession along with the entire territory making up the historic province of French Flanders. Lilewas again under siege in 1792 during the Franco-Austrian War, and in 1914 and 1940. It was severely tested by the two world wars of the 20th century during which it was occupied and suffered destruction.
A merchant city since its origins and a manufacturing city since the 16th century, the Industrial Revolution made it a great industrial capital, mainly around the textile and mechanical industries. Their decline, from the 1960s onwards, led to a long period of crisis and it was not until the 1990s that the conversion to the tertiary sector and the rehabilitation of the disaster-stricken districts gave the city a different face. Today, the historic center, Old Lille, is characterized by its 17th-century red brick town houses, its paved pedestrian streets and its central Grand'Place. The belfry of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) is one of the 23 belfries in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Somme regions that were classified as UNESCOWorldHeritage Sites in July 2005, in recognition of their architecture and importance to the rise of municipal power in Europe.
The construction of the brand-new Euralille business district in 1988 (now the third largest in France) and the arrival of the TGV and then the Eurostar in 1994 made the city easily accessible from major European cities. The development of its international airport, annual events such as the Braderie de Lille in early September (attracting three million visitors), the development of a student and university center (with more than 110,000 students in colleges and schools of the University of Lile and the Catholic University of Lile, the third largest in France behind Paris and Lyon), its ranking as a European Capital of Culture in 2004 and the events of Lile 2004 (European Capital of Culture) and Lile 3000 are the main symbols of this revival. The European metropolis of Lille was awarded the World Design Capital 2020.
Archeological digs seem to show the area as inhabited by as early as 2000 BC, most notably in the modern quartiers of Fives, Wazemmes and Vieux Lille. The original inhabitants of the region were the Gauls, such as the Menapians, the Morins, the Atrebates and the Nervians, who were followed by Germanic peoples: the Saxons, the Frisians and the Franks.
The legend of Lydéric and Phinaert puts the foundation of the city of Lile at 640. In the 8th century, the language of Old Low Franconian was spoken, as attested by toponymic research. Lile's Dutch name is Rijsel, which comes from ter ijsel (at the island) from Middle Dutch ijssel (small island, islet), calque of Old French l'Isle (the Island), itself from Latin Īnsula, from īnsula (island).
From 830 to around 910, the Vikings invaded Flanders. After the destruction caused by Normans' and the Magyars' invasion, the eastern part of the region was ruled by various local princes.
The first mention of the town dates from 1066: apud Insulam (Latin for at the island). It was then controlled by the County of Flanders, as were the regional cities (the Roman cities Boulogne, Arras, Cambrai as well as the Carolingian cities Valenciennes, Saint-Omer, Ghent and Bruges). The County of Flanders thus extended to the left bank of the Scheldt, one of the richest and most prosperous regions of Europe.
of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Walking through Lile is walking through Flanders, because political borders have nothing to do with cultural ones and we all know that. You know you are in the city of Louis Pasteur and Jean Baptiste Perrin, but also of Morgane Alvaro, the fictional character resident of Lile who takes advantage of her high intellectual capacity to help solve the most complex police cases.
HPI is one of the freshest and most innovative TV series of recent years that combines great scripts with a staging where under a comic appearance the social dramas and personal difficulties of a woman to bring her family forward are hidden.
HPI, acronym for French: Haut Potentiel Intellectuel, is a Franco-Belgiancrime-comedy television series.
Created by Stéphane Carrié, Alice Chegaray-Breugnot, and Nicolas Jean, it is broadcast in Belgium on La Une since 20 April 2021, in Switzerland on RTS Un since 27 April 2021, in France on TF1 since 29 April 2021, and in Canada on Addik since 1 June 2022. It streams in the United States as HIP: High Intellectual Potential on Hulu since 12 July 2024. The series is a coproduction between Itinéraire Productions, Septembre Productions, TF1, Pictanovo, Be-Films, and RTBF.
It stars Audrey Fleurot as Morgane Alvaro, an intellectually highly gifted housekeeper, who becomes a consultant for the DIPJ (a police division that investigates serious crime) in Lile, and helps solve several cases thanks to her sharp mind.
The Grandma is still visiting Brussels.Yesterday was a rainy day and The Grandma was relaxing at hotel talking with her friends and reading about the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre of Chicago. Today, the weather is fantastic and TheGrandma has visited the most popular places of a beautiful city symbol of the European spirit of freedom and respect.
Brussels, in French Bruxelles and in Dutch Brussel, is the Brussels-Capital Region (Région de Bruxelles-Capitale / Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest), is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium.
The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country and is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the Flemish Region, which forms an enclave, and the Walloon Region.
Brussels is the most densely populated and the richest region in Belgium in terms of GDP per capita. It covers 162 km2, a relatively small area compared to the two other regions, and has a population of over 1.2 million.
The metropolitan area of Brussels comprises over 2.5 million people, which makes it the largest in Belgium. It is also part of a large conurbation extending towards Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven and Walloon Brabant, home to over 5 million people.
Brussels grew from a small rural settlement on the river Senne to become an important city-region in Europe. Since the end of the Second World War, it has been a major centre for international politics and home to numerous international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants.
Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union, as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, including its administrative-legislative, executive-political, and legislative branches, though the judicial branch is located in Luxembourg, and the European Parliament meets for a minority of the year in Strasbourg. Its name is sometimes used metonymically to describe the EU and its institutions.
The secretariat of the Benelux and headquarters of NATO are also located in Brussels. As the economic capital of Belgium and one of the top financial centres of Western Europe with Euronext Brussels, it is classified as an Alpha global city.
The Grandma visits the Atomium, Brussels
Brussels is a hub for rail, road and air traffic, sometimes earning the moniker Crossroads of Europe. The Brussels Metro is the only rapid transit system in Belgium. In addition, both its airport and railway stations are the largest and busiest in the country.
Historically Dutch-speaking, Brussels saw a language shift to French from the late 19th century. The Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch,even though French is now the de facto main language with over 90% of the population speaking it. Brussels is also increasingly becoming multilingual. English is spoken as a second language by nearly a third of the population and many migrants and expatriates speak other languages as well.
Brussels is known for its cuisine and gastronomy, as well as its historical and architectural landmarks; some of them are registered as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Main attractions include its historic Grand Place, Manneken Pis, Atomium, and cultural institutions such as La Monnaie/De Munt and the Museums of Art and History. Due to its long tradition of Belgian comics, Brussels is also hailed as a capital of the comic strip.
The most common theory of the origin of the name Brussels is that it derives from the Old Dutch Bruocsella, Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh (bruoc/broek) and home (sella/zele/sel) or home in the marsh. Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai, made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695, when it was still a hamlet. The names of all the municipalities in the Brussels-CapitalRegion are also of Dutch origin, except for Evere, which is Celtic.
The history of Brussels is closely linked to that of Western Europe. Traces of human settlement go back to the Stone Age, with vestiges and place-names related to the civilisation of megaliths, dolmens and standing stones. Plattesteen in the City of Brussels and Tomberg in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, for example.
During late antiquity, the region was home to Roman occupation, as attested by archaeological evidence discovered on the site of Tour & Taxis. Following the decline of the Western Roman Empire, it was incorporated into the Frankish Empire. The origin of the settlement which was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus' construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580.
The Grandma inside the Atomium, Brussels
The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel, located in today's province of East Flanders, to Saint Gaugericus' chapel. Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island.
Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven, gained the County of Brussels around 1000, by marrying Charles' daughter. Because of its location on the shores of the Senne, on an important trade route between Bruges and Ghent, and Cologne, Brussels became a commercial centre specialised in the textile trade. The town grew quite rapidly and extended towards the upper town (Treurenberg, Coudenberg and Sablon/Zavel areas), where there was a smaller risk of floods.
As it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. Around this time, work began on what is now the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (1225), replacing an older Romanesque church. In 1183, the Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant.
Brabant, unlike the county of Flanders, was not fief of the king of France but was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire. In the early 13th century, the first Fortifications of Brussels were built, and after this, the city grew significantly. To let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Traces of these can still be seen, although the small ring, a series of roadways bounding the historic city centre, follows its former course.
In the 15th century, the marriage between heiress Margaret III of Flanders and Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, produced a new Duke of Brabant of the House of Valois, namely Antoine, their son.
In 1477, the Burgundian duke Charles the Bold perished in the Battle of Nancy. Through the marriage of his daughter Mary of Burgundy, who was born in Brussels, to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, the Low Countries fell under Habsburg sovereignty.
Brabant was integrated into this composite state, and Brussels flourished as the Princely Capital of the prosperous Burgundian Netherlands, also known as the Seventeen Provinces. After the death of Mary in 1482, her son Philip the Handsome succeeded as Duke of Burgundy and Brabant.
Visiting the Flemish Parliament, Brussels
Philip died in 1506, and he was succeeded by his son Charles V who then also became King of Spain, crowned in the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, and even Holy Roman Emperor at the death of his grandfather Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519.
Charles was now the ruler of a Habsburg Empire on which the sun never sets with Brussels serving as his main capital. It was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V was declared of age in 1515, and it was there that he abdicated all of his possessions and passed the Habsburg Netherlands to Philip II of Spain. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had greatly expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant, but it was destroyed by fire in 1731.
In the 17th century, Brussels was a centre for the lace industry. In 1695, during the Nine Years' War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery. Together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels.
The Grand Place was destroyed, along with 4,000 buildings -a third of all the buildings in the city. The reconstruction of the city centre, effected during subsequent years, profoundly changed its appearance and left numerous traces still visible today.
Following the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Spanish sovereignty over the Southern Netherlands was transferred to the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg. This event started the era of the Austrian Netherlands. Brussels was captured by France in 1746, during the War of the Austrian Succession, but was handed back to Austria three years later.
It remained with Austria until 1795, when the Southern Netherlands were captured and annexed by France, and the city became the capital of the department of the Dyle.
The French rule ended in 1815, with the defeat of Napoleon on the battlefield of Waterloo, located south of today's Brussels-Capital Region. With the Congress of Vienna, the Southern Netherlands joined the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, under William I of Orange. The former Dyle department became the province of South Brabant, with Brussels as its capital.
The Manneken Pis, Brussels
In 1830, the Belgian revolution began in Brussels, after a performance of Auber's opera La Muette de Portici at the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie. The city became the capital and seat of government of the new nation.
South Brabant was renamed simply Brabant, with Brussels as its administrative centre. On 21 July 1831, Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, ascended the throne, undertaking the destruction of the city walls and the construction of many buildings.
Following independence, Brussels underwent many more changes. It became a financial centre, thanks to the dozens of companies launched by the Société Générale de Belgique. The Industrial Revolution and the building of the Brussels-Charleroi Canal brought prosperity to the city through commerce and manufacturing. The Free University of Brussels was established in 1834 and Saint-Louis University in 1858.
In 1835, the first passenger railway built outside England linked the municipality of Molenbeek with Mechelen.
During the 19th century, the population of Brussels grew considerably; from about 80,000 to more than 625,000 people for the city and its surroundings.
The Senne had become a serious health hazard, and from 1867 to 1871, under the tenure of mayor Jules Anspach, its entire course through the urban area was completely covered over. This allowed urban renewal and the construction of modern buildings of hausmannien style along central boulevards, characteristic of downtown Brussels today.
Buildings such as the Brussels Stock Exchange (1873), the Palace of Justice (1883) and Saint Mary's Royal Church (1885) date from this period. This development continued throughout the reign of King Leopold II.
The International Exposition of 1897 contributed to the promotion of the infrastructure. Among other things, the Colonial Palace (today's Royal Museum for Central Africa), in the suburb of Tervuren, was connected to the capital by the construction of an 11-km long grand alley.
The Grandma visits Brussels, Belgium
During the 20th century, the city hosted various fairs and conferences, including the Solvay Conference on Physics and on Chemistry, and three world fairs: the BrusselsInternational Exposition of 1910,the BrusselsInternationalExposition of 1935 and Expo '58.
During World War I, Brussels was an occupied city, but German troops did not cause much damage. During World War II, it was again occupied by German forces, and spared major damage, before it was liberated by the British Guards Armoured Division on 3 September 1944. The Brussels Airport, in the suburb of Zaventem, dates from the occupation.
After the war, Brussels underwent extensive modernisation. The construction of the North–South connection, linking the main railway stations in the city, was completed in 1952, while the first premetro was finished in 1969, and the first line of the metro was opened in 1976.
Starting from the early 1960s, Brussels became the de facto capital of what would become the European Union, and many modern offices were built. Development was allowed to proceed with little regard to the aesthetics of newer buildings, and numerous architectural landmarks were demolished to make way for newer buildings that often clashed with their surroundings, giving name to the process of Brusselisation.
The Brussels-Capital Region was formed on 18 June 1989, after a constitutional reform in 1988. It is one of the three federal regions of Belgium, along with Flanders and Wallonia, and has bilingual status. The yellow iris is the emblem of the region, referring to the presence of these flowers on the city's original site, and a stylised version in shown on its official flag.
Despite its name, the Brussels-Capital Region is not the capital of Belgium. Article 194 of the Belgian Constitution establishes that the capital of Belgium is the City of Brussels, the municipality in the region that is the city's core.
The City of Brussels is the location of many national institutions. The Royal Palace, where the King of the Belgians exercises his prerogatives as head of state, is situated alongside Brussels' Park, not to be confused with the Royal Castle of Laeken, the official home of the Belgian Royal Family.
The Grandma visits Brussels, Belgium
The Palace of the Nation is located on the opposite side of this park, and is the seat of the Belgian Federal Parliament. The office of the Prime Minister of Belgium, colloquially called Law Street 16, in French 16, rue de la Loi and in Dutch Wetstraat 16, is located adjacent to this building. It is also where the Council of Ministers holds its meetings.
The Court of Cassation, Belgium's main court, has its seat in the Palace of Justice. Other important institutions in the City of Brussels are the Constitutional Court, the Council of State, the Court of Audit, the Royal Belgian Mint and the National Bank of Belgium.
The City of Brussels is also the capital of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community. The Flemish Parliament and Flemish Government have their seats in Brussels, and so do the Parliament of the French Community and the Government of the French Community.
Brussels is home to a
large number of immigrants. At the last Belgian census in 1991, 63.7% of
inhabitants in Brussels-Capital Region answered that they were Belgian
citizens, born as such in Belgium. However, there have been numerous individual or familial migrations towards Brussels since the end of the 18th century, including political refugees (Karl Marx, Victor Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, Léon Daudet, Auguste Rodin, Alexandre Dumas, Friedrich Engels, Rafael Correa, Josep Valtònyc, Toni Comín and Carles Puigdemont), from neighbouring or more distant countries, as well as labour migrants, former foreign students or expatriates, and many Belgian families in Brussels can claim at least one foreign grandparent.
Brussels has a large concentration of immigrants from other countries, and their children, including many of Moroccan (Riffian, Berber) and Turkish ancestry, together with French-speaking black Africans from former Belgian colonies, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.
The Grandma visits Brussels, Belgium
People of foreign origin make upnearly 70% of the population of Brussels,most of whom have been naturalised following the great 1991 reform of the naturalisation process.
About 32% of city residents are of non-Belgian European origin, and 36% are of another background, mostly from Morocco, Turkey and Sub-Saharan Africa. Among all major migrant groups from outside the EU, a majority of the permanent residents have acquired Belgian nationality.
The architecture in Brussels is diverse, and spans from the clashing combination of Gothic, Baroque, and Louis XIV styles on the Grand Place to the postmodern buildings of the EU institutions.
Very little medieval architecture is preserved in Brussels. Buildings from that period are mostly found in the historic centre (called Îlot Sacré), Saint Géry/Sint-Goriks and Sainte-Catherine/Sint Katelijne neighbourhoods. The Brabantine Gothic Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula remains a prominent feature in the skyline of downtown Brussels.
Isolated portions of the first city walls were saved from destruction and can be seen to this day. One of the only remains of the second walls is the Halle Gate. The Grand Place is the main attraction in the city centre and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.
The square is dominated by the 15th century Flamboyant Town Hall, the neo-Gothic Breadhouse and the Baroque guildhalls of the Guilds of Brussels. Manneken Pis, a fountain containing a small bronze sculpture of a urinating youth, is a tourist attraction and symbol of the city.
Visiting Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Atomium is a symbolic 103-metre tall modernist structure, located on the Heysel Plateau,
which was originally built for the 1958 World's Fair (Expo '58).
It
consists of nine steel spheres connected by tubes, and forms a model of
an iron crystal (specifically, a unit cell), magnified 165 billion
times. The architect A. Waterkeyn devoted the building to science. It is
now considered a landmark of Brussels.
Since the founding of the Kingdom of Belgium in 1830, Brussels has transformed from being almost entirely Dutch-speaking (Brabantiandialect to be exact), to being a multilingual city with French (specifically Belgian French) as the majority language and lingua franca.
This language shift, the Francisation of Brussels, is rooted in the 18th century and accelerated after Belgium became independent and Brussels expanded past its original boundaries.
Brussels contains over 80 museums. The Royal Museums of Fine Arts has an extensive collection of various painters, such as Flemish old masters like Bruegel, Rogier van der Weyden, Robert Campin, Anthony van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, and Peter Paul Rubens. The Magritte Museum houses the world's largest collection of the works of the surrealist René Magritte.
Brussels is also a capital of the comic strip; some treasured Belgian characters are Tintin, Lucky Luke, The Smurfs, Spirou, Gaston, Marsupilami, Blake and Mortimer, Boule et Bill and Cubitus. Throughout the city,
walls are painted with large motifs of comic book characters; these
murals taken together are known as Brussels' Comic Book Route. Also, the
interiors of some Metro stations are designed by artists.
The Belgian Comic Strip Center combines two artistic leitmotifs of Brussels, being a museum devoted to Belgian comic strips, housed in the former Waucquez department store, designed by Victor Horta in the Art Nouveau style.
Brussels is known for its local waffle, its chocolate, its French fries and its numerous types of beers. The Brussels sprout, which has long been popular in Brussels, and may have originated there, is also named after the city.
Belgian cuisine is characterised by the combination of French cuisine with the more hearty Flemish fare.
Notable specialities include Brussels waffles (gaufres) and mussels (usually as moules-frites, served with fries).
The city is a stronghold of chocolate and pralines manufacturers with renowned companies like Côte d'Or, Neuhaus, Leonidas and Godiva. Pralines were first introduced in 1912, by Jean Neuhaus II, a Belgian chocolatier of Swiss origin, in the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries.
As well as other Belgian beers, the spontaneously fermented lambic style, brewed in and around Brussels, is widely available there and in the nearby Senne valley where the wild yeasts which ferment it have their origin. Kriek, a cherry lambic, is available in almost every bar or restaurant in Brussels.
I'm Óscar Bean. I was born in Bruges, Flanders, Belgium. I'm a Lego Tester. I love creating new constructions and thinking in improving them. I started playing with Lego when I was a child and I realized what I wanted to be. I believe that a toy must be something creative which was useful not only to children but for adult and even the eldest people. Playing is a good way to learn. It's something that I have done with my family, The Beans. We have been learning English meanwhile we have been playing with lots of games. Enjoy the game! You're the winner!
-Good morning, Óscar Bean, and thanks to attend us.
-Good morning. Thanks to you.
-Well, as I have seen you're a Lego Tester.
-Yes. It's a fantastic job. I started being a fan of Lego and nowadays it's my profession.
-When did your hobby about Lego start?
-Mmmm. It's not a hobby. It's my work and I live it with passion. I'm Flemish. We have lots of things in common with Dutch people who have constructed incredible things like the canals in Amsterdam and with German people, who are the best European in technology. They have been great influencers in our culture along the history.
-You're a Flemish. How's life living in a border?
-It's very interesting because you receive influences of both sides. In my case three sides: French spoken Belgian people, Germany and Netherlands.
-Then, you've a little part of all of them...
-Not exactly. I'm Flemish. Belgium isn't a big state but we are two big different communities: Flemish and Walloons. Living in diversity is growing in knowledge.
-You were born in Bruges. You must enjoy art and culture every day.
-Flemish culture was one of the most important during the Middle Age and the Renaissance. We were a great influence for the rest of European communities. Now, the capital of Vlaanderen is Brussels, which is also the capital of the European Union. We continue being important for Europe, don't we?
-How is the life of a Lego tester?
-A normal life. I must be very tidy and organized because is very difficult to make a good Lego. You need concentration, patience a lot of knowledge about Mathematics and Architecture. In fact, you're an architect because you create and construct buildings.
-Which is your favourite Lego?
-I love all of them but I like the reproduction of R2D2 in real scale. It's amazing.
-R2D2?
-Yes. He's the most important character in Star Wars Saga. He always appears in the best moment to rescue the main characters and he's able to understand all of his friends and be understood by all of them, although he speaks a robot language. R2D2 is like an alarm clock. He's always ready to notice you about danger. He's the real linchpin in Star Wars plot.
-Why do you think Lego is one of the richest enterprises around the world?
-They offer a great product. For one hand you can create a reproduction of one concrete figure but, for other hand, you can create your own constructions. It's an extemporal toy because it can be used by different generations and by people of different ages. It's a successful product because offers the possibility of doing things whatever you want, following your rules and giving to your brain the possibility of being as creative as you imagine. It's a fantastic toy, one of the most educational and amazing.
-How do you feel being a member of The Beans?
-It has been a pleasure. It's a fantastic family and we've spent unforgettable moments together.
-How is a normal day with The Beans?
-The day starts with me. I'm the first person to wake up, get up and start to work. Later, step by step, the rest of the family starts to be ready.
-How long have you been studying English?
-Since I was in the school. We're a bilingual community and learning another language is easier for us.
-Is English difficult for you?
-No, it isn't. English has its roots in German. Flemish is also a German language. It helps me to understand all grammar and syntax better because they have lots of things in common.
-What can you explain about your life with The Beans?
-We're a great family with a great sense of humour, very hard workers and with a great idea of responsibility. It's easy to stay with them.
-Which is your best memory with the family?
-It's difficult to choose one but I remember with special emotion when we stayed in Georgetown University, in Washington DC. We were visiting the campus and i found a skeleton buried next to a tree. At the beginning I was shocked but after the first impression, but then the special unit of scientists arrived from the Jeffersonian. It was Dra Temperance Brennan and her team, the best of the world in forensic anthropology. For me, staying with them and watching their work was a masterclass that I will never forget. Never.
-Thank you very much, Óscar Bond.
-You're welcome.
For me, stories are like Lego blocks.
If I don't put one down, I can't put the next one down.
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