Easter at the seaside

For my sister and I time spent at the seaside is always a bit of holiday. We've had our flat since 1993, but before that we always rented an apartment during the month of July. Our dad wasn't always there, because he liked to use his free days to go travelling, but our mother and grandmother were with us, and sometimes a cousin or two.

We know this place - Knokke-Heist - even better than our place of birth (which is Dendermonde). We know every street, every venue. We also know more people here. Which is not so surprising because we tend to spend our free time here. We also plan to come living here once we're both pensioned.

As pensioners, your income is not the same anymore but more importantly, I don't see us maintaining two homes at our old age. One is more than enough. The flat here is not too big, but it has everything we need. We only have one bedroom, the right size for two beds and a (self-made) dressing along the longest wall. We have a small living room which holds our books and our collection of CD's and DVD's. We also have a kitchen with everything we need: a good oven, a cooking range, enough cupboards, a dishwasher and a washing machine, ...  A bathroom with shower only, but that is better for older people.

However, the biggest asset of our flat is the large roof terrace we have. We can really have a party going there. In summer, it's the place to barbecue, to eat outdoors, to enjoy the sun. We seldom go to the beach when the sun is out. It's much easier to arrange the chairs and put up the umbrella to enjoy the sun without getting too much of it.

Yes, being here always feels like being away (which it is)!