The World We Live In (a brief aside)

Lots more I want to get down for my own benefit but I wanted to include some of the after effects of the latest attack in Brussels. I guess maybe we are getting used to it. Didn't see any "Je suis Bruxellois" images on Facebook or any flags superimposed over photos. But, at least the Hotel de Ville had Belgian flags draped under the windows and the Ferris Wheel at La Place de la Concorde had a large Belgian flag on the wheel.

And in keeping with the spirit of the day... we were on the main metro line that runs up the Champs Elysees today when a voice came over the PA telling the passengers that everyone had to get off the metro at the Arc de Triomphe due to a possible security issue between a few metro stations. Everyone got off and made their way above ground to the Champs Elysees and started looking for a bus to take them to their ultimate destination. We were all in a fairly good  mood even as we crammed into a bus until it became worse than the images of the subway in Japan and we were not really able to close the doors. At our stop, a guy behind us who had been in a good humor finally said, "OK, that's enough. It was fun for a while, but I need to get off" and proceeded to push everyone ahead of  him out the door. I pushed him from behind too until we were all off the bus.

It was probably just a precautionary measure as we heard no more about why we had to exit the metro, but everyone took it in stride.