Villa Du Heysel B&B Brussels

... tour guide telling us at last count there were over 800 outfits in a museum somewhere, today and I am assuming for the rest of the festive season, he was dressed as St Nic. After all was over in Brussels we headed to the bus to take us the hour or so to Brugge.

We checked into our hostel in Brugge and then walked to the centre of town. Again the buildings are something very special. We found a place to eat dinner, it was very expensive but worth every single ...

... fancy. The ceiling was painted in the 60’s by Marc Chaggall. It was pretty amazing. I was lucky to get a peek because after about an hour they closed it down because they had a matinee performance. So I headed to the Latin Quarter where I stayed last trip. It’s a popular area with young people so it was bustling. Lots of places to eat so I got a Gyro at one of the many Gyro stands. I love Gyros. I just don’t think ...

... Brussels during the musical fireworks. These I am proud to say, I was able to see. They were pretty cool, definately the most excitinga nd impressive fireworks I've ever seen. Many of them were very different from the ones I've seen in Canada. Maybe they are illegal at home, or maybe its a different supplier.

Also, I saw the Atomium. It's hard to describe. Sort of a very very ...

Brussels snuck up on me. Arriving at Brussels-Midi was sssooooo confusing! There was no English, just an array of signs with misinterpretable pictures... now, that's ok - but when we went to information to find out how to get to where we wanted to go, the man at the counter slammed his cardboard 'closed´ sign in front of the window (and his was the only window open in two information booths!). Ah well, when we did eventually find our way it's so much more satisfying to ...

There were no direct trains running from Amsterdam to Paris so I had a couple of hours to kill in Brussels. As with Strasbourg, I had been to Brussels many times when I was working in Europe. The Grande Place would have to be my favourite Town Square in all the world. The architecture of the Guildhalls takes my breath away every time I am there. Being tight for ...

... of Europe" for the choosing. The subway in Brussels is good - efficient, clean with no ads in the cars, and (if you can make the distinction between a tram and subway...), it will get you where you want to go. People - ah, people, I found interesting. I found an unexpected mix of nationalities - my first encounter with the unexpected was the Paraguayan lady on the tram. What brings one from Paraguay to Belgium? The languages are radically different, and while Belgium may be on the ...

... the way we found the first of the comic strip murals. There are 30 of them on buildings around the city and we decided over the course of the next few months we would try and see all of them. This one was very cool because it had a fairy figure and some dwarfs that were very smurf-like. It was cool. They were made throughout the city to celebrate the city's history of comic strip art and artists. There are comic book shops in every city and at every street fair ...

... mostly in not being able to visit the Musee Horta, as the museum is actually his house. There were some excellent art nouveau rooms in the art museum though. I was also lucky to spend lunch with a friend of my sisters', to see what the inside of a Belgian row house looks like, and to chat with her about her job as a member of the European Union (she's a translator). Row houses, other than for the extremely wealthy, generally are all the same in the interior..each has a ...

Travel books said to allow one hour for Eurail Pass validation. Well, arriving at 22:05, I thought that I just might make it to my 23:41 train to Berlin. Well, surprise, surprise...I luck out again. First off, no passport control or customs. Second, despite the international ticket office being closing at 22:00, I got my Eurail Pass validated from the only open ticket ...

... He is about our age. He filled me in Hadassah's history in the Netherlands. I am going to try and relay what he told me, my information could be wrong and a lot is his opinion. About 15 years ago Hadassah tried to start a chapter in Amsterdam, but tried to run it like Hadassah USA and it just didn't catch on here in Amsterdam. So, about 7 years ago Young Hadassah was formed in Amsterdam and this time they are trying to run it Dutch style and not American style. Which means ...