Hotel Ibis Kortrijk Centrum

Hé hé !

L'Amérique latine, nous voici nous voilà très très bientôt !!!
Plus que quelques heures avant le décollage...
L'excitation et l'appréhension sont 2 émotions qui se battent en duel en ce moment.

Le départ est prévu à 20h ce lundi 7 décembre de Paris CDG et l'atterrisage le mardi 8 décembre à Buenos Aires.
Nous en avons rêvé et ce projet va enfin devenir réalité.

Nous partons tout équipés : les 2 v ...

... drizzling quite a bit here in Gent, but that's ok...

Tomorrow I'll try and brave the weather (here's hoping for some more sunshine) around Gent. My last full day in Belgium, since on Monday I take a train out to Dusseldorf, to spend my last night in Germany and Europe with my first hosts. Then, I leave around noon from the Dusseldorf airport to Fort Myers, back in the states. Last 3 days....

Today I said goodbye to rainy, rainy Bruxelles, and took the half hour train (8 euros) to Gent/Ghent, where I met up with my first host ever, Johanna. She was the first couchsurfer to welcome me into her home back in 2007, after I had finished my year in South Korea, in Beijing.

- Before going to Ghent, I actually made a stop in the Musical Instruments Museum in Bruxelles ...

... in Paris. I really had so much luck with the weather and the city itself was beautiful. The last few days I visited Montmartre, the picturesque artsy part of town on a hill, where I visited the gorgeous Church of Sacree Coeur, as well as the cafe where one of my favorite movies, Amelie, was filmed. I took lots of pictures and arrived there as I listened to it's amazing soundtrack.

I also ...

... part where there was 3 in a row! They all sold some amazingly presented food and after making some purchases we went for a quick walk around another church (I'm not religious, but I love looking through all the old, well built and presented buildings!).

On the way back to Calais, we went via Ypres, a city which was completely demolished during World War 1. The two main buildings in the centre of the city both ...

... cuisine before (nor was I really aware that they had a particular style of cooking) but I have to say it was one of the tastiest meals I've ever eaten - I was impressed! I had a glass of Sangria to go with it too, and it was sooo good!

We spent the rest of the last evening of the rally in the bar with the others, having a few drinks and a good time. It was a late night too - not getting back til gone 3am! Overall it was a great time, we met some great people and had lots of fun.

I saw the film "In Bruges" when it came out at the cinema a couple of years ago, and thought it looked like a beautiful city. So when Annabelle (the teacher in charge of me at school, and a good friend) suggested going for the day, Erin and I jumped at the chance.
The advantage of living so close to the Belgian border is that almost everywhere in Belgium is not much more than an hour away, and so we have no excuse not to see a lot of it!

We arrived in Bruges around 11.30 ...

... the "concierge" slowly explained to us how to unlock the door (my difficulties refraining from giggling may also have been to the thicker than usual air.) We also went around the Netherlands a bit, and now we're doing the same in Belgium. I'm writing from Bruges right now, in a bar, with an Abbe Leffe at my side. Earlier I bought a cherry flavoured beer from the grocery store, only to find out it ...

... If you don't know me by now" was playing - haven't heard that in ages! Some ****** Dolly Parton song was playing - knowing that I was Canadian the people in the other restaurant asked me if it was Celine Dion! A perfect way to end my last night in Belgium. I wanted to walk but first needed to return to the hostel for my jacket (it was a chilly night!). I considered going for another waffle but was too full. Sigh ... off to London tomorrow.

Well, we funally ran into our first train problem. We boarded in Haarlem and went to Amsterdam. No Problem. Then, we boarded the train for Antwerp. When we reached the border crossing, we were informed there would be a 20 minute delay while they waited for the Belgian conductor. BOO, HISS. This made us late getting into Antwerp and on top of that, they rerouted the trains so that we had to get off at an un-scheduled station prior ...