Protea Hotel Keurbooms River Antwerp

... by both the exhibitions and the building itself. Probably the most interesting exhibit was the clothes of the Mannequin Pis, which is a famous statue of a little boy peeing. No joke, this is a well-known attraction in Brussels. The costumes made me think of Barbie: the Mannequin Pis has outfits from all over the world and almost every profession, all made with a "strategically placed hole," as
the guide book delicately puts it.

We then went ...

de si belles vaches!.....

Je suis donc arrivée à Antwerp en début après-midi, pour me trouver propulsée dans une petite fête de quartier au mileu de la rue, où Adriana, ma host de couchsurfing, m'attendait.. vin? ok.. pain? pourquoi pas.. biscuits, charcuterie? bien sur... Merci! Mais je dois ici me contenter de sourire, puisqu'ils parlent le deutch et que, surprenemment, je ne maîtrise pas ...

... ihan vain saalista ostaa koiranpennut pois sielta. Toisaalta, sehan ei toki auttaisi asiaa ollenkaan. Ainut asia, mita oli vaikea loytaa Antwerpenista oli pankkiautomaatti. En voinut ostaa junalippua visakortilla, joten olin pakotettu laittamaan siihen loput kateiseni eilen, ja automaatti oli siksi tarpeen. Ei juna toki paljon maksa Tilburgista Antwerpeniin, noin 15 euroa. Ja jos haluaisi voisi myos ostaa ...

... hall, and a bunch of restaurants and overpriced tourist traps. I'm noticing a theme. We stopped for a beer at one of the aforementioned overpriced tourist traps - by overpriced, I mean we paid 2.50 instead of 1.50 for a beer, so it's still cheap by most standards. I finally got around to trying one of Belgium's famed Trappist beers. On Marie's recommendation, I tried Orval, which was pretty good even if it's low alcohol content compared to ...

... Lisa, John & I. But listen to me, I always come off so negative. That's not my intention, but I figure 'write what you know', and right now I know that I'm lonely, and craving the company of Josh, Andy, even my Mom... but I especially crave the comany of Luke. Keep thinking about Paris! Hopefully walking around by the Seine will tire me out and I'll sleep early and well tonight.

... session. When I first walked into the erg room, everyone else immediately jumped onto ergs and I was told since I was the new girl that I had to use the ****** erg. This erg was a concept...I believe. It was SO old that all the labels had worn off, only one button worked on the screen. The slide was covered with black **** and the handle was this tiny little thing made of rough wood. My poor hands were ripped apart! But once me got started the ...

... had also found its way, as Seb walked me to the train station and I realized that for the first time in a long time, we'd be apart for a while. I know it all sounds corny and overdone, but I was mixed with those feelings. And don't even go and try to tell you haven't been there...give me some slack, yes I am in love. It was in fact the long way round to Brussels as the Border Officer put it as I arrived in Dublin. Why was I going to ...

... from Brussel over London to NY with British Airways an from Boston over London to Brussels for 447.00 Euro per person (18/05 - 05/06) Flying to the States is no problem. It's the coming back that is a problem. All planes are kind a full. And that makes that the rates are higher to come back. I booked the plaintickets (476.00 euro) for a ...

... meant 'guide'. Kinda weird, what was he guiding? I also thought about something else - being completely surrounded by a museum and town that focuses on how the American saved and liberated the town from the clutches of a dictator made me think that maybe sometime in the future, the lies of finding 'weapons of mass destruction' will be forgotten and there could someday be a museum in Baghdad commemorating when the Americans came to Iraq to liberate the people from the clutches of ...

... including its importance in both World Wars) and enjoyed beautiful countryside, in addition to discovering some new beers. Belgium produces over 600 beers in many different types of breweries, from big commercial endeavors to very small "artisanal" brews to those made by Trappist monks in Monasteries. So the trip was loosely organized around investigating these different beers and seeing the different circumstances under which they are made. The ...