Belgium - July 20-23, 2005

(Victoria)
Belgium was great. We had a really fun time. It may seem a random next stop from Greece and yes, it is. However, we found a flight for $50 so we decided to work our way up to Scandinavia via Belgium.

We arrived in Brussels Wednesday night and were immediately amazed at how clean such a busy city seemed. We spent all day Thursday, which turned out to be their Independence Day, wandering around Brussels. The entire city was celebrating. Restaurants and chocolate shops were open, but not much else. And oh, the chocolate shops. I thought I was in heaven when we passed literally six gorgeous chocolate shops in a row each with vivid window displays of yummy rich goodies neatly packaged in pretty little boxes with sweet little bows. I, of course, had to have one or two or three. Ahh…but back to Belgian Independence Day. In Brussels there was a big parade with 15-foot witches and cartoon characters, bands in bandstands, go-cart races, and men dressed in full military regalia (their twirly mustaches were the best part). We walked all over and although we only spent a day in Brussels, I feel confident saying it is definitely a beautiful city.

Then we went to Bruge. Wow! The second we got there it was stunning. The funny thing was that the streets were empty. It was only 7 o'clock, but we thought maybe because it is a touristy area that things close early. Then we got to the city center. Oh, my!!! There was an enormous stage set up with beer gardens at each end and thousands of people singing -- the Beatles! We knew we had to join. We quickly dropped our packs at the Crown Plaza (ah yes, a real duvet and a shower I don’t have to hold) and headed over to the action. We grabbed a beer and they gave us a paper with the song lyrics (genius) and we joined the massive sing-a-long. We had the best time belting out everything from Abba to Dutch songs and swaying along with the Belgians who were chanting and jumping and completely fun. The highlight was when "Summer Loving" from Grease came on!!! I think I squealed with delight. I knew this was going down as a good night.

(Bill – Priceline.com, and “frills”)
www.priceline.com – What a concept! I mean, Victoria and I have used the service in the U.S. and it was great, but let me tell you how much of a lifesaver, and *money saver*, Priceline has been in major cities internationally. For the same or less than we were paying for two or three star hotels in Greece we are getting four star hotels through Priceline. Now granted these are always your run of the mill, large, corporate-type hotels (e.g. Marriot, Radisson, etc.), which Victoria and I normally stay away from, but we have found some great advantages to these types of hotels – “frills”.

So, just what are these frills that I speak of? Down comforters, down pillows, and down sheets. The large corporate hotel business development executive (or newbie as I would rather suspect) that decided that all rooms MUST have down EVERYTHING should be granted some sort of medal recognized around the world – or maybe just an “atta boy”. More frills…concierge service, all you can eat soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and lotions, guaranteed free air conditioning, heating, cable television, free incoming calls, and internet service in your room (expensive, but it’s available). The biggest frill of all – blackout curtains a la Victoria.

Oddities or Things We Noticed

(Victoria and Bill)
Do Basset Hounds originate from Belgium? They were everywhere. Puppy Bassets, old Bassets, mixed Bassets…I adore Bassets, but I’ve never seen so many “lowered” dogs in one place.

The interest in the Pissing Boy fountain is bazaar. He is tiny for a fountain and they dress him up in clothing, with a hole in his pants, of course, so the fountain can still operate. The funniest part was the massive signage to find him and then all the hundreds of people crowded into an alley taking pictures of this little fountain that looks like a baby boy peeing.

I want to start a massive U.S. July 4th sign-a-long. It would be so fun! By the way, none of the songs had to do with independence. They were just about having a good time…wait, “I can’t live, if living is without you…” well, maybe not all of them.

Bruge is built completely on beautiful canals and considers itself the “Venice of the North” (see Oddities… section for Amsterdam).

Belgian waffles are really good in Belgium – who would have thunk? Especially if you add chocolate (which Victoria obviously did).

French fries originated in Belgium – again, who would have thunk?

It is cold (65 degrees during the day) and rainy in Belgium. This was a little unexpected and is definitely throwing a bit of a wrench into the backpack packing plan.

I am concerned about Victoria's daily intake of chocolate - gravely concerned, especially after visiting Belgium. We must leave now. She's going to kill me when she reads this.