So I wandered down that road 5 minutes away and couldn't find anything. A painting in another road to the right caught my eye and I found out it was the Muse Mile, the Muse is a music group and I'm familiar with some of their songs so it was cool to wander down the road and see graffiti and quotes on side of buildings.
Oh, that reminds me, I updated about 180 pictures (Ireland, UK, Netherlands) on my facebook, so check out my page. If you aren't friends with me you can view them through this public link:
After the Muse Mile, I turned left and walked maybe two blocks and guess what I found? An Arab internet cafe! But no CouchSurfing replies, only declines. With no place to stay, I headed to Brussels, Belgium and hoped to find a hostel nearby the central train station.
Upon arrival after a 3-hour train ride, I walked around and saw a hotel lobby with computers. I kindly asked the lady at the front desk If I could use the computer to find a friend's house address (yay for white lies) she said sure go ahead! So I checked and I got an e-mail from Lieke, Peter & Kids on CouchSurfing saying I could stay at their place at Dendermonde! I couldn't believe my luck! The email was sent about a hour after I left the internet cafe in Rotterdam, and I read it at 22:00 it was late but it was better than nothing.
In case you're wondering, Dendermonde is a small town right in middle of the "Big 3" - Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges - go google it up.
So with directions, I found their place around 23:30 and Lieke welcomed me in even though it was late, but it was no big deal. I later found out that I was their 451th guest! This was nothing new for them.
For the next six days, I explored Ghent, Bruges (on bike), Dendermonde, Antwerp, Brussels and Mechelen for a day each traveling by train from the home base Dendermonde. I saw a lot in those towns and sometimes the towns, places and events started to blur in with each other. I was warned that sometimes going city to city can feel all the same thing after a couple of days and I'm feeling that already,
Some of the sights I saw: Basilica of the Holy Blood, Choco-Museum, The smallest chinatown in the world (Only 2 streets!), tons of vintage stores, Manneken Pis, Grote Markts, cathedrals, cathedrals and more cathedrals.
I have to give a shout-out to USE-IT! their maps truly are champs made by locals with local tips. I saw a lot I would have not seen without their map. THANK YOU USE-IT! I stopped by their headquarters in Brussels, they were very welcoming and gave me some coffee and a point-it picture book. It was really neat to visit.
I mentioned on my twitter that "I can't decide what's better in Belgium: the frites, the chocolate or the beer" Seriously, the frites are great here with stoofvleesaus & mayo. The chocolate truly is amazing, I cannot describe the sensation it has to be tasted by yourself to comprehend. And the beers... oh the beers, there's a 1,568 page book on Belgian Beers alone with A to Z listing!
And I haven't gotten to the Belgian Waffles!
My favorite town of Belgium was Bruges. It was so lovely, I felt like I was back in the medieval times with the house designs, churches, cobblestone streets, narrow alleys, windmills and tons of bridges over canals. I rented a bicycle and went through Bruges in four hours and saw a lot I would not see from just walking. I (like many other tourists) was drawn to Bruges after seeing the movie "In Bruges" and the town was more charming in person than in the movie. So that does it, Bruges is my favorite town of this trip... SO FAR.
On Friday evening, I went to the Bozar Theatre in Brussels - there was a Deaf theatre called "L' Intrige De Intrige" by Hand In't Oog (I think it's translated: Hand For Eye). It was different from American/Gallaudet theatre I was used to seeing, lots of gesture, dancing and live guitar music on the stage with out of the ordinary stuff - people walking backwards, sitting and embracing their suitcases and hanging from the ceiling attached to a chandelier. There wasn't much talking, maybe only 5 minutes out of the 1:15 long theatre. I enjoyed myself and had quite a cultural experience with Deaf Belgians.
After Belgium on the 10th, I have decided with the committee of one (It's different to have freedom to decide what I want to do by myself) that I will go to Luxembourg for a day, then go to Madrid, Spain, skipping France. I'll go to France as my last country before catching my flight to Ireland much later in June.
I would like to express my gratitude to Lieke, Peter and their four kids: Nina, Arne, Bavo and Enea for their wonderful hospitality! I really enjoyed staying almost a week with a Belgian family. They showed me around their town, gave me some tips, shared lunch/dinner with me and got to know them well through our chats on miscrosoft word with our nightly glass of beer before bed. They truly were champs and a perfect example of what CouchSurfing should be! Thanks!
I would like to express my gratitude to Lieke, Peter and their four kids: Nina, Arne, Bavo and Enea for their wonderful hospitality! I really enjoyed staying almost a week with a Belgian family. They showed me around their town, gave me some tips, shared lunch/dinner with me and got to know them well through our chats on miscrosoft word with our nightly glass of beer before bed. They truly were champs and a perfect example of what CouchSurfing should be! Thanks!
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