Views of The World: July 2009

Friday 24 July 2009

A day trip to Gent, Belgium.

Unusual stalls with crazy figures who were watching the Belgium music festival.

Adele with a Juliper.

Gent is the largest city and capital of the East Flanders, Flemish region of Belgium.
It is about a half an hour from Bruges by train, a fellow Australian traveller and I took a day trip out there to get a broader view of Belgium.
In the Middle Ages it was one of the richest cities of Northern Europe. The population is a mere 240,000 people.

Beer beer beer beer BEER!!!

Wednesday 22 July 2009

International cyclist!

Yesterday I did something I've never done in my life, I cycled to another country!
I rode from Belgium to The Netherlands, it was about 15 miles away and took me an 2 hours including a break by the beautiful canal. Also a first for me was having to ask someone what country I was in! It was a strange feeling at that point.
I returned to a nice cold Belgian beer and let me tell you, it was the most deserved beer I think I've ever had.

Monday 20 July 2009

Bruges, Belgium.

In the 14th century, Bruges was one of the leading trade centres in Europe but due to its canals to the sea being silted during the following century, it was abandoned by many Traders and Townsfolk, leaving it suspended in time. Much of the town however was rebuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries to reflect its Medieval heritage.
Belgium is mostly famous for its beer, chocolate and of course belgium waffles, all of which I intend to consume generous amounts of. A popular dish here is chips and mayo, also very yummy. The country makes a staggering 750,000 tonnes of chocolate every year and has 500 types of beer many of which were originally brewed by Monks!!
Other well known things to come out of Belgium include The Smurfs and Tin Tin which has still sold a whopping 200 million comic books this decade alone!
Bruges claims to have some of Christ's blood so I figured if I can get my paws on some of that I will gain infinite power and will be able to rid the world of AIDS, Cancer and Climate Change!!

Sunday 19 July 2009

On the road again!

Now I am in Paris, just for the night. I leave for Belgium in the morning! I am so excited to be on the road again, tomorrow is the beginning of my 'Busabout' adventure, a 7 week journey through Europe.
I got to Paris fine although had a close call on the way to the hostel when a man started hassling me in French outside the Metro, luckily though a very nice young guy across the road noticed and ran over asking if there was a problem. I presume he told the guy to piss off and then he gave me directions to the hostel and a smile. He was very kind and it leaves a warm fuzzy feeling in me knowing that there are some people in this world who will look out for you, even if they never met you. It was a relief to get inside the hostel and be greeted by a smile from reception and to be surrounded with chatter at the bar.
I love the hostel environment and am so glad to be in them again finally, I've already met some really nice Americans in my dorm who have been travelling since May, we had a good old yarn.

One last look at the Algarve.

Portugal was so very beautiful, we had such a great time lying on the beach, by the pool, soaking up the rays and swimming. We saw sea-caves, had such a fun day at a waterpark - OMG! The food was amazing and we had not one lousy meal. The people were friendly despite a run in with some gypsies. I could have stayed there forever and it was difficult to leave, I miss it already and its only been a few hours since we left.