As the title suggests, I'm going to Belgium! The land of waffles and delicious beer. Actually, after a quick check on my favorite website Wikipedia it turns out that Belgian Waffles are not Belgian at all! Of course, leave it to the Americans to make shit like that up. The beer on the other hand is very real and very Belgian and VERY delicious. Very exciting, indeed. It will be nice to have a beer that I truly enjoy, as opposed to settling for the one I dislike least as I have been for the past few weeks. Don't worry, I'll take it easy there. No more stories akin to my last post.
I shall be departing London next Tuesday evening and will be arriving in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday morning. It's going to be over a nine hour bus ride, not looking forward to that. But it's only going to cost me £18 to get to Belgium, a steal really. I was able to pounce on a ridiculous deal being offered by the bus company. I will also be saving the trouble of working out accommodation for the night which is nice.
Speaking of accommodation I finally got a host to agree to have me stay with him via the CouchSurfing website. For the uninitiated CouchSurfing is a website in which travelers from all around the globe connect with fellow travelers. One way in which this connection occurs is by having those that are at home host those that are traveling. Some people are not able to host but still like to meet up with those that are traveling to show them around or just meet someone new from a different culture. It's an unparalleled way to meet up with locals from different parts of the world. I highly recommend the organization to anyone that travels that enjoys meeting new people.
Back to my experience with CouchSurfing (herein to be referred to as "CSing"), I have had a very difficult time connecting with anyone. I have sent out numerous requests to hosts telling them I am coming through their city or town and have been rejected every time. Mostly the reasons are the same, the hosts I selected are too busy to accommodate me. Understandable of course but nonetheless a frustrating experience. But lucky for me I have found a nice guy named Steven to host me in Brussels. He even offered to meet up with me after my bus arrives at 7 AM so that I can put my bag down at his place or possibly catch some shut eye after my long bus ride. What a guy. I am ecstatic to be able to meet up with a local and hopefully learn more about Brussels and Belgium than I would had I been completely on my own. I'm sure it will enrich my experience there.
After Belgium I suppose I will continue to head south in anticipation of meeting my good pal Ezra in Rome on March 18th. I can't wait to see a familiar face in person. By the time I meet up with him it will have been almost two months since I had seen any of my friends from back home in person, something I am not accustomed to. It will be a joyous day indeed.
Which reminds me I must get in contact with my friends Luke and Stefano that I met in Galway. I will be heading to Italy soon and we had plans to meet up again once I got into their area. I can't wait to see them again as well.
Goodnight and farewell.
hey vance, it's bug. i hate to break it to you, but your ipod didn't get wet because of your jacket. cold, wet air outside of your jacket; combined with a warm battery; equalls condensation on your ipod. ezra is a pinner. HAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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