Virtual Travelmates--
Okay, do I have the patience for this? If I try to
type nor,qlly on q French keyboqrd; it zill co,e out
like this:
Which is the French-keyboard way of saying: "If I try
to type normally on a French keyboard, it will come
out like this." Numbers require the shift key,
otherwise I get crazy stuff like &é"'(-è_çà !! And
why did they take such a critical letter like "a" and
put "q" in it's place? Wacky.
Okay I'll quit whining about the keyboard and move on
to more fun topics like medeival towns, chocolate, and
BEER! After narrowly surviving Death by Road
Crossings in Amsterdam, Karen and I took the train
down to Bruges in Belgium. To any of you considering
a trip to Europe, I highly recommend putting this on
the itinerary. Why? I'll tell ya...
...because every time you turn down a street or canal,
it looks like it belongs on a postcard, with a surplus
of well-preserved Medieval architecture, boats
leisurely cruising the canals, and endless cobblestone
streets...
...because if you're wandering in the rain looking for
the umbrella you think you left at the pub you started
your self-guided beer tour at, you might run into some
friendly Belgians like Mel and Dominiek, which winds
up redirecting the beer tour to a couple locals'
joints, where you enjoy a few more tasty and
deceptively alcoholic beers courtesy of newfound
friends and THEN you find out that Dominiek is a
pretty damn talented musician when the bartender
throws on a CD of his music, and he says he'll send
you one free of charge if you give him your address in
the U.S. You remember all this in a headachy haze the
next day--let's see, 4 Belgian beers with roughly
triple the alcohol of a normal beer = fun night
leading to a rough morning...
...or maybe you'd opt for the "Triple Treat" Bruges
tour, where a guy named Lode who is half tour guide,
half comedian, takes you on a travelling tour of the
Flanders countryside to talk about the history of the
area and show you some good waffles, chocolate, and
beer (the "Triple Treat")...
...or maybe you're lucky enough to visit the bell
tower in the town square in time for the biweekly
carillon concert, and you just happen to arrive at the
same time that the carillon player does, and he takes
a liking to you because your wonderful girlfriend and
travel companion Karen mentions she rings English
handbells, so he invites you into the carillon room at
the top of the tower and you get a private show of an
absolutely masterful musician at work, who gives an
extensive explanation of the songs and carillon in
between the pieces, and lets you stomp on the low bell
pedal three times at the end of the concert to let all
of Bruges know that it is three o'clock!!!
Okay, enough of this silly second-person narration
stuff. Although I started this email in Paris, I
saved it and I'm in Prague now, where fortunately, I
can switch the keyboard into "Anglicky" (English) mode
and type at normal speed.
After Bruges, we stopped briefly in Brussels to visit
my Djembe instructor from Africa (he actually lives in
Brussels for most of the year) and another djembist I
met in Africa, Pierre. Also, while running around
looking for a cash machine outside of the train
station, I ran into yet another djembist I met in
Africa who had just moved to Brussels and we had a
brief Frenglish conversation (she doesn't speak much
English, I don't speak much French). Oh, we also saw
the famous Mannekin Piss and Grand Place.
Then on to Paris... but only for a couple of days,
it's much easier on the pocketbook that way!!
Highlights were: Notre Dame, which is one of the
single most impressive buildings I have ever seen; the
Louvre, which contains such a staggering amount of
amazing art that you would need at least a week to see
it all, and of course, the Eiffel Tower, where we
enjoyed a spectacular view of the city to the fading
twilight.
We also visited a Parisian I met a few years ago in
America, Olivier, who treated us to a late night/early
morning of fine French drinks, laughs, and fun. The
next day, we visited his restaurant for one of the
most incredible desserts I have ever had in my life, a
triple mousse accompanied by almond ice cream and a
fine wine (I'm hardly a wine expert, but this one was
noticeably better than wines I'm accustomed to).
Which brings us to Prague... this is our second day
here, and Karen is treating me to a nice hotel room in
the center of town for my birthday tomorrow. I'll
have to save that for another email!!
Love & laughter--
--Scott.
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