Diary Entry
Last night I went out for an Italian meal with a group of lecturers and students. It was an interesting experience. I had spagetti with a Provencale sauce, which I wasn't keen on, but I had fortunately chosen one of the cheaper dishes because I wasn't very hungry, so at least I didn't spend a lot.
Afterwards we went to a pretty nice pub and had a lovely time chatting about all sorts of things, usually laughing hysterically. I was pretty wrecked though, having only had a couple of hours sleep in a 48 hour period, so I headed back to the hotel with a couple of girls, Ala and Davina.
There was quite a drama going on when we got to the hotel though. Another one of the girls had been accosted by a strange man and claimed he hit her. One of the guys on our trip shoved her into a taxi and sent her back to the hotel. She was pretty pissed and after more vodka, Vicky and I could hear her swearing and raving up and down the corridors when we were trying to sleep, and I think that had to have been close to 2.00 am.
Of course this morning I couldn't wake myself up when I shoul dhave gone to see the Commission and the Stella Artois brewery, but I had had some red wine yesterday. Usually that gives me an instant migraine, but I think because I kept drinking it didn't show up until this morning. Even in moderation that tends to give me a migraine, and I had quite a lot. This morning my head was splitting. After a bath and some ibuprofen, I felt much better and struck out on my own for a bit of sightseeing and shopping. I was quite surprised how easy it was to find the Manneken-Pis, the fountain I'd read so much about, but I was kind of disappointed by it. I thought it was in a park for some reason -- I'm not sure why -- but it's only a tiny little thing on a street corner up against a building. I still took a lot of pictures of it, and I might go back to the tourist shops near it to get some bottle openers shaped like the statue. They're pretty cheap.
I also found the Grand' Place, which was gorgeous and full of wonderful architecture, but it was absolutely freezing standing out in the open square! I snapped a lot of pictures but didn't really wander and explore like I would have done if it had been warmer.
I stocked up on postcards and bought a tourist guide of Brussels, which has helped me to identify some of the things I've taken pictures of. Now I just have to fill in all of these postcards and find a post office! I haven't seen a single one so far.
I found a little market just like the ones they have in Stavely and Eckington, and I bought a new top. I think it's too clingy for me to wear until after I've lost some weight or firmed up my abdomen, but I couldn't pass it up. Actually, I haven't spent very much money so far, and I'm quite proud of myself for that.
Last night I made sure Vicky new that half the stuff I was telling Dan the Desperate One and Peter Pervert on the coach yesterday wasn't actually true. But being half-pissed and determined not to back down, I just said the first thing that popped into my head to wind them up. I had tried to let Vicky know at the time by winking at her as I was talking, and I think she had it worked out what I was up to.
Hey, my new top fits comfortably, and if I suck in my stomach, it's not too bad!
George Bush is here in Brussels, and our hotel is in the Arab section of the city, so there are a lot of posters against Bush in a lot of windows. If anyone asks me, I'm going to say I'm British! Much safer, I'm sure. I've actually met one student who likes Bush, but unlike a lot of pro-Bush people I've met, she isn't defensive about her support for him. The fact that she's British probably explains it, but she respects those who don't support him. That's the way people should be. She even bought me a drink.
I sent a picture from my mobile to Gary, Jamie and Pete in Australia to their email addresses with the message "Wish you were here, I need someone to keep me out of trouble!"
We get the BBC in the hotel room, and I've had it on "Neighbours", which I don't usually watch, but I just heard something that has made me laugh. There's a character named Doreen who says she lives in a commune outside Byron Bay and wants to be called "Peacedove". Now why does that make me think of Pete? the Byron Bay part was a giveaway, but he's also a former hippie type with a mother-in-law named Doreen.
The postcards are taking longer than I thought to fill out, so I guess I won't be posting them until tomorrow.
Other than my little walk out this afternoon, I've had a lazy day, but I'll probably try to find a group to tag along with later if I can.
---------------------------------------------------
Looks like I won't have to look too far to find a group to go out with tonight. Vicky says we're going for a meal with Dan the Desperate One and Peter Pervert. Why do I keep calling them that? Because I promised that anything I reported that wasn't completely positive in my blog would have the names changed to protect the not-so-innocent. Okay, nothing bad has happened, but reputations are at stake! Anyway, we're going for a meal with them tonight, so I'm sure there will be a few interesting things to write about tomorrow!
Afterwards we went to a pretty nice pub and had a lovely time chatting about all sorts of things, usually laughing hysterically. I was pretty wrecked though, having only had a couple of hours sleep in a 48 hour period, so I headed back to the hotel with a couple of girls, Ala and Davina.
There was quite a drama going on when we got to the hotel though. Another one of the girls had been accosted by a strange man and claimed he hit her. One of the guys on our trip shoved her into a taxi and sent her back to the hotel. She was pretty pissed and after more vodka, Vicky and I could hear her swearing and raving up and down the corridors when we were trying to sleep, and I think that had to have been close to 2.00 am.
Of course this morning I couldn't wake myself up when I shoul dhave gone to see the Commission and the Stella Artois brewery, but I had had some red wine yesterday. Usually that gives me an instant migraine, but I think because I kept drinking it didn't show up until this morning. Even in moderation that tends to give me a migraine, and I had quite a lot. This morning my head was splitting. After a bath and some ibuprofen, I felt much better and struck out on my own for a bit of sightseeing and shopping. I was quite surprised how easy it was to find the Manneken-Pis, the fountain I'd read so much about, but I was kind of disappointed by it. I thought it was in a park for some reason -- I'm not sure why -- but it's only a tiny little thing on a street corner up against a building. I still took a lot of pictures of it, and I might go back to the tourist shops near it to get some bottle openers shaped like the statue. They're pretty cheap.
I also found the Grand' Place, which was gorgeous and full of wonderful architecture, but it was absolutely freezing standing out in the open square! I snapped a lot of pictures but didn't really wander and explore like I would have done if it had been warmer.
I stocked up on postcards and bought a tourist guide of Brussels, which has helped me to identify some of the things I've taken pictures of. Now I just have to fill in all of these postcards and find a post office! I haven't seen a single one so far.
I found a little market just like the ones they have in Stavely and Eckington, and I bought a new top. I think it's too clingy for me to wear until after I've lost some weight or firmed up my abdomen, but I couldn't pass it up. Actually, I haven't spent very much money so far, and I'm quite proud of myself for that.
Last night I made sure Vicky new that half the stuff I was telling Dan the Desperate One and Peter Pervert on the coach yesterday wasn't actually true. But being half-pissed and determined not to back down, I just said the first thing that popped into my head to wind them up. I had tried to let Vicky know at the time by winking at her as I was talking, and I think she had it worked out what I was up to.
Hey, my new top fits comfortably, and if I suck in my stomach, it's not too bad!
George Bush is here in Brussels, and our hotel is in the Arab section of the city, so there are a lot of posters against Bush in a lot of windows. If anyone asks me, I'm going to say I'm British! Much safer, I'm sure. I've actually met one student who likes Bush, but unlike a lot of pro-Bush people I've met, she isn't defensive about her support for him. The fact that she's British probably explains it, but she respects those who don't support him. That's the way people should be. She even bought me a drink.
I sent a picture from my mobile to Gary, Jamie and Pete in Australia to their email addresses with the message "Wish you were here, I need someone to keep me out of trouble!"
We get the BBC in the hotel room, and I've had it on "Neighbours", which I don't usually watch, but I just heard something that has made me laugh. There's a character named Doreen who says she lives in a commune outside Byron Bay and wants to be called "Peacedove". Now why does that make me think of Pete? the Byron Bay part was a giveaway, but he's also a former hippie type with a mother-in-law named Doreen.
The postcards are taking longer than I thought to fill out, so I guess I won't be posting them until tomorrow.
Other than my little walk out this afternoon, I've had a lazy day, but I'll probably try to find a group to tag along with later if I can.
---------------------------------------------------
Looks like I won't have to look too far to find a group to go out with tonight. Vicky says we're going for a meal with Dan the Desperate One and Peter Pervert. Why do I keep calling them that? Because I promised that anything I reported that wasn't completely positive in my blog would have the names changed to protect the not-so-innocent. Okay, nothing bad has happened, but reputations are at stake! Anyway, we're going for a meal with them tonight, so I'm sure there will be a few interesting things to write about tomorrow!
posted by Melinda at 2/22/2005 10:20:00 pm
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