So it is NOT ABOUT PICTURES!!

So I realized that I haven't really said much that has not been related to the uploading of pictures in the last couple days. So here is the fill-in.

So the day before I left for Portugal (while I was in Paris), it rained and I found out that I had WORN a hole in the bottom of my everyday walking shoes (the only other pair of footware I have being some shower shoes that are not too horribly embarassing to walk the streets in). So my thought was, great, well as long as this had to happen I'm glad that it happened while I was in Portugal, because things are really cheap here and I havent been spending much and I can probably get a decent pair for about 20 Euro. Ok. So I found a pair that I liked (white, ballet flats, with a red strap and red accents around- very Eropean at the moment) and bought them, well I asked if I could ware them out of the store and that was fine, so they gave me my old, holy, shoes in a bag, which I preceded to pitch into the first garbage can I saw. About a block later I was really wishing that I had not thrown them out, because I had blisters on the back of my right heel already and I still had about 5 more blocks to go before I could change shoes!! So I hobbled back to the hotel, changed into flip-flops and headed to the local pharmacy, where after a sign-language session with the pharmacist I found myself the owner of 10 heel-blister spicific band-aids (that work great). So since then I have been forcing myself to ware the new shoes at least an hour (although today I went 3) so that I can break them in, and I can tell that in a few days they will be really comfortable, but for the moment I am mostly slogging around in the Belgian rain in flip-flops and taking lots of vitamins and air-borne to try and not get sick from doing so.

After buying shoes and giving myself blisters, I got on a train. A train to Paris, which took 19 hours, during which I met the guy who was in line in front of me at the ticket counter in Porto reserving a train to Paris (surprise, surprise he was sitting next to me). He was rather good looking and I ended up talking to him and playing cards and UNO (which I brought with me) most of the train ride to Paris, where he was staying and I was going on to Brussels :( He was really interesting to talk to though, he was in Porto after working in Spain writting for the Lonley Planet series of guide books, and he had just graduated from college with a degree in Journalism from Boston University, so he was great to talk to about books and what exactly you are supposed to do with a degree in Liberal Arts. So he saw me to the Gare du Nord where I caught my train to Brussels. This was an all together uneventful trip, but I did get a few hours sleep then, the first that I had gotten since leaving Porto, Clay (the guy) was just too fun to talk to. Needless to say I was a little disoriented and confused when I got off of the train and booked my ticket to Brugge. On the train to Brugge I met two very nice Finnish girls who were going to the same hostel I was, so we floundered our way through the city as a team and we did eventually find the hostel. After a short freshening-up we all went out for dinner and drinks (and some beautiful night-time pictures of the city) and then headed to bed early, they were tired too, after traveling from Amsterdamm. I slept really late today (well till 9 when I partook of the free hostel breakfast, then went back to sleep) until 2, just catching up.

When I finally did wake up for good. It was already starting to rain outside and there were ominous clouds gathering in the sky all around the city. But I was hungry. So I did some wandering and found a pizza place on a little back alley, where I got a real Italian 4 cheese pizza for a pittance and watched all of the people run by trying to get out of the rain. By the time I was done eating the rain had stopped just a bit and I got myself to this Internet cafe before the next downpour started. There is thunder and lightning and what I want most is to curl up on a couch with some tea and a book and a friend and watch the storm. However as that is impossible at the moment, a little cafe will just have to do.

So about Brugge. It is a very cute little city, very much what I would think about when I thought about Belgium. It is a little bit touristy. Like Port Townsend. But really I kindof like that, being used to it in PT and all, but I hate the tourists and I REALLY hate being a tourist, but as there is no real way to get around that I just try to stay away from all things really cheesy and try to only whip out my camera when no one is watching. I am also very careful not to treat it like I have seen some people in PT, like it was Disneyland and there wernt real people that lived here and real cars on the streets trying to go places and all of that. The one thing that is really amazing here are the bicycles! The bikes probably outnumber cars 3:1, the streets all have a car lane, a bike lane and a sidewalk! (All of the main streets anyway) I can rent a bike at a discount at my hostel, but I decided not to do that today because I got up so late, so I would have only had it for about 6 hours, instead of a full day, which is 12. But I will definatly get myself out of bed and explore the city by wheel tommorow, as it seems the way to do it! There are so many bikes that I bet in the low season here they even outnumber the people!

So I hope this blog makes up for the blandness of late and keep the messages comming! Dont forget to take a look at the pics I spent several hours and 20 Euro uploading! And see my fabulous hair! Hopefully I wont have to go that long without posting some ever again!! Now that I know how to do it!

LOVE LOVE LOVE AND KISSES TOO!!