From the land of potent beer + Pictures of Paris!

September 3, 2008 at 10:03 AM

Last night I went to "Delirium Tremens," a wonderful bar here in Brussels. You can get a glass of 12 point beer for only 3.10 Euros! After 3 of those and you end up like me! I'm soooooo hung over! (But, it was a fantastic time.) What else is there to do in Belgium but drink? Most of the city was reconstructed after WWWII and is quite modern (and ugly,) however I did see one absolutely beautiful old square.

I met two new friends last night, a guy from Mexico and a girl from Japan. I wonder how they feel this morning.

I am starting to feel a bit better as this morning progresses to this afternoon. I haven't decided where to go or what to do yet, but will figure something out. Mom suggested the Menneken Pis (the little fountain with the cherub peeing.) I think that I will have to do that.

The name of the hostel is the:

Youth Hostel Van Gogh (Chab)
rue Traversiere 8, 1210 Bruxelles, Brussels.

I do recommend. It has the feel of a hotel and has a bar, pool table, lounge area, and lockers.

I forgot to mention that while lost and looking for my hostel I came upon a whore house-at least I'm pretty sure that that's what it was. I thought that it would be fun to find out what the regulations were regarding these "sex workers," so I did some googling and found this funny artical about prostitiution in Brussels.

http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/501

I am writing from a McDonalds. I felt fortunate to have "le Big Mac." I couldn't help but think of pulp fiction and the "Roy-al with cheese." LOL

They have free wifi! I'm going to create a Picasa account and post a link.

Voila!

http://picasaweb.google.com/crawfordviolin/NewAlbum9308608AM?pli=1#

I just went out for an afternoon busking session and had a decent amount of success at 20 Euros for just over an hour, which sound alright, but I would say that in the states, with a pitch like that I could easily pull double that. This pitch was at a place called "City 2" an outdoor mall that is really new and ugly, with lots of trash everywhere on the street. It was being blown into my case, which kinda sucked, but whatever. I took a picture of my pitch for those who are interested. Not a beautiful place, but the people circulate and that's what you need. There were many "spongers," or beggars in that area as well, which is not good for your bottom line, but everyone has to eat, right? There are many children begging. I took a picture of a woman begging with her two children. Kinda sad to see.

From Ben Clapton
Posted on September 3, 2008 at 10:23 AM

Are you sure you weren't still drunk when you wrote this? WWWII? hehe

From jake bush
Posted on September 3, 2008 at 3:11 PM

Hi, I've been recently thinking of traveling France and the surrounding countries, but am having difficulties finding hostels online etc.

Have you traveled in Paris yet? What's the average euro per night for a hostel, and how many nights will they generally let you stay?

My one concern was that I read a visa is required to do any work there, so the entire time traveling no income could be gained for more traveling?

From Christopher Jacoby
Posted on September 3, 2008 at 7:42 PM

I love the pictures. That hat is doofy.

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on September 4, 2008 at 7:55 AM

I like your night photos, but I refuse to believe that the Eiffel Tower is blue at night.

From Tess Z
Posted on September 4, 2008 at 2:16 PM

Greg, enjoyed your photos. Thanks for sharing them. Yes, poverty is a global problem.

Stay safe and have fun.

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From the land of potent beer + Pictures of Paris!

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