Down For a "Belgian Dip"

After exactly three months in Edinburgh, Scotland, I have officially left the rainiest place on earth for a quick three day jaunt through Belgium, or a "Belgian Dip" as Doctor Evil so eloquently put it.

On the trip to Glasgow and the flight to Belgium I had a long time to think about our time in Scotland. Ya the weather sucks, it rains ALL the time, and it never really gets hot (17 degrees is apparently scorching to most Scots lol) but you get used to it. And ya the buildings are really beautiful in Edinburgh, but after a couple weeks the beauty gets old, especially when things like bills and jobs creep into the mix. I think reading our friend Jeremy's blog (Jeremy is from Memphis, Tennessee, great guy-definitely will be seeing him in T-dot or vice versa sometime soon) helped to put things in a bit more perspective.

Always, it is the people you meet in a place that make it comfortable or uncomfortable, fun or terrible. Sure, we all went to Edinburgh for probably the same reasons- heard that it was pretty, lots of places to go out, etc. So you could probably say that it was Edinburgh that "drew" us all in, but when I look back on the three months spent there the memories that stick out wont be the pretty buildings, the mountains or the rain, it will be the good and bad memories of people rather than places. So quickly just wanted to thank you guys in Edinburgh for making it what it was...wont forget those times, and you guys know who you are-you made Edinburgh what it was for us Canucks, NOT the other way around.

On Monday night when I left Edinburgh, to be honest I wasnt in the best mood. I got pretty sick from our previous weekend. We ended up climbing Ben Nevis (tallest mountain in Britain, whatever) in the rain, fog and snow (thats right I said snow) and it made me really sick. After going to the docs on Monday and spending a wad of cash to do so, the diagnosis was strep throat. To make matters worse I got some rash covering my arms and legs that comes with strep throat sometimes. But thinking back on our experiences in Edinburgh helped me to realize that no matter how s***ty you can sometimes feel about yourself, if you have the right attitude things usually start looking up eventually.

So I arrived in Brussels on Tuesday morning to the sun shining and 25 degree celcius weather.....things were definitely looking up. I ended up waiting three hours at the airport for a shuttle to Bruges, but it went pretty quickly as I did some reading and writing, and even met a girl from Chicago who had about five bags with her, yikes.

Afterwards the ride to Bruges almost seemed familiar. Gone were the barren, rocky and green mountains of the Scottish highlands. Instead all that I saw on the way was flat, fertile farmland..........almost Delhi style (reference for the Q-Villes). After arriving in Bruges I made my way to the hostel which was a short jaunt from the bus station. And what do you know, the first thing that stuck out in my mind were the bikes!

Now you guys are probably thinking, ok, whats the big deal, everyone rides bikes. Nuh Uhhh. You see, anyone who knows my mom knows that she rides the ugliest, girliest bike on the planet. Its got those far away handle bars with a basket on the front and that big metal plate thingy over the front wheel. Everyone here rides the exact same kind of bikes! So after years of thinking my mom was crazy for riding such a weird looking bike all the time, and putting two and two together, I realized WHY she rides that bike. Its not because shes weird or anything, its because shes Belgian haha! But seriously I have never been so weirded out cause everywhere I turn I see people riding those bikes and I keep thinking its mom coming round the corner bout to say "did you eat your vegetables yet?"....lol just joking mom, you know I kid cause I love you...your the bestest!

After getting over the Belgian Bike phenomenom, I had a bit of a looksy around town. Bruges is quite lovely. Very, very quintessential European looking, that pic on the top is EXACTLY how most of the buildings look. Theres also a lot of canals and water, which is why people call it the "Venice of the North"

Ive also met a couple new friends here. Last night sat on a patio with a new friend from Boston and another from Australia. Just sat and drank beer (I drank water, bummer) and people watched. On a side note we were right beside a bar called "Coolcats". Cara and Regan, you know what Im talking about (inside Collins kid joke). I also was rooming with a guy from Mexico named Pablo. Pablo was telling me about his travels and about Mexico City, which he really likes. He says he loves travelling but always misses Mexico when he goes away from home cause he loves the busy-ness of the big city. He says he always tells people about Mexico cause he wants other people to experience it. You can tell he is very patriotic about his country.

So Im gonna try and kick back here a bit in Bruges. The doc said to take it easy so thats what Im gonna try and do. Just gonna enjoy the weather and and this lovely place and just be grateful I got to see a bit of my heritage (for those of you who dont know my great grandmother emigrated to Canada from Belgium with the phrase "I have no bananas today" lol-long story).

Hope everyone at home is doing well, Luke and Meg thanks for bringing my stuff back to Manchester, enjoy Paris this week, I know you will. And dont forget, Gene, wait..........we kicked Ben's Ass................together (picture Will Ferrell with a cowbell and that other dude from SNL)

This is me leaving, this is me leaving....