Back To Maastricht....Back To Maastricht.

Kel+Jeff eat food. Pictures below, including my triumph over the hardest sudoku ever created.

Brugge, Belgium

I felt like Harry, Ron, and Hermione today when I got on the train to see Brugge. When I asked for help, people would look at me like I was a fool. But that's the thing; I have to do things alone...and I've found security in knowing that. Brugge dead-up feels like you're walking through Disney World (See included photos). I also enjoyed going into a pub where two, and only two, slurring Flemish speaking losers were playing pool. As you stay out here and "master" the culture...that is the French culture... like I have, you find that this is the norm for all restaurants and bars. I've always lived by the philosophy "When in Rome". So what did I do to blend in? I rejected the Belgium-native tap beer and ordered a "Bellevue Kriek Max" and read Harry Potter in a corner.

The city is beautiful and is worthy of nice and friendly words. Unfortunately, at one point, I was forced to show a Brugge student my bicep so that he would back down and give me some Euros. What people fail to realize that it's a dog eat dog world...and I eat dogs.

Of course I missed my train by about ten minutes (these cities are so complicated and confusing), so I had to hang around the station for about an hour until the next one arrived. At one point, I went to the restroom... to use the restroom. The women's and the men's room were across from each other with the doors open. In the middle is a table where a woman sits... probably being paid....who greets you. The problem here is that the urinals are right in front of the woman. She can see everything! Needless to say, I don't feel pretty good about peeing in front of Belgian woman. .... .... I held it.



Kel and I will prolly go bow hunting or something like that later tonight. K Bye.

Pizza and Some Laughs

Dinner would have been wonderful had it not been for one thing. The two couples to the left and right of us stared at us, while snickering to themselves, the entire evening. We ate at this upper-scale pizza place where they have plants and birds and rocks and things. Let me explain something to you people; it takes a great deal of confidence to speak to someone in French when you don't know the language. As you wait for your waiter, you cycle through the line you are supposed to say a dozen or so times. As this progression is repeated, your confidence builds up and you think to yourself, "Hey. I can do this." All it takes is for the server to smile once for that stored up confidence to bury itself. At that point, the correct thing to do is to say "oui" in hopes that they walk away (See my previous postings for additional information). On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Mcdonalds and ordered "deux sundae caramels", advertently destroying all the good that the walking had done our bodies. All in all, I feel pretty good about this night.

Well I've thought for five minutes and can't think of anything else to write. Bye.

"Quick Burger Restaurant"

Just when I had given up on Belgium, they go and do something like this............


...and totally redeem themselves! I kept saying to myself, "I just want some quality, a burger, and a nice atmosphere." Well Liege has come through for me. Just to say that I did, I ate here for lunch today. You can only eat so many mystery dishes before you just want something concrete. I want to know what I'm getting gosh-darnit. Sadly...I failed again. I don't know how this happens, because I am not ordering wrong. I've considered the possibility that this is just a big game that all the Belgians do to foreigners. "Deux aye Coca-Cola." You would think this was the Number 2 burger with coke. Instead, I got two hotdogs with a coke. I'm not that angry because it was rather good, but I seriously shouldn't have to deal with this.



With the help of Kel's GPS system, I did not get lost...I just got really far away somehow.

Maastricht, Netherlands

Kel and I had a very interesting evening tonight. We managed to order some vegi-lasagna at a quaint little restaurant after the waiter read the menu to us (Dutch sucks). Just when I thought I was getting the hang of ordering food, we go to the Netherlands where they speak Dutch....any language with that many "K's" is probably going to suck. The town was beautiful but we were approached on two separate occasions by drug dealers. The funny thing is that these aren't your typical American dealers. These cocaine-selling bastards speak more languages than the majority of us. At one point, I was convinced that this one guy, we'll call him "Johnstoff", could speak French, English, and Dutch. No family... we didn't "order" any thing.

Just to say we did, on the way home, we stopped at a movie theatre and watched SAW 2. Seriously, how many people can say that they watched a movie in the Netherlands with a bunch of punk dutch college kids. It wasn't until the previews started that we got worried about whether the movie would play in English or Dutch. Fortunately, our worries were "safely" put away after we heard English. Ha Ha....that was a SAW reference for those of you aware enough to appreciate it. Get it! ....SAFE!! !! !!

Darka Warka Socka Locka...... It is really funny to say this really fast to one another when on an elevator with French butt heads that have poles up their bottom.

Not sure what to do tomorrow....but on Thursday, while you Nashvillians are sleeping, I will be on a train to Brugges where I will look at buildings and things. See ya for now.

Ohh and one more thing, the bikes in the Netherlands are the ugliest things I've ever seen. They remind me of something George Mcfly...that is, George Mcfly of 1955...would have ridden. Not sure what the deal is with that.

Lost in Liege Really Late

You don't know panic until you've found yourself completely lost in a city that doesn't understand you. After about two hours of being lost, I thought to myself, "This is the end. This is the end. This is the way the world ends." ....at least Jeff's world. I had hoped that I had ordered a vegetable type pizza earlier, but instead I received the most disgusting tofu soy crap. The only thing during that lunch that brought me comfort was the fact that I had a coke in my hand and that I knew I was better than everyone else in the restaurant (American).

Tomorrow, I will take the subway into Brugge where I will probably get lost again. But getting lost is kind of a good feeling. I associate it with the "Oh crap, a tornado is nearby!!" type of emotion. What people don't realize is that when Jeff is up against immeasurable odds, he prevails and emerges victoriously. Go Steelers a lot.

Dinner and "The Office"

Kel and I just got back from dinner. This place called Levousdre has every single alcoholic beverage ever made. What did Jeff and Kel get? Anyone....anyone? More Kriek Lindemans. These things are the bomb and are so choice. Both of us had about 100 centileters...which is enough to get a pretty good buzz.

While ordering two crab lasagnas, we experienced the hot feeling when the waiter DOESN'T speak English. "Parlez-vous anglais" doesn't work when they don't speak ENGLISH. I felt sweat forming in the cracks of my forehead as he kept asking questions which we couldn't answer. At that point, we searched for the only words we knew. "Wey" was spoken many times in that thirty second conversation. You get to a point where you don't really care what they bring you...you just desperately want them to leave.

Tomorrow will be my first day on my own. I had mentioned something about flying to Egypt while Kel was at work, but I don't think I have the guts....but what a thing to have done!

Also during dinner, I was grateful for the fact that these two women next to us were making fun of us (in French) as we searched through my "Pocket Guide to French Phrases" for "check please". Needless to say, those girls are no longer living in Belgium. I guess one could say that the two girls USED to make fun of us.

It is now time for the funniest show ever made: The Office. Bye

Liege, Belgium

I'm learning some things about these so-called Belgians. One: They really like symbols; instead of writing a word on a sign like us, better Americans, do...they prefer to draw a picture with a guy running down stairs or something along the lines of that. They really like buttons and they don't drink. One may ask, "Jeffrey, how do you know of the so-called Belgians drinking habits?" "Well", I would say, "Consider this. Kel and I had to leave our hotel and go to the airport in order to find a coke machine. Granted, the airport was nearby, but never-the-less, the hotel didn't have one drink machine. Gosh! At 3:00 A:M, Kel and I were slowly repeating five words: "Don't the French drink anything?".

We just checked into the Holiday Inn in Liege where we will spend the rest of our trip. We haven't eaten in about 15 hours, so lunch is in order.

By the bye, Jeffrey ordered his first alcoholic beverage last night. While Antioch is drenched with Chili's and O'Charleys, every single French restaurant is the most cozy place you ever seen...fireplace and all. I love it. Kel and I had a romantic dinner last night..I will include a picture of our view from the table.

New York: JFK AIRPORT

Okay.....we've made it as far as JFK Airport. Currently, we're at Sam Adams Bar and Grille after walking about thirty minutes. We've been looking for Tom Hanks, but I haven't found him yet, although I did spot the Burger King that he bought hamburgers from. While waiting for my Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, Kel and I are stealing internet access from "Swiss Lounge"....whoever that is. We have about a six hour delay before embarking on our quest for Belgium. I will update again after checking into the hotel. The highlight of the trip so far was watching Kel start up his computer only to find Johnny Cash's "Hurt" blaring out of the computer speakers for all the customers to hear. Talk about ironic....two brothers from Nashville....one of them listening to Johnny Cash in New York. As he frantically tried to turn it down, I could only sit and laugh...for his pain. Good things.

P.S. Allie- I hate to do this, but according to Kel and the internet, the trip to Brazil is approximately 8 hours. Not sure about the 20 hours....I hope you weren't telling a black fib to your boyfriend. Bye