I lost my phone. . .

. . . but luckily someone found it and called Karen to get my contact info to send it on Monday!!!! People in Belgium are SOOOOOO nice! Unfortunately this also means he's too nice to pick up the phone when I try to call and tell him I'm still in the country so I can pick it up. . . Ughhh I'm SO STUPID! How do I lose my batteries and my phone?!?!?!

Anyways, so I was sick yesterday - apparently eating 4-5+ eggs in one day when you're not used to protein (or ever) is a bad idea. I can't help it! My host's mother has a hen! It may have also been the ridiculous intake of chocolate over the past few days. . . OK so I know I was sick in Paris and all, but people talk about French food a lot, but Belgian food is AMAZING - I may have gained 10+ lbs!

Anyways, despite being sick, I spent the day in Bruges - and adding to my everyone being nice thing, when I was on the train, all these people were coming up to me and asking if I wanted to sit down, if I was OK, etc., etc. Btw, kids here seem to really like me for some reason - they're SO cute! They always come up to me and stare at me really obviously and when I smile at them they smile and I love kids ah! When I got to Bruges, Victorya brought me medicine! Anyways I didn't want to miss out on Bruges so I walked around anyways and just ate nothing. Or nothing that day, but I had toast later that night. . . and fruit. . . with chocolate fondue. . . This is SO hard as the food smells SOO good and Jef is a great cook! I snuck in a chocolate sample too during the day. So basicaly I lied when I said I didn't eat anything.

Same as with Ghent - I can't remember all the stuff I did, but Bruges was PACKED with tourists - apparently the most Jef and Victorya have ever seen! Anyways the major highlight was that I kissed the vial with the blood of Jesus - or at least what is believed to be a vial holding the blood of Jesus!

Today I felt a lot better and went to Brussels and Antwerpen (and ate a lot of chocolate again)! I had Belgian Waffle and fries! I loooove the food here! Brussels was cool, it reminds me of Paris! I love practicing my French! I saw all the major things (including Mannekin-Pis, the peeing boy and the 2nd best flea market ever - after Portobello Road) and all, then went to Antwerpen for the diamond things! I watched a man cutting diamonds at Diamondland! Today was also the PERFECT weather - sunny and warm with light breezes!

Anyways I'm leaving tomorrow for Amsterdam! Anyways to sum up My Belgian experience: My order of favorite cities in Belgium is:
1. Brussels - sorry Victorya - I know you don't like it! It reminds me of Paris and I LOVE Paris!
2. Ghent
3. Antwerpen

(I'm leaving off Bruges for now since I was sick when I went. I have 2 hours to see it again tomorrow so I will see!)

General (not things to see as I can't remember the names of anything!) tips for other people going:
1. Cash: If you arrive late, have cash b/c apparently all or majority of the ATMs only accept from 2 banks in Belgium - Fortis and something else. It will NOT accept your not-these-banks card - neither will the machine for buying a Go-Pass (train pass). Apparently there are also issues with cashing traveller's checks. . . Basically, Belgian Banks are not Visa ATM card-friendly. I also rarely saw ATMs.
2. Dutch: Try to learn some Dutch/Flemish - French won't help much outside of Brussels and non-French Belgium - Bruges, Ghent and Antwerpen (3 or the 4 largest cities) are all Dutch-speaking! I was lucky to have 2 Dutch-speakers showing me around! (You could also try that only speaking English thing and expecting someone around to understand you, but I personally hate that and find it rude.)
3. Dogs: are EVERYWHERE - allowed on the trains, Metros, buses, restaurants. . . this is good for me since I love dogs and miss the 3 I "had" this summer, but may be problematic for anyone allergic.

My Favorite Instruments:
1. Irish Flute and Whistle - can't choose
2. Cello
3. Harp - which I heard in one of the Belgian Cathedrals - I always forget how much I love classical instruments except the violin, which still gives me the creeps