Belgium

Hey Everyone,

As usual it has been quite a while since i have written and as usual it will be long and boring. After writing the last blog, we jumped on a train to Luxembourg.

Luxembourg
What a ridiculous city, the entire thing built on a hill is great, just so long as you are sleeping on that hill.... Needless to say, we werent. It was however, beautiful with walls along one side and great views. We took our time strolling around and checking the squares out, before heading underground. Underneath part of the town, carved into the bock is the old fortress which was pretty cool to wander about in. Not a lot of time for much else and without the funding to do the typical stocking up (alcohol, cigarettes and perfumes duty free) we headed off to Belgium.

Brussels
Immeadiately into Belgium I remembered why I had loved it so much when i visted a few years ago. Only this time it was even better cos I had quite the drinking partner in Linden. We found the guiness record pub for having the most beers available for sale (over 2000, guaranteed at least 2004 in stock at any one time) and set about trying them all... Well not quite but we did have some amazing ones (Hoegardden Grand Cru and others) including my favourite in the world Watou's Witbier. Magic! Then we stumbled directly accross the road into an Absinth Bar... Here the story goes a bit wrong. We knocked back a couple of them, including a Mansinth (Marylin Manson's) before finally stumbling toward home. I think if anything i was drunker than lindo (although dont tell her that ).
Brussels also held some other cool sights, like the flea market, well actually it wasnt that cool. just a bunch of rubbish really. We did get some amazing waffles and chips and I even took a drunken piss on the side of a church. I know what you are thinking but there was a urinal! Seriously, what a cool country that they put a urinal on the outside of the church!

Antwerp
From Brussels we did a day trip to Antwerp. Seriously this town has some Sass! it was cool! punky clothes stores, graffiti parks and the coolest shop i think i have ever been into. Seriously anything cool you can imagine was in it! Comics, computer games, figurines...... well maybe not coventional cool, but cool to me! And it was huge! i could have spent weeks in there just looking through all the fantasy novels and anime dvds. We walked all through town and even under it for 15 mins in the sewers which was pretty cool. Record stores, goth stores and funky clothes stores a plenty it really was a cool town... EXCEPT FOR THE CONTEMPORARY ART MUESUM! I have never seen such a collection of crap all brought together before! Im no art critic, but seriously it was all AWEFUL! I would rather have spent the afternoon looking at a turd covered in burnt hair! sorry to end on such a sour note, i just remembered how sucky it was and couldnt hold it all back!

Ypres (Ieper)
On leaving Brussels for Paris we decided to take in the small war torn town of Ypres. I visted it with my parents a few years ago and I really wanted to see it again. To my delight (and lindens annoyance, although she was very good about it) i remembered quite a lot and the beer and chocolate shops were just where i remembered. Menin Gate stands just outside of town and is a very emotional place. The names of over 50,000 names of allied soldiers of whom bodies where never found. The countryside is littered with war memorials and it is awesome to feel the appreciation of the locals in how Australians are spoken about and treated in that area. Plus we had a beautiful lunch and day in the sun.

Lille
After the day in Ypres, we arrived in Lille. Not wanting to spend much time in our sleezy hotel we wandered about the town late into the night. Finally retiring for take away dinner, belgian beers and ipod movies in bed. We took the TGV at breathtaking speed the next day to Paris.

Paris
The plan was to spend quite a while in Paris and even with having to leave early we did. We spend the first 2 nights in a dorm then one night in a hotel before meeting up with a friend of Lindens from Uni. Audrey was amazing, after moving all her things into her 5th storey apartment and collapsing, she went to work before meeting us and letting us into her new apartment. She then stayed at her boyfriends for the next 2 night while we slept in her new bed. She really was amazing, taking us to 2 awesome restaraunts in a row for dinner and helping us hire bikes and go night riding all over Paris into the wee-hours, even though she was working by day! We did see a lot of sights while we were in Paris too though. Notre-dame, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Rodin's Garden, Hotel les Invalides (sadly only from the outside), Palace de Tokyo and the museum there, Luxembourg gardens in the sun. Lets just say we saw heaps during those days and i really could spend the same amount of time writing it all. We had a blast is the main thing. Then things took a bit of a turn. Already dreading that Linden might have to go home early, it became more of a "now" situation rather than the "soon" it had been for a while. So we decided that we could only do the best with the situation that we could and we cancelled the trip to Normany we had planned for the weekend and kicked it straight for London!

London
With not a load of time before Linden had to go we spent a fair bit of time just getting her things together and sorting everything out. We did have the quickest of pokes through the Natural History Museum though. Then before too long, sure enough the mad rush to get her to the airport was on. Ashcroft time VS Hutchens time. She won, we were late, very late, the last ones in line. (Not that it was her fault, that damn tube!) at least she made it and from what i hear she got ushered at each airport to make sure she didnt miss her other flights. So that left me in london on my own... Silly Hutchens. Im really not to be left alone. To the church the next day to drink with Nick and Fi for 12 hours. Ridiculous but a heap of fun! Absolutely trashed! (Dont worry mum, nick was drunker) Really good to catch up with them though, including Bunx and Hammo. We have caught up everyday since, Fi, Nick and I going to the Tower of London yesterday and seeing the changing of the guard today. Im staying with james again and its great to hang out with him a bit too. Im going to see Noel Fielding tonight with a mate met while travelling (Dan) then its off to Bangkok tomorrow night. Eeek!

Well thats gets you all up to date and I can get back to blowing all my money on pints.

Lots of Love to you all. I miss you heaps.
Tim.