gondolas and mussels

for starters, the keyboards in belgium are totally different than the US of A, so pardon the ,misspeling qnd odd punctuation. i feel like blake trying to type now, one finger tapping away.. haha

the train ride to venice i have to sqy was incredibly beautiful-- rolling hills, green grass, neat architecture... the first pleasing viez of italiqn countryside i have seen yet-- this could be partuially due to the fact i a, not looking in the right places. but it was really beautiful.

and speaking of trains-- the same train i was on to venice from florence crashed later in the day-- the sa,e day i was travelling right near bologna. two trains collided... people dead, many hurt. i really have to thank my lucky stars on that one. ill take a broken camera over a broken train any day.

venice itself was pretty sweet but def quick. the concept of the water city is mind boggling really, so,ething i hqve never seen or could really imagine. everything is by water taxi, ferry or if you are feelking up to paying the 40 euros-- gondola. which by the way seems incredibly expensive for cramped views of the water (which smells like crap by the way). perhaps given the proper situation it would be nice-- aka money.

the price of a pint in venice nearly stopped me deqd in my tracks: upon arrival, we sat in an outdoor cqfe and had a pint. 7 euros later for that pint-- heineken mind you, i al,ost choked getting the bill. but all in a good time

the kebabs in venice were so-so.. not a top 5 contender; but some good flavor.

i woke up super early for the flight to brussels-- 3:23 am to be exact. i couldnt sleep which was really odd. we finally hopped on the flight agfter being searched by the italian federales to an incredibly ludicrous degree. and in the end, it was my combo lock that tipped them off... but just doing their job i suppose.

brussels really is neat. i mean come on-- a country known for its waffles, beer; chocolate and mussels cant be too bad. needless to say in the hours wer have been here you can scratch off th beer, choc and waffles... sqving mussels for antwerp. the city itself is a healthy combo of a modern cosmo city and an old historical town. really neat to be honest... such a nice change from ancient rome and italy. really lovely.

tonight we are planning to check out the nightlife it being a saturday evening and all. tomorrow we are off to brugge.

i am going to go see the statue of the kid pissing now... thats the last site to take in.