From Gatwick to Goa: Antwerp

From the farm to a big city with a bigger culture mix than New York! Take that big apple. For the first time this trip we have finally left out the Netherlands. It was a whopping 30 minutes drive from the farm. Thanks to Rien and Sjors for rocking the tunes and breaking some street rules to get us to our hostel. The streets were very busy and the sheer amount of different people walking around was actually a little overwhelming. That might of had something to do with 10 days on the very quiet farm where Marc, Renee's cousin, was the only guy walking around.

(Oh boy, Here we go)

Once we got to the hostel we got our bags in the room and got the grand tour! ABhostel was a pretty sweet place. That is, as sweet as a hostel dorm can get. I'm not sure if it's my age, disposition, or the lingering cheese cold (snot pouring out of my nose and lungs for two weeks straight. I'm convinced it was gouda related. Just saying!) but so far, I don't like hostel life as much as I used to. Okay, maybe this I'm quick to judge on my part as we've only stayed in two hostels). Don't get me wrong, the hosts where really cool and we had some good conversation with fellow travelers. Heck we even watched a movie! But we did not luck out in our 10 man dorm, as we were stuck in a room with a group of 5 drunkards. And you know what they bring...loud conversations at five in the morning. Not to mention the stench in the morning. Waking up in it isn't so bad, you're used to it. You don't realise its there until after your shower. Thanks rooms with no ventilation! A plus is that everything seemed to be constantly damp which added to the aroma. I had a few bitter morning that Renee had to endure. I was getting these headaches as well which I thought was part of the coldm but we'll get back to that detail later!

Enough shitting on hostel life because we did enjoy the easy come and go location. Renee also rocked the kitchen and made some mean meals that really picked us up after long days of walking. Vegan a GoGo rocks (wicked recipe travel book). We also tried an army of different beers at the hostel at night as it seemed to be the right thing to do in Belgium.

Central Station

Antwerp is a pretty cool place and it didn't take long to get used to it after the initial stress of a drastic change of pace from life around us. The streets can be pretty crowded and we where staying in a Moroccan part of town. As you might know, Belgium has the same two-language rivalry that is all too common to Canada (although not everywhere !). They have the northern Flemish part that speak Flemish (dutch dialect) and are known as the richer part of Belgium and the southern, French speaking part. Antwerp is the big Flemish city, Brussels, the French one. Actually, when Renee explains the hostile feelings that you sometimes get between the Franco and Anglo parts of Canada, Europeans say "ah, the Belgium effect !"

The people that we talked to were very nice and we always had good experiences with the locals.These experiences usually started with a language barrier (even when we try!) and when we said we only spoke English, there was always a smile and giggle. Nobody was ever offended (and you DO feel kind of bad only knowing one language, whereas they know 3 or 4). Then, sometimes with cherades if need be, we would find a way to get each others' point across. They were never rude which made me very comfortable walking around and going about life.

The physical city is beautiful! So many churches and towers as well as shops where you could buy the fanciest clothes, chocolates, toys, waffels..... etc. Everything has style. It was really mind blowing. The people walking around were all good looking with flare. It was no wonder we got mistaken for locals so often ! It was hard not to buy things.

The honest truth about Antwerp is....we went to see CocoRosie. (which was an amazing show). Wierd gypsy opera with kids' toys and a beatboxer. Union Jack did the opening act and did a crazy set with his beat box lips, Mac book and vest that he used for a drum and sound effects. He did Prince's "Kiss" without missing a beat or a word. As for CocoRosie, it was really beautiful. Two Sisters with a piano player and a drummer who played a kit that was crazy, but without very many drums on it at all. Also, the beatboxer provided beats. One of the sisters sings opera (she studies at the Paris conservatory) while the other has a wierd soft voice, think old lady. If you don't know CocoRosie check em out. Thats the best way to know what I'm trying to describe. This all took place in a very old opera house from the 18th century. Unfortunetly, we couldn't get a good picture of the inside due to all the smoke they blew in for effects. On the net you can google Bourla Theatre. I guess they only have 3 music shows a year here, so we really lucked out ! It was the highlight of Antwerp for us.