I am going to Scotland tonight, and I have a couple of questions I hope to answer. 1.  Are they frickin sick of Braveheart or what?Preliminary snooping for towns with affordable hostels indicates… Continue reading →

The local community center sometimes shows second-run movies at discount price on Tuesday evenings, so last night I finally saw this “Avatar” thing that made such a buzz.  Or was it The Last… Continue reading →

My girlfriend was asked to participate in a fashion show, and yesterday we went to the store that’s running it so she could be fitted and her outfits chosen.  My own sense of… Continue reading →

Instead of staying in Schriek for the Belgian Julio Iglesias (he’s the Wayne Newton of Spain, right?) we went to another town’s hall, stopping off on the way so I could follow the… Continue reading →

Saturday was Carnaval in the small town of Schriek (pronounced a lot like “shriek” but with more friction on the back of your tongue at the beginning).  Several towns in the area have… Continue reading →

Took a day trip to Antwerp on Friday.  Which had me thinking…when was the last time you said, or heard someone else say, the word “twerp”?  Had to be in the 1980s, right?… Continue reading →

My girlfriend is a social worker in a neighboring town, and I visited it nearly a year ago, spending a few long-houred days wandering the streets, waiting for her workday to end (sometimes… Continue reading →

Belgian houses are solid looking, mostly brick, though without the boasting size of American McMansions.  There are definite architectural tendencies and similarities between buildings, but each house is distinguishable from it‘s neighbors, though… Continue reading →

On a wonderful Sunday afternoon in March, I found myself sitting back in a chair in a fourth floor walk-up apartment in a small town in Belgium, watching episodic rain showers through the… Continue reading →

While in Belgium I am staying with my girlfriend in her new apartment (sort of) near Antwerp, and the other night the regional cultural council had an event to welcome all new residents… Continue reading →