London 2.0

Im back in London...

So this past week has been really awesome. I started in Brugge, as you know...which was amazing, it really was like a dream like city. After Brugge i went to Brussels, and in Brussels i was couch surfing. So i stayed at this guys house, Sven, whom i have never met before. He met me at the train station , took me back to his place, he cooked for me and he gave me a small air mattress to sleep on, not too bad. He lived there with one other guy, Tom, they were both really awesome dudes and they inspired me pretty much to do one last burst of travelling before i was finished. So I arrive in Brussels at night, Sven and I eat dinner and then he takes me out for a bit in the city, gave me some history on it and showed me some pretty cool things. The next day he had to work, so it was an early night. But the deal was that he didnt want me at his place while he was gone, so i had to wake up and leave the same time he did...not a problem, that just gives me more time to see Brussels...and more. We leave his place at 9 in the morning and we are planned to meet back at the trainstation again at 7, that gives me 10 hours....i have never taken 10 hours to see one city. So i walked around Brussels...saw everything...everyone told me leading up to Brussels that you really only need a day to see it...well, it took me 3 hours....so i was bored...so i went to the train station...hopped onto a train and went to Gent. Which is a small town north of Brussels. It was amazing, i loved Gent, just as much as Brugge, but again...it was a pretty small town and the way that the town was set up they had pretty much everything worth seeing and going to all on one street, in the matter of a couple blocks...so i did that...went inside a few churches, went into some towers and such. Then at 2 o'clock...i was done with the city...i was just walking around...with hurting feet. So i went back to the station...hopped onto a train, this time heading to Antwerp. Larger city than Gent but still i think its a bit smaller than Brussels...but basically the same lay out as Gent...so, pretty much the same thing, saw the old buildings, went into some churches, walked around, talk to some locals, yada yada yada. I hopped onto a train and went to Mechelen, a REAL small town, smaller than Brugge even. But it was dark out by this time. It gets dark here around 3:30 or 4, its crazy, i dont know how it is in the States right now, but im not used to it getting dark this early. So i pretty much just walked around and talked to a couple of the locals at this cafe i found...no biggie. Then i went back to Brussels and met up with Sven. It was a great day, i literally travelled ALL around Belgium...conquering everything in my sight! So the next day...Thursday, i had nothing else to do, well Tom and Sven convinced me to go to Luxembourg, not only is it an awesome city but yes...it is also a really really really small country, so it just adds on yet another country i went to here in Europe. But another reason why i went to Luxembourg was because RAINER was there! YAY!!! He had some freinds there and he was actually able to get me a place to stay with his friends, so that was awesome. I get to Luxembourg though and it raining...wet...and cold, not good weather. Rainer met up with me at the trainstation and we just went back to his friends house, Nicholas and J.C., and we just kind of hung out there. Luxembourg was likea chill out town, it felt great actually. Nicholas came home from work and decided to take Rainer and I out into the city and show us around a bit. We go to this bar and i drink some juice while him and Rainer are drinking wine...or something. Then J.C. meets up with us and we go upstairs to this really nice resteraunt, and it was SOO good. It was great, for the short time i had in Luxembourg i had a great time there. Then, this morning...i leave Luxembourg for Paris to get my bike at 6:40 in the morning...EARLY TRAIN, wow...I get to Paris at 9 in the morning and the first thing i do is get my ticket for a train heading to London, cause i know it is the weekend and im sure they are going fast. Believe or not...they were going fast...I was hoping to get on a train leaving around 1 or 2 or 3 at the latest, that way it gives me enough time to find my way to the train station my bike is locked up at, find my bike, figure out how im going to get it back to the station im leaving out of. And in order to transfer my bike from Paris to London i have to take it to this special company and check it in with them...well the only train available for me to catch to London was at 11:13 and i had to be at the station a half hour ahead of time for check in and boarder potrol and everything. So that left me with barely a little over an hour to figure out all that stuff i wanted to get done in more of a time frame like...4 or 5 hours. So i was a bit rushed, running around the station with my big backpack on and everything. I decided the fastest and easiest way to get to my bike was to take the metro, obviously, it would take at least a half hour to walk and i have my bag and everything...it would be to difficult. Well, i had to figure out how to get to this station now, cause there wasnt just a direct line going to it, i had to transfer a couple times...thats never good. So im running around these metro stations in Paris trying to figure out what lines i need to take and everything and im sure it was all a bit exagerated for me because i felt so rushed but, i just knew i was wasting time and the way i saw it was the more time im wasting the more likely im staying in Paris for the night, having already baught my ticket to london, which even with the eurail pass is pretty expensinve and Hostels in Paris are SO expensive, and its the weekend, im sure most of the hostels are booked up. So yeah, i REALLY didnt want to stay in Paris. I just kept thinking of all the worst senerios. It got to the point where i was running through all the parts of my bike that i wanted to keep, that i wanted to salvage. Parts i could just take off and keep in my bag. I pretty much convinced myself that i wasnt getting my WHOLE bike back and that i was never going to ride it again. So i was just getting more and more frustrated. I finally get to the train station and by now it is about 9:50, i have 40 minutes to find my bike and decided what im going to do with it, and if i was going to keep the whole thing i had to get it back to the station and get it checked in. So im walking to where i locked it up, it was like i was reuniting with a best friend that i had'nt seen in ages, trying to spot my bike through the crowds of people and other bikes, trying to see little parts of my bike and all that...i was starting to get a smile, i could feel my spirits rising. I finally get to my bike and i have a big smile on my face...i see that it is all still there...intact...a bit rusty in some places but its golden...or i mean...PURPLE... I checked the tires....they had low air pressure but i knew was running late cause i spent too much time trying to figure out the metro or...i was just basically coming up with reasons to ride it...so i just hopped on, with my big backpack, in the rain, and with a big smile. So i rode my bike today...first time in over two months...it felt great. I was smiling all the way through Paris. Then when i got everything done in time, on the train, in my seat, with my bike and my bag....i was smiling all the way to London...I get to London, and it is a beutiful day, blue sky, sunny, and DRY. Im walking down the streets and hearing everyone speak english, and im seeing all these advertisements and signs all in ENGLISH...im riding my bike around London....I had a big smile ALL through London....it was a GREAT day today. And now i at my friend, Fibi's house. We met last time i was in London and she said i could stay at her place and i love it here. You wouldnt think so cause it kind of like an old old run down hotel...but its turned into a house, with a bunch of bedrooms....you know what that means right? The first time in over two months i have a room all to myself, with a bed that i can totally stretch out in and roll around in. When i wake up i will be greeted by awesome awesome people. Its great, it feels amazing being back here knowing that at this time next week, i will be home...back home, in TC.

Im actually thinking about sleeping at the plane station on tuesday night just to make sure i am there with everything on time and there is no rushing or anything...i dont want there to be any more rushing...i dont have to ride on anymore trains, and after two months of running and catching trains...im done with all of that, trains and catching...i want to be able to just wake up and be there, not have to worry about running and catching anything. The next 4 days the only job i have is to get my bike all packaged up. Once i do that...im going to the airport and just camping out i think...

I am so ready to come home and i am so ready to see everyone and everything...im really excited. Im sure a few of you may be able to relate to this but i dont think most of you understand the feelings im going through right now...cause i barely do!