Day 1 (10/19/06) ::: The first flight of the day is always the cheapest, which meant I was up and out of the house at 4:45am to catch my flight to Brussels. After 2 hours in the air and a short train ride into the center of the city, I made my way to my hostel, Le Centre Vincent Van Gogh. Six bed dorm room baby... nothing like traveling in style! After ditching my bags, I wandered around town with a quick stop at "The Cathedral," and another at the Galleries St. Hubert for lunch. I felt slightly out of place at the cafe where I ate, as almost all of the other people were older, well-dressed Belgians who seemed to be talking about very sophisticated issues. Or maybe that was just because I couldn't understand French or Flemish (-: The next stop was the Grand Place, the center of it all and home to 17th century guild houses, Hotel de Ville (town hall) and of course, the Brewers Museum. Take one guess which one I went into? Ok, so I'm a little predictable. But seriously, who would pass up a museum that costs 5 Euro including a free Belgian beer!
After sucking down a smooth beverage I went to check out one of the most odd sights I've come across in my travels... Manneken Pis. I wasn't really sure what to make of the tiny statue of a pissing urchin, which is supposed to embody the "irreverent spirit" of the city. You can buy just about any kind of souvenir with this little guy on it. Umm... ok... lol. After visiting Manne, I decided to cruise back to the hostel for a quick nap and a shower and then found a cute little spot where I could enjoy moules and frites (mussels and fries). After dinner, I made my way to the Theatre Royal de Toone to enjoy a puppet play in the bruxellois dialect known as Brusselse Sproek. I could tell that Charlemagne was the main character and there was a war and a woman involved, but I didn't catch more than that. After the show was over, I looked around the theater for my puppet friend, Loco, and when I didn't find him, I went back to the hostel to crash for the night.
Day 2 (10/20/06) ::: Up and out the door, it's off to Bruges! Bruges is a tiny little town near the coast and happens to be one of the most beautifully preserved medieval cities in western Europe. I took the 1-hour train ride from Brussels and on the way met a great Aussie named Adrienne. We became fast friends and decided to spend the day touring around together. We hit the two main squares, Markt and Burg, toured the canals by boat, saw Michelangelo's "Madonna and Child" sculpture in the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (a 13th century church) and wandered the streets for hours eating Belgian chocolate every 10 feet or so. Early in the evening, Adrienne went back to Brussels and I jumped
off the train in Ghent... it was almost time to make party! I lugged my big backpack around for a bit trying to find the one and only hostel. And, the first thing I heard when I finally walked in the door was David Guetta vs. The Egg, "Love Don't Let Me Go (Walking Away)" - somehow I don't think that track would ever be playing in the US hostel!! After a nap and a shower, I hopped a tram and a bus to the outskirts of town to meet up with a group of friends from Paris and New York, who were also in town for the I Love Techno Festival. Sometime around 12:30am that night, we made our way to Tielt, a TINY town about 25 miles from Ghent where two DJ friends from NYC were playing. We had a blast hanging out at the venue, LondonBeat Cafe, and getting to know the locals who were absolutely STUNNED that anyone from Paris or New York would ever come to their town for a party. The night ended sometime around 5am when I rolled back into my hostel... the only bad news is that I had to check out by 10am.
Day 3 (10/21/06) ::: Shopping, strolling, sightseeing... what a great day! I was able to catch a bunch of the amazing sights in Ghent - St. Niklaaskerk, Belfort, St. Baafskathedraal, St. Michielskeerk, Gravensteen Castle and the incredible view from St. Michiels Bridge - before meeting up with the gang for the festival. We gathered everyone who was already in Ghent and then met up with five more people from Paris around 7:30pm. We boarded the tram for the Flanders Expo at the St. Pieters train station and watched in amazement as the crowd and energy grew. Kids from all over Europe were boarding the trams... boozing and chanting the entire way to the venue. We finally got into the expo center around 8:30pm and
the party had just gotten started. The place was absolutely HUGE and kudos to the organizers because everything was extremely well-run. There were six different rooms with capacity of 5,000 each and a central space to chill, get food and regroup. Over the course of the night I found and lost numerous friends, but wound up having a blast checking out Deetron, Laurent Garnier (live&DJ) vs. Carl Craig, Motor (live), Boys Noize, Soulwax Nite versions (live), 2 Many DJs, Tiga, Tiefschwarz, Kraftwerk, James Holden, Philippe Zdar (Cassius DJ set) and a few others. The party ended sometime around 6:30am and we, along with the other 30,000+ people, re-boarded the trams bound for Ghent. After a few quick goodbyes, I hopped in my friend Sami's car and started the journey to Paris.
Day 1 (10/19/06) ::: The first flight of the day is always the cheapest, which meant I was up and out of the house at 4:45am to catch my flight to Brussels. After 2 hours in the air and a short train ride into the center of the city, I made my way to my hostel, Le Centre Vincent Van Gogh. Six bed dorm room baby... nothing like traveling in style! After ditching my bags, I wandered around town with a quick stop at "The Cathedral," and another at the Galleries St. Hubert for lunch. I felt slightly out of place at the cafe where I ate, as almost all of the other people were older, well-dressed Belgians who seemed to be talking about very sophisticated issues. Or maybe that was just because I couldn't understand French or Flemish (-: The next stop was the Grand Place, the center of it all and home to 17th century guild houses, Hotel de Ville (town hall) and of course, the Brewers Museum. Take one guess which one I went into? Ok, so I'm a little predictable. But seriously, who would pass up a museum that costs 5 Euro including a free Belgian beer! 
After sucking down a smooth beverage I went to check out one of the most odd sights I've come across in my travels... Manneken Pis. I wasn't really sure what to make of the tiny statue of a pissing urchin, which is supposed to embody the "irreverent spirit" of the city. You can buy just about any kind of souvenir with this little guy on it. Umm... ok... lol. After visiting Manne, I decided to cruise back to the hostel for a quick nap and a shower and then found a cute little spot where I could enjoy moules and frites (mussels and fries). After dinner, I made my way to the Theatre Royal de Toone to enjoy a puppet play in the bruxellois dialect known as Brusselse Sproek. I could tell that Charlemagne was the main character and there was a war and a woman involved, but I didn't catch more than that. After the show was over, I looked around the theater for my puppet friend, Loco, and when I didn't find him, I went back to the hostel to crash for the night.
Day 2 (10/20/06) ::: Up and out the door, it's off to Bruges! Bruges is a tiny little town near the coast and happens to be one of the most beautifully preserved medieval cities in western Europe. I took the 1-hour train ride from Brussels and on the way met a great Aussie named Adrienne. We became fast friends and decided to spend the day touring around together. We hit the two main squares, Markt and Burg, toured the canals by boat, saw Michelangelo's "Madonna and Child" sculpture in the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (a 13th century church) and wandered the streets for hours eating Belgian chocolate every 10 feet or so. Early in the evening, Adrienne went back to Brussels and I jumped 
off the train in Ghent... it was almost time to make party! I lugged my big backpack around for a bit trying to find the one and only hostel. And, the first thing I heard when I finally walked in the door was David Guetta vs. The Egg, "Love Don't Let Me Go (Walking Away)" - somehow I don't think that track would ever be playing in the US hostel!! After a nap and a shower, I hopped a tram and a bus to the outskirts of town to meet up with a group of friends from Paris and New York, who were also in town for the I Love Techno Festival. Sometime around 12:30am that night, we made our way to Tielt, a TINY town about 25 miles from Ghent where two DJ friends from NYC were playing. We had a blast hanging out at the venue, LondonBeat Cafe, and getting to know the locals who were absolutely STUNNED that anyone from Paris or New York would ever come to their town for a party. The night ended sometime around 5am when I rolled back into my hostel... the only bad news is that I had to check out by 10am. 
Day 3 (10/21/06) ::: Shopping, strolling, sightseeing... what a great day! I was able to catch a bunch of the amazing sights in Ghent - St. Niklaaskerk, Belfort, St. Baafskathedraal, St. Michielskeerk, Gravensteen Castle and the incredible view from St. Michiels Bridge - before meeting up with the gang for the festival. We gathered everyone who was already in Ghent and then met up with five more people from Paris around 7:30pm. We boarded the tram for the Flanders Expo at the St. Pieters train station and watched in amazement as the crowd and energy grew. Kids from all over Europe were boarding the trams... boozing and chanting the entire way to the venue. We finally got into the expo center around 8:30pm and 
the party had just gotten started. The place was absolutely HUGE and kudos to the organizers because everything was extremely well-run. There were six different rooms with capacity of 5,000 each and a central space to chill, get food and regroup. Over the course of the night I found and lost numerous friends, but wound up having a blast checking out Deetron, Laurent Garnier (live&DJ) vs. Carl Craig, Motor (live), Boys Noize, Soulwax Nite versions (live), 2 Many DJs, Tiga, Tiefschwarz, Kraftwerk, James Holden, Philippe Zdar (Cassius DJ set) and a few others. The party ended sometime around 6:30am and we, along with the other 30,000+ people, re-boarded the trams bound for Ghent. After a few quick goodbyes, I hopped in my friend Sami's car and started the journey to Paris. 
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