Ghent, Belgium

I left Antwerp by train, bound for Ghent, my other gig in Belgium.  I was couchsurfing that night with Viviane, a wonderful lady who also helped me set up the show that evening at a local bar.  After picking me up at the train station, she took me downtown to show me around a little bit.



More of the narrow, old homes of the type seen earlier in Antwerp and Amsterdam.  All of these buildings date back to the 1600's.


Old buildings line one of Ghent's many canals, making this town very charming.


The tiniest, narrowest building I have ever seen.


Viviane told me that Ghent is known as the City of Towers, or something like that, anyways.  Exhibit A.


Exhibit B.

The show itself was really fun, and there was a really great showing from the local couchsurfing community.  I can't thank Viviane enough for her hospitality, and for arranging a place for me to perform.  Thanks also to everyone that came out to see me in Belgium, I hope to be back very soon!

Venice!

Venice! This city is the stuff of dreams, truly a unique place, but that is an understatement. I had to make it here on my trip, as I spent an entire semester studying the city in a 400 level history class when I was a student in Oshkosh. I only stayed for half a day, unfortunately, as it was Carnival season and the city was busy as hell, so lodging was at a premium. It was in and out on the train for me...

Here you can see a plethora of revelers in St. Mark's Square, with the Ducal Palace in the background. I realized upon arriving in Venice that I was completely broke, and this is a terribly expensive city to be broke in. I had 5 euros in my pocket, and tried to use an ATM only to find I had nothing left in my account, ahhhh! I found a euro on the ground and had enough money to buy a panini to eat, and spent the rest of my time enjoying the warm weather and people-watching. I was able to call my dad and he put some money into my account for a price... I would be his labor slave in April when I was home. It is now nearing the end of April, and my parents have made good use of my slavery...

This family was all decked out and posing for lots of pictures. That little girl looks pretty unhappy if you ask me.

One of Venice's many side canals filled with gondolas.

I stumbled by accident into the Jewish Ghetto, a section of Venice we had spent lots of time on during my class. This is the square in the "Ghetto Vecchio", which means "old ghetto". Straight ahead and to the left is the "Ghetto Nuovo", or "new ghetto". Both are relative terms to an older time, as both have been around for quite some time. Venice's Jewish population lived here during the Renaissance. The word "ghetto" then did not have the same negative connotation as it does today, and this was as much an ideological neighborhood for the Jews as it was isolation.