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!

Its time to finish up these Europe posts: Verona

The center of town in Verona. Full of charming restaurants and shops, and later on a classic car show.

Verona's ancient Roman arena in the background. I believe that it is the 3rd largest in Italy, and is among the best preserved.

The Lamberti Tower, which you can see from just about anywhere in Verona. It cost something like 10 euros to climb, which I figured was a rip-off. Since its one of the coolest structures in town, why pay to climb it and look at a skyline missing the best piece?

Inside the Casa di Giulietta (Juliet's house). This is a statue of the literary beauty herself, with a very worn (polished) right breast. Apparently it is good luck to touch it. I did not partake myself, but watched many tourists cop a feel. I found this whole tourist trap very strange. After all, Juliet was not a real person, so who decided that this was her house? Did they just pick a random house with a balcony and put up a gift shop? This was also the day after Valentine's Day, so the place was pretty busy.

Inside the Arena. This was definitely worth the 6 euro entry fee. On a previous trip to Italy I had gone inside Rome's Coliseum and Pompeii's Arena, but this was my favorite of the three to venture inside of. Of course nothing compares to the grandeur of Rome's mighty Coliseum, but Verona's smaller version is preserved far better and you can really explore just about every inch of it. They actually still hold concerts in the structure (note the wooden stage in the center which can rise out of the ground).