In article <
[email protected]>, "Robert Chung"
<
[email protected]> wrote:
> "Greg Kilroy" <
[email protected]> wrote
> > I haven't previously traveled in Europe by myself, so I am a bit concerned that I'll end up
> > wandering around lost in Belgium.
March 1983. My first day in Belgium, about 5 weeks before my 17th birthday. Get off the plane, go to
our temporary housing in Montgomery Square (which is really a giant round-about, and not a square at
all), in Brussels. My parents are beat from the flight and jetlag and decide to take a nap. I'm
feeling antsy, and decide to go for a walk.
I neglect to find out what the address and/or phone number of our apartment is. In fact, I didn't
even know that we were in Montgomery Square until later.
I wander around downtown Brussels, checking out a lot of different things like the Mannekin Pis
and the Grand Place (which actually is relatively square), wander through the red light district,
grab some frites and a gaufre from one of the many stalls throughout downtown Brussels, and so on
and so forth.
About 2-3 hours later then decide to head back home ... and then realize I have absolutely no idea
where I am. My general sense of direction tells me, "It's that way," and off I go ... I find my way
back home and take a nap, then get up and tell my parents about my little adventure.
They pull out a map and ask me to show them where all I went. That's when I realize that there's no
such thing as a square block in Brussels, and just how many "square" roundabouts there are ... and
how lost I really was.
It's easy to get lost in Belgium ... but like Robert says, that's the best way to find the
interesting stuff.
> > Thanks for any advice,
>
> Well, since you asked for any advice, I'll mention that in general I've found much more
> interesting stuff while wandering around lost than when I knew exactly how to get to what I was
> looking for.
>
> And I ain't just talking about Belgium. I think that applied to my very first girlfriend, too.
>
>
>
--
Steven L. Sheffield stevens at veloworks dot com veloworks at worldnet dot ay tea tee dot net bellum
pax est libertas servitus est ignoratio vis est