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The Europe Tour 2000-2001 >
Gent, Belgium |
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Editor's Note: This is written almost 6 weeks later, so some details are obviously forgotten. Oh, and I am the editor, too...I just thought it would be fun to have an editor's note! I don't remember much about the ride to Gent. I think I might have slept most of it off. In fact, I know I did, becuase I remember not even finishing the drink I had. When we did arrive in Ghent, our bus driver had no idea how to get into the hotel parking lot. I must admit, though, it was mighty confusing. Even though they drive on the correct side of the road in Belgium, the driveway up to the front door of the hotel went backwards from standards (no comments yet...wait for Brussels). So we ended up driving in half a circle back and forth around the hotel before locating a tiny gate at the other end of the parking lot from where it "should" be. Just managing to squeak the bus through it, he then got up the ramp and we unloaded luggage, etc., before going right to the room to get some much-needed real sleep! Later in the afternoon, I tried to exchange some money at the front desk, but they said, "Too many people have exchanged today, but you can do it in the morning (this becomes a theme). So I and my roommate Scott decided to go to the grocery store, and in search of an ATM. I remember there being an ATM at the grocery store from my last visit, so it shouldn't have been much of a big deal. Well, the ATM was no longer there. Scott said he remembered one just down from the store. That one was gone, too, with just a hole and some wires as a reminder. We saw two banks across the street, so we walked over to those, only to find out that neither took any card except their own bank card. So, moneyless, we went into the store anyway, planning on using our credit cards. I asked the woman at the info desk inthe store if they did any kind of currency exchange or money back from credit cards. She said no, and that there were no ATMs in this part of the city, but that we could pay with credit cards. Not having any coins to rent a grocery cart, I looked for a hand basket. There were none, only carts. I asked the same lady if there were any baskets, and she pointed to the carts. I reminded her that I had no money and couldn't get a cart. So I literally had to borrow money from the grocery store to rent one it's own carts. What a ridiculous afternoon THIS has already been!! No money anywhere and having to borrow money to rent a grocery cart! We were not the only ones deciding to visit the store. In fact, I think every person in the show was there at the same time. Fortunately, it was a huge store. Some people went a bit berserk though, buying over $100 of food for one week (remember we have nothing to cook with more than hot-pots, so I don't know how one eats $100 of food in a week!). Anyway, i loaded up with quite a bit and we headed back. The word of the week for Ghent is SLEEP. In Ghent, I rarely ever got up before noon if work didn't beckon. There was nothing to do here nor anywhere nearby, so what's the point?! I really don't remember much else about the week, especially work. Building was big...blah blah blah. One night we did have a barbecue sponsored by the company. I expected that they would have to get out there, cook the meat, and all. So I figured I had a little time to work on a small project before going out. Bad decision! I only stayed inside maybe 15 minutes after the show, and when I got outside, almost every piece of meat and side dish had been eaten. I managed to get my hands on a piece of sausage and a beer before it was all gone. I didn't stay too very long, opting for a little sleep before a 3 show day the next day. Load-out in Ghent went almost as fast as it did in Oberhausen. It's quite nice when you have tons of space and guys who speak English to understand you! A highlight of the evening was one of the locals telling Renee she talked too much and proceeding to wrap her hands, feet, and, most importantly, her mouth, with tape. I got some good pictures of it to taunt her with. After sucha quick load-out, we boarded our TWO busses (what a novelty!) to Brussels, Belgium...only a 45 minute ride away. |
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