Gent: Day 18

On a whim I went to gent with my newfound diplomatic envoy. The experience only lasted a few hours before I had to catch the train back to Antwerp , but it was quite entertaining. I mostly ran around the town trying to take in as much as possible while at the same time trying not to lose any limbs to frostbite.
The most memorable part of the visit was trying to get to the train. What I was told would be a 15 min walk turned into an hour long trek. It wasn't the most amusing walk but I had good company and how many people can say they walked down 200 year old streets on the bank of a canal while it was snowing. I would of enjoyed it more however if I wasn't freezing.
(Picture is of the Cathedral in Gent)

Diplomatic Brussels: Day 17 (New Years Day)

During the new year celebrations I met a couple of diplomats visiting from Brussels. They invited me to come up later that afternoon and...well...who can say 'maybe' (the apparent diplomatic way of saying no) too persuasive diplomats?

Later that afternoon I was given a brief tour of Brussels, starting at the decorated town hall and ending near the Royal Palace. It was getting dark and cold so it wasn't that extensive, but it will do untill I can return later this week.

Before we went on a tour of the bars I dropped off my day-bag at one of their assigned apartments and dear fucking lord...can I be a diplomat? I never knew how well off diplomats were until today. From what I heard most of their work is dining and drinking at fancy parties while getting free housing and a modest salary. True they have to get a masters, go to specialty schools and don't get much opinion on where they are going. But...dam it sounds amazing, and as I heard more and more about the work diplomats do throughout the evening I vowed to look into becoming one. Well at least until I heard that the American diplomats were a bunch of stuck-up boring assholes. Oh well.