So today, I pack.
I really know I should have done this earlier, but it didn’t seem real earlier. To be honest, it still doesn't really seem real. But apparently there is a plane to Brussels that has a seat reserved for Elaine Neely on Thursday, April 30, 2015. So here I go.
I will land in Brussels on Thursday at 7:45am. I have to make it to my airbnb home by 10:00am, or I cant check in until 7pm and will have to carry my pack everywhere for the day. Good thing I pack light, but bad thing I have to take foul weather gear, life jacket etc.
I’ll have a day in NYC, so I should plan that. Maybe the new Art Gallery? Wonder if that’s open yet… Maybe the Central Park Zoo. I’ve spent lots of time in Central Park, but never at the zoo. One of the great walking tours, loved those. Maybe just a coffee shop and a little people watching, or that fantastic cheesecake in the theatre district. I love New York.
I have booked airbnb’s for Brussels, two nights, a Megabus from Brussels to Luxembourg, and an airbnb in La Rochelle. I still have nothing to do in those cities, although I am staying across the street from the Royal Palace in Brussels, and it is on the list of 1001 things to see before you die.
I’m sure I haven’t picked the best, closest, coolest places to stay, but I am happy with my choices, and I think that if I do have to travel a little to get to my b&b, then I will see more of the city. I’m not sure I had a choice anyway. I inquired about many places (at least a dozen) and only heard back from four that they would like to host me. Some said they weren’t available for various reasons, even though their calendar showed “available”, and the rest never even answered. Oh those Europeans and their European attitude… Actually one of the people I am staying with rejected me too at first, because they thought I was two people, not one person, so they just rejected me without asking saying that we only take singles. When I emailed back that I was travelling alone, they approved me with smiles and said “In that case we can host you”. I checked the details on their listing and they said no one over 45 years old. I didn’t mention that. We’ll see how it goes. Maybe they will check my passport and kick me out and I will sleep in a Brussels alley. I could see if I could get some drunk guy at a bar to take me back to his place in exchange for sex or something, but maybe that would work better if I was actually under 45 and then I would have a place to stay anyway. Ah the irony of it all. I’ll just have to put my finger over the birth year when I show them my passport.
This was me in California on our Yachtmaster Prep Course.
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