As mentioned previously getting into Belgium proved more difficult than expected . Up to this point hitching had been fairly easy in Holland and I hadn't had to wait more than 40 minutes for a ride . I had beeen waiting at the service station Yuri dropped me off at for a couple of hours when a follow traveller came armed with a map and the sense optomisin which I lacked . We made a new sign for Bergen op Zoom and were picked up by a man in a Jeep in less than 5 minutes . The man dropped me off at service station/rest area just before the A4 turn off for Antwerp thinking it would be a good spot to get a ride from .
Two hours had passed and I hadn't had any bites , so I decided to walk along the highway in the farmers field that ran along side the highway in the hope of finding a on ramp further up the road but again luck was not on my side . I made it to a overpass after half a hour of walking and didn't see any promising spots . Just as I was standing on the bridge pondering what to do a couple were dropped off on the side of the motorway. I waved and they waved back so I wandered over and we had a chat . They were a couple of students trying to get to Holland for a holiday and suggested I walk towards the church spire towering above the trees in the distance and I might be able to find a bus there
The village was a good half a hour away and the first sign of life was a pub . The bar staff were friendly and helpful and said if I walked 2km up the road I would come to a town with a local bus that I could take to a another village which had a bus to Antwerp, result ! .
Two bus rides and a couple of hours later I made it to Antwerp and meet my CS host on the corner of the main bus station in Antwerp. When I first made plans to go to Belgium ,Brugge was my intended destination but I was not able to get a host there so I was lucky than Brad agreed to host me at the last minute . Brad was from Detroit and had been living in the Europe for the last 4 years teaching English fand working for various aid projects in between and it was cool hanging with him talking about music,Europe,America and Detroit
Antwerp was a great city to visit and the local pride is obvious to see. The locals would have you believe that Bruggee is a postcard ,Brussells is overated but Antwerp is were it is at . The case that Antwep made was impressive with the buildings in the historic district making for pretty pictures and the streets lined with bars and bistros created a nice chilled out atmosphere
The main shopping district would be the same as anywhere else if it were not for Napoleon's old palace . This was more of a holiday batch(quiet a large one) that if memory serves me correctly Napoleon never actually visited here but it is being put to good use as a mini chocolate factory . You can watch the chocolate makers in action behind the glass and then try one of the ridiculous amount of different chocolates on offer (the coke-cola with rock pops is a good option ) and it won't break the bank
After 3 days in Antwerp it was time to leave for France and more sepficily Lille .With my last hitch not going so well I decided to get up at 7am and walk out to the spot hitch wiki suggested was the best way to get out of Antwerp. With my sign for Gent I was picked up after 30 minutes by a builder who said he could drop me off half way between Gent and Antwerp,the only problom as it turned out was that he dropped me on a motorway overbridge on the wrong motorway going towards Brugge . I was resuced 40 minutes later by a character who was driving home after passing a driving test then we switched cars and his dad took me to Gent and dropped me off in a great spot next to the motorway...and the local highway patrol . It wasn't long before I was picked up by a French woman who lives in Belgium with her Belgium(ish ?) boyfriend and she dropped me off at a shopping mail 15 km out of Lille . I hoped to get a ride from the carpark but didn't get much luck and when I walked towards a petrol station I spotted a bus which turned out to be a life saver . The bus driver took me to a metro station and I hopped on(with the same ticket) and headed towards my hosts stop . I made it to Lille quicker than expected and so I made it to the station 3 hours earlier than expected so I found a quiet corner and strummed away on guitar before going for a walk and I found a bar
My host in Lille was a crazy (but in a good way) girl called Jessy. She was a nerologist with a wicked sense of humor ,I can't tell you how much fun this girl was . We met at the train station with another surfer from Turkey and made our way back to her place . We hung out with her flatmates for a few hours and then made our way towards the cafes and participated in the favorite sport of the locals bar watching . To partake in the game you first need a glass of beer or wine,a seat and a bottom to place in it and you watch the world go by,make conversation while have a good time
The next day our turkish friend went off to sort out some student accommodation for the upcoming semester while we headed out to Arras . Arras had the reputation of being a picturesque little french city with a gothic cathedral and a 19th century square . While this was true what we didn't expect was the large pikey circus turning up and turning the city square into a nasty cheese and candyfloss filled amusement park which left a certain smell in the air,this smell was...not so good . The next square had less pikey's and more cafes and a church which changed the feeling from a afternoon in hull to heaven. The tourist information centre and a little display for the work that the New Zealanders did during the war to liberate Arras, hurray for the Anzacs ! .That evening we went back to Lille and Jessy took us for a short tour of the city old city centre and we met up with a couple of the guys we went to Arras with and went out for some drinks . On the way back we found a group of students hassling a middle-aged man who was in a tight spot and not able to move his car,this was probably for the best as he looked a bit groggy. He had a brief conversation with Vaso (one of the surfers who hung out with us) which was followed by a salute and a cry of viva la revolution !!!
The next day was part of the biggest weekend of the year for Lille because it was time for the Braderie de Lille . Once a year the whole of Lille is transformed into a giant flea market thus creating the biggest flea market in Europe and thus the biggest collection of worn out shoes and sweaters that quiet don't fit anymore . In the morning we went to support our hero Jessy who was running a half marothon and returned back to base for lunch when it become apparent that the french have no love for Vegemite. Later on we returned to the city centre to check out the Braderie de Lille. We spent the afternoon absorbing the atsmophere that the brass bands,DJ's,street performers and the people in the street supplied before it was time for me to leave for Paris
Not many people had good things to say about Lille while I was on route but I only have fond memory's of this city and the characters who live there . I made my sign for Paris and Jessy and her friends dropped me off on close to the spot suggested by hitch wiki and I said my final goodbyes and trudged off hoping to get picked up and make my way down the A1 . I really hope she does come to NZ next year and I can repay the favour and show her the NZ way of doing things and maybe convert her to Vegemite !!
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