Europe - 1

For me, Christmas shopping season has begun this weekend. Normally I wait until the last minute, but this time around I felt it was a good idea to start battling the hordes of relentless Christmas shoppers early in order to avoid any unwanted surprises, and help me find presents for people. It's only one week away from Plaisirs d'Hiver (Winter Wonders), which includes lots of Glüewein, Christmas markets, and so forth. Brussels is going to be chockas again, so it's a good idea to start early.

“Heading up through Normandie; saw some war relics. Wanted to spend the night around Calais but since it's 99% British, we're driving back to Brussels instead!”

“More bloody SMS problems, so I dunno when you'll get this. Checked out Île de Ré -- nice French holiday island; no foreigners! Staying in La Roche-sur-Yon..”

“Having problems calling/SMSing since Wednesday, sorry.. Now spending the night in Bordeaux after seeing Toledo -- we gave up on Madrid (too much of a maze)”

“Went to Málaga/Merbella (false, British, shit-house), turned around & wound up in Valdepeñas, during a festival. Just got back from fireworks at the carnival!”

“We're in Almería, after going through rural Spain (boring). No news...”

“Now in Spain; Spent the afternoon and evening in Barcelona (wonderful place, I think), & staying out of town in Granollers. I think Barcelona is really liveable..”

“We cut through Italy again, down to the coast & through Nice and Cannes (= shit; French versions of Miami). Staying in-land at Brignoles, in an automated hotel!”

“We've cut across Italy, and since Scott was obsessed about it, paid 32€ to use the Mont Blanc tunnel.. Boring. Spending the night in Chamonix, under Mont Blanc..”

“Had a lazy trip from Werfen to Ljubljana (after a two-hour stop in the middle of traffic). This place is beautiful, but it's just like Melbourne! It's a little odd..”

“We got into Werfen (in Austria), after passing through Germany briefly, last night. We've since discovered a castle and the world's biggest ice caves, so after a day of hiking up and down a mountain we're staying another night.. Obviously I need new feet now! Off for some food now, and search for WiFi!”

“Went through Germany briefly to get to Werfen, avoiding the sound of music entirely. Will stay here and visit some ice caves tomorrow.”

“Now in Austria, passed through Switzerland and had lunch in Zürich, which I think is quite beautiful.. Planning on staying in Innsbruck, and practice German!”

“We're in Strasbourg, no need to worry.. Road trip plans are going okay, just very tired.. Just going to bed now.. Talk soon!”

Before arriving in Belgium, I was somewhat news obsessed. I'd listen to ABC NewsRadio on a regular basis (with the exception of when they were broadcasting from Parliament). I'd even go to bed and listen to the news from the BBC (naturally being retransmitted via NewsRadio).

Sitting on my own in my new and baron apartment in Brussels a feeling somewhat lonely (amplified somewhat by the time of year), I tuned into NewsRadio over the Internet for a news-fix and to see what was going on around the world. To my surprise, NewsRadio would cheer me up and make the world feel small again for me in no time.