Fandom? What Fandom?

In Bruges, waiting for the rain to stop. In spite of the weather, Bruges is much nicer than I was expecting it to be. I thought it would be really touristy and twee...and it is, but somehow that isn't as off-putting as I was expecting. It doesn't compare with Ghent though. Ghent was fabulous.

I was planning to go to Oostende today to frolic on the beach and visit the Ensorhuis & Fort Napoleon, but it is Monday so the Fort is closed, and a rainy day at the beach doesn't really appeal. That leaves me with...a walking tour in the rain this afternoon and the Belgian Beer Pub Crawl. I'm not sure about the pub crawl. At the last Belgian bar I was in I was a bit daunted by the 100+ beer selection, so I asked the bar tender for a recommendation. He told me he was going to recommend the beer with the highest alcohol content so that I would get drunk quickly and then sleep with him. Charming.

On that note, when I have more time I should really do a post about how dramatically clothes affect the assumptions people make about you. Until last year I used to mostly slum around in jeans and t-shirts but lately I've been dressing quite smartly. The difference in how I am treated wasn't so noticeable in Edinburgh, but in Europe? Men are generally more respectful, and so are women in a more subtle way. However, I am suddenly fairly unapproachable to many of the North American college age guys who would usually have talked to me in the hostels. Oh, yeah, and if you dress stylishly, everyone will assume that you can speak French, even when you tell them otherwise.

In any case, it's been interesting.