Mix and Match

After an eight-hour delay at PHL (not to mention the 13-hour total flight time), I finally checked into my hotel in Brussels by 10 PM.

I so don't feel ready for this vacation. Been popping Tylenol because of a backache. Then my Canon camera decided to give me an error message and refused to take pictures before coming to its senses. Oh yeah AND I had to spend 20 minutes talking to my brokerage firm over the phone to clear up confusions regarding a wire transfer.

My first meal in Brussels ended up being Japanese. Japanese, in the heart of Europe! Why oh why? Well, I'm exhausted. Room service stopped serving. And the Japanese restaurant is literally right next door, AND the ONLY restaurant on this block. So there I was, slurping a steaming hotel bowl of soba, and thinking to myself I could have been right at home in San Francisco, if it weren't because of the smaller portion and the much steeper price (€9 for what I could easily get for $7 at home).

Adding to the "global" experience? They were playing the song My Girl in the background. : ) it reminded me of the time I spent in Sydney last year.... How I had stumbled across an Irish pub where a live band played Hotel California and California Girls. Our music rocks.


Belgian Hotel: €59

Japanese Dinner: €12

American Music (while you're far from home?): Priceless

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Sent Wirelessly from My CrackBerry.

Home Exchange

I sipped a glass of Cabernet at the bar while waiting for my ex-colleague to join me for dinner at Rex Cafe tonight. The couple sitting next to me asked for entree recommendations - so we struck up a conversation. It turned out they were from Australia (the guy) and New Zealand (the girl, she wore braces, too!), but live in Hong Kong. They are in San Francisco on vacation, and they got free lodging via Home Exchange! Just like what Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet did in the movie, the Holiday. In fact, HomeExchange.com did indeed sponsor the movie. Now, how cool is THAT!! The couple they are exchanging homes with owns three properties in the States, in San Francisco (Pacific Heights), Napa Valley, and New York City (must be a nice life!). We had a nice chat - I told them how much I loved VB (Victoria Bitter, an Australian beer) when I spent a week in Sydney last summer. They told me how many similarities they found between San Fran and Sydney, and that he travels to Beijing for business all the time, and that they plan to visit China next year during the Olympics. All in all, a very cool, collected couple.

So guess who paid the annual fee of $99.95 and became the newest member of HomeExchange.com as soon as she got home tonight? :)

I'm flying to Belgium at the end of July, then taking the train to Spain. It'd be great to stay in a local residence, rather than in a hotel, for obvious reasons:

• Hotels are expensive.
• Staying in a hotel screams "I'm a tourist!". Staying in a local residence spells C-O-O-L.

I hope someone on that site wants to visit San Francisco!