Ghent and Bruges

Hello! This is Eli in Europe reporting on my interesting day-trip to Bruges and Ghent. You may be asking yourself, "why is Eli posting a day late?" Well, it is rude to interrupt someone when they speak. However, I have a legitimate reason for not posting yesterday: Yesterday I climbed 732 winding steps up the Belfry Tower in Bruges, Belgium.

The massive bell tower, built around 1240, has 8-inch-high steps and few safety features. Due to the winding of the steps, they are extremely narrow on the inside, making it even more difficult to climb when passing someone coming down the staircase. Furthermore, this difficulty was exacerbated by the many different languages spoken in the area, making it difficult to communicate with other climbers.  After an extremely treacherous 366 step climb, we finally arrived at the top. Although the tower had a magnificent view, it was also very windy, and frankly I wanted to get out of the tower as soon as possible. Climbing down was less difficult, however, it was not easy. Overall I had climbed 732 steps in the tower, including ascending and descending it. When I returned to the apartment, on did some research on the Belfry Tower. The tower leans one meter to the east and seven people have perished in it. I am not planning on climbing the Belfry Tower again.

After we visited the tower we explored Bruges, a quaint, historical city with cobblestone streets. Most of the people there were tourists from many nations, and most shops catered to all nationalities. For example, the menu at our dinner restaurant was in seven different languages. In addition, I tried frites, waffles, and mussels, Belgium's most famous foods, while in Bruges.

Before we visited Bruges, my family and I visited Ghent, a medieval city that also had cobblestone streets. While there, we visited the famous Saint Bavo Cathedral, home of the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, a 500 year old series of panels painted by the Van Eyck brothers. This painting has been stolen many times, however, the security is not tight. The painting depicts many aspects of Christianity. A helpful audio guide informed is of the meaning of each panel. It would take a great deal of time to describe the painting in detail, but I'm sure there is information about it on the internet. I have no pictures of the panels, as photography was not allowed. I did manage to snap one picture of the cathedral, even though photography was forbidden.

We enjoyed day trip to Bruges and Ghent. Today, we are planning to further explore Brussels, as it is our last day before leaving for Amsterdam.

This is Eli in Europe, signing off. 

P.S. - Sorry for the lack of photos. Our internet connection here is very unreliable. When we arrive in Amsterdam, we will post all the photos from Brussels. Thanks!

Countdown To The End of School!

Thanks!

First of all , I'd like to say nice thanks to the writers. Or should I say writer. There are only 2 us. By the way we are looking for a volunteer to write. But that is not the point. The point is we have reached 100 views!
Thank you for taking this short journey with us bla, bla, bla, cry, cry, cry. Yeah, I hate fake emotions in speeches. Actually, I do not like speeches in general. But you know what I don't hate? Giveaways! That's right, the 10th subscribe of our website might* get a t-shirt.

* Rules apply. No purchase necessary. You Know What I Hate has the rights to not give the t-shirt to the winner based on contest rules of other matters. Contest ends as soon as the fifth (5th) subscriber pushes the subscribe button on ykih.com. The winner must be subscribed for at least one (1) month before the prize can be claimed.

I hate not hating anything

So as you probably noticed, I haven't posted anything in a while. That's because my life has been pretty good. School's over and nothings really bothering me so I really don't have anything to complain about. If you have a suggestion for a subject, just comment. I NEED A REASON TO COMPLAIN!!!! I mean, it's not that my life is like walking through a field of roses or anything, but nothing's been particularly annoying. I mean, I guess Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas aren't the greatests things in the world, but I seem to be the only one in the world who thinks that so what's the point of complaining about them. Their songs have been stuck in my head for like 3 years now... it is what it is right? Basically, I don't have anything to write about, and that's pretty annoying and I bet that was the worst post I will ever write, but that's what happens when your life is good. So what I've really been trying to say is, having such a good life is not as good as it seems.

You Know What I Fail At?

This is not really a You Know What I Hate post, but more of a "You Know What I Fail A?" post.

First of all, for all you observant people out that I fail at abbreviations. You Know WHAT I Hate should be abbreviated "YKWIH" but I hastily created this blog and named it "YKIH" which, I guess, stands for You Know I Hate. I hate bad grammar so I guess that I am basically a hypocrite.

Second, I fail at partying. Sure, I participate in Musical Chairs, but I do not dance. Ever. At this party I went to they said "we will give one dollar to everyone who dances." I laughed. It's going to take about an iPad 2 to get me to dance in a public area.

Lets end the post on a high note! I have been making some plans and it looks like we are getting a twitter! Yay! Stay tuned to ykih.blogspot.com to be notified when it is ready!

YKIH: Aunt/Ant

Hi, I am Eli and this is my first post on YKIH. Lets start!
This issue has really been bugging me. So how do you pronounce aunt? Ont or ant. I think its aunt because the U is there for a reason. How do you pronounce Laura? Loor-a or Laar-a? The U in Laura serves the same purpose as the U in aunt. So, its aunt. I have also heard that aunt is pronounced ant in the west coast (Cali!) and ont in the east coast (NYC!)

How do you pronounce aunt? Tell us the comments below or on facebook or twitter. We are going to get one if those. Someday.

YKWIH..... Taking my iPhone for a swim!

So today was memorial day. The sun was shining, the birds were tweeting and I'm jumping in my pool. I'm inside for about 5 minutes, when all of a sudden I realize something..... My iPhone's in my pocket! I take it out and put it in a bag full of rice. I'm freaking out but i've tried to enjoy my day. I went to the apple store and it looks like I have to a) Get a replacement or b) Pay for repair. I'm gonna get it checked out tomorrow but seriously! It's been such a good day except for this! My iPhone is water logged and I hate this memorial day.