The Cubicle is empty!!!

This is one of those excursions that I’ve been waiting to do for a very long time since I decided to go on this trip.

Mom and dad has a friend from Austin that lives here in Manila for most of the yr. She owns a condo overlooking the lake.

So we met with Mimi at her condo in the city and she drove us to her condo in Lake Taal.

Dad and I took the jeepney from where the condo is to Santa Rosa to look for guides to take us to the volcano. We finally agreed to 2,500 pesos for the two of us. That’s about $50.

We first took a tricicle, with me in the sidecar and dad behind the driver on the motorcycle. The trike ride lasted about 45 minutes. Not only was the road curvacious, but the driver also had to conted with chickens and dogs crossing the road. The concrete pavement was bumpy and there were section of the road where the it was just gravel. About 15 min into the trike ride the sidecar tire blew up. June, the trike driver, just kept on going. Once in a while the sidecar tire cover would snag a rock and would make a loud ping noise that sounds like the sidecar would fall apart. That was a great trike ride experience, but more to come.

We got to the lake and we took a banca to the island where the crater lake was. It was windy today so the lake was choppy at best. Dad and I had to use this piece of hard plastic as a shield to keep us from getting wet. But we still managed to get wet. But the water was on the warm side and felt good. Although people have warned us that is was cold. Huh? After about a 30min banca ride, we rended horses to got to the top. It would have been a 4km walk to the top with at least two steep sections.

I’ve never been on a horse before except for the horse ride in Bay Beach park that went in circles. This was totally a different thing. After we paid, we mounted the horses and went on our merry way to the top of the volcano. Actually we’re on the volcano already. We’re going to see the crater on the crater. Huh?

Along with the horse you get a personal guide that would help guide the horse up and down the trail. The trail itself was narrow, dusty, smelly and crowded with tourists as well. These guides, which ranges in age from 10 to 70, would run or walk in front or behind the horse to make sure your going the right place. They would also make sure there was no traffic jam at some of the narrow paths. What a ride!!!

The view from the tow of the crater was amazing! You can see the sourrounding mountain ranges and about 3/4ths of the lake. It’s all so green. Fish farm occupys some section of the lake. It’s very big business in this lake I guess. We also saw some smoke reeking of sulfur spewing from many spots in the crater. Just an amazing sight and sound and experience. This is an active Volcano and there is actually a volcano research center on the other end of the island. They are probably there to monitor the volcano and warn of impending danger.

The ride back down was just as exciting as the ride up as well as the banca ride back.

I sat in the sun, while the tire on the trike was getting fixed, to dry up. Across the street I saw a sing that said trees and monkeys for sale. I did see the trees, but I did not see any monkeys. But I did see a guard with a submachine guard walking about behing the house. I assume that’s where they keep their monkeys.

The trike ride back was amazing again. We took the back way, it was just a winding as the other, but with more amazing views. June drove us all the way to the condo. This was about an hr ride. Halfway in between he had to gas up. He stopped at this mom and pop store to pick-up coke. No, it’s just an empty 2-liter plastic bottle of coke filled with petrol. Filipino version of quick trip.

Once back at the condo, dad and I feasted on pancit and lechon kawali and lechon asada that Roger, Mimi’s property attendant, picked up for us at a nearby restaurant. The food was wrapped in banana leaves which kept the food warm and delicious.

With our tummy full, we headed back to the big city in the early evening all tired and sleepy. Should be a great sleeping night.

Dad and I just fell asleep in the backseat as we got into the city.

Taal Volcano, there’s no other like it. Gaurantee!

until next time, “bahala na.”

Our first full day in Manila started with a breakfast buffet at the hotel. Wow!! A filipino breakfast with fried rice, longinisa sausage, talapia and aros caldo! yummy!!!

Saw the popular Rizal Park and the changing of the guards at the monument. Went to Intramuros to see Dad’s alma mater MIT (Mupua Institue of Technology) where the guards were amazed that a graduate from 1964 would come and visit the school all the way from the US. Saw where the CE classrooms where and the gymnasiums was packed with ping-pong matches going on. This was saturday and classes were being conducted. It was a lively campus.

We then started to head out to look for the church mom and dad got married in. That’s when we heard about the stampede tragedy. Mom and dad had considered going to the event, but decided against it ’cause of the weather and the number of people. I did get a few e-mails to see if we were safe. While taking a taxi and navigating thru the Manila’s infamous traffic jams, we saw on more than one occasion as ambulances were speeding as best as they can to get to the tragic site. This happened not too far from where we had been.

We never did get to the church where mom and dad got married, but we were getting tired from the hustle and bustle of a big city. We had the taxi for about 3 hrs and it cost us less than PhP 1,000 that’s equivalent to less than $20.

That night we met mom’s brother Pepe his wife Gina and their kids Sabrina and Markos. Markos is a cutie and full of energy. He could keep still. We went out to eat. This buffet place had everything from traditional filipino dishes and fruits to steaks on order. Of course I ordered grilled squid. Yummy good. The Lechon (pork roast) was excellent as usual. The mariachi band was awesome! Dad requested about 3 songs. It was fun to see uncle Pepe again and it’s been awhile since I’ve seen him too.

Overall a great day, as I had my first legal drink of San Miguel in the PI.

until next time, “bahala na.”

Hello all, hope everyone is keeping warm in La Cross. In Manila it’s been constantly been in the 80’s.

My 36 hr journey to the Philippines went well. All the flights tookoff on time and I actually caught the early flight out of Madison to Chicago O’Hare airport.

On the flight from Chicago to Hong Kong, the lady that was sitting next to me forgot her insulin after our first meal. This is when the call for the doctor went thru the plane intercom. I was right in the middle of the commotion. Since only a doctor can open the insulin kit, the call was made. They were then transferred into business class, which left two empty seats next to me. This was a blessing a disguise since legroom is a precious commodity in economy class. I was able to stretch and get some “shut-eye.”

Later on a drunk filipino sat in my seat while I was looking out the window. He was hiding from the flight attendants. Apparently he had thrown some drinks to another flight attendant. He was eventually discovered by his friends and later I saw him taped-ducked in the back passed out. Later found out he was an alcoholic returning to the PI while travelling in the high seas. He is a merchant marine. He was detained in HK by the Police.

Cleared thru immigration at the NAIA airport fairly quickly and waited for mom and dad for 3.5 hrs. They finally picked me up just past midnight. Manila highways was still busy after midnight as it took us nearly and hour to get to the hotel.

What a journey, but we got here ok.

I took some amazing pictures of the north pole, siberia, northern china. But not of the guy duck-taped.

Until next time, “bahal na.”

When: Feb. 1, 2006
Where: Madison, WI

With just under 24 hrs to go before the trip back to the Phillipines, I thought I would throw some facts and figures regarding the Phillipine Islands according to my Let’s Go guidebook.

Official Name: Republic of the Phillipines

Government: Republic

Capital: Manila

Land Area: 298,170 Km^2

Geography: A 7,107 island archipelago stretching 1,851 Km north-south and 1,107 Km east-west. Divides into 4 zones: Luzon (North), the Visayas (Central), Palawan (West) and Mindanao (South). Mountain ranges: Central Cordillera and Siera Madre in Luzon. Mindanao’s Mt. Apo (2,954 m) is the highest peak.

Climate: Tropical: Dry (High season) Nov. – Mar. and Rainy (Low season) Apr.-Oct.

Ramdom fact #1: The word “BOONDOCKS” comes from the Tagalog bundok, which means “mountain.”

Major Cities: Manila, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Zamboanga

Population: 84,619,974

Life Expectancy: Women: 72,28 yrs. Men: 69.29 yrs

Language: Filipino (Tagalog), English and 8 major dialects

Religion: Roman Catholic: 83%, Protestant: 9% Muslin: 5% Buddhist & Other: 3%

Literacy: 95.9% overall (96% men & 95% women)

Major Exports: Electronics, textiles, agricultural products

Random fact #2: The yo-yo was invented in the 16th century in the Phillipines, for use as a weapon.

History in a Nutshell:

1521 Magellan arrives and Spanish rule began
1565 The Phillipines becomes a spanish colony with the capital at Manila
1762 The British seize Manila during the sever-yr war but promptly return it to Spain
1886 Jose Rizal publishes “Noli Me Tangere” (Touch me not). Rizal leads the fight for independence using literature as his weapon of choice.
1896 Rizal’s execution stimulates nationalism

Rizal’s execution set in motion the development of Katipunan, a radical organization dedicated to independence through revolution. Founded by Andres Bonifacio, Katipunan suffered a long spell of internal woes, as loyalists among the group’s members divided between Bonifacio and General Emilio Aguinaldo. Aguinaldo was ultimately elected to replace Bonifacio as the group’s leader, and after armed infighting , Bonifacio was arrested, tried, and executed on Aguinaldo’s order.

1898 US defeats Spain and buys the Phillipines in a giant 3 for 1 bargain.
1910 US crushes insurection, changes tactics, and begins cultural invasion
1942-45 Japanese invade Luzon and defeats Gen. McArthur

1946 US grants the Phillipines independence on July 4.
1953 Suppressor of Huk rebels, Magsaysay, elected president.

Following Ramon Magsaysay’s election to the presidency in 1953, he worked extensively for land reform. Unfortunately, he died in 1957 before accomplishing this, and the government passed from one inept regime to another.

1965 Ferdinand Marcos elected president: wife’s collection of shoes continues to grow.
1968 NPA established. Marcos brands them communists, calls coup, and declares martial law.
1973. ’75, ’78 Referendum rigged by Marcos “Okay” the extension of martial law.
1979 The Phillipine peso plummets in a severe economic recssion.

In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos came to power. His wife, former beauty queen, Imelda Marcos, is known for her immense shoe collection ( a mere 1,000- 2,000 pairs now reside in the Marikina Shoe Museum). The tale of a president-turned-dictator began benighnly with widespread admiration of his aggression in tackling the problems of education, poverty, transportation, and land reform. In 1969, he became the first Phillipine president to win a second term. Claiming to root out the internal communist threat of the New People’s Army (NPA), he declared martial law and rigged plebiscites in 1973,’75, ’78 that “approved” its extension. As the unprecedented levels of corruption in Marco’s inner circle became clear, the public became increasingly disenchanted with the regime. In 1977, Marcos’s rival, Senator Benigno Aquino, was accused on trumped-up charge of treason and murder. Upon arrival in Manila after years of exile, Aquino was assasinated.

1986 EDSA Revolution overthrows Marcos. He escapes to Hawaii under US Military escort.
1999 USS Belleau Wood leaves Subic Naval Base, ending 94 yrs of US Military presence.

Today the Phillipines is in just as much turmoil as it’s past. Political corruption is rampant, especially in the lower levels of electorates.

On a much brighter note, here are some more facts, this time regarding with diving.

The Phillipines boasts some of the worlds best diving. Here are a sample of treasures to look at while diving in the PI.

1: Seven of the eight known species of giant clams are found in the PI.
2: 488 of the 500 known species of coral in the world are found in the PI.
3: Of the eight known species of marine turtles, five are found in th ePI.
4: The world’s largest pearl was found in the waters off Palawan in 1934
5: There are roughly 12,000 types of seashells found in the Phillipines, including the Conus Gloriam-the most expensive in the world.

I hope that this has peaked your interests regading the PI. I hope someday that you’ll have the chance to visit the “Pearl of the Orient” that is the Phillipine Islands.

Until Next Time “Bahala Na”

I can’t believe how lucky I’am sometimes. Not a month from returning from a monthlong vacation in Europe, that I have a chance to travel to the Phillipines Islands. The country of my birth. It saddens me that Maria Sue cannot go as she has used up her vacation time and could only go for a week. A week doesn’t really give you much time enjoy your time in the Islands. She’s passing on this one for a later trip to the Phillipines where she’ll have more time. Sooner or later (sooner rather than later) she will go. I really want her to see the Phillipines.

The main reason I’ll be going is for the church wedding of my sister JoJo. They will be married in the Island where my mom grew up. And that is Bohol. It will probably be in the church that she attended when she still lived there. Most of all, I will be seeing Lola (my maternal grandmother) for the first time in 29 years. The last time I saw her was on our summer vacation before leaving for the US back in 1976. Jimmy Carter was just elected President of the Estadas Unidos. Time flies and can’t wait to see all the relatives. Probably all hundreds of them.

Got my shots for the trip. I got a Hepatitis A and T(dap). T(dap) covers like three other sickness. I needed the Tetanus shot since my last one was in 1997. I cut myself running into a fence while playing softball.

Also got the tickets. Found a good deal on yahoo.com on a recommendation from my new brother-in-law Rommel Aguilar. All in all, the tickets cost less than the ticket price for our Euro trip.

Outbound travel time covers 22 hrs over 8600 miles. I leave from Madison-Chicago-Hong Kong-Manila. Inbound travel time covers 20 hrs over 8300. Itineray is Manila-Tokyo-Chicago-Madison.

I will be gone from Feb. 2 and return Mar. 2.

Day to day Itinerary is flexible at this point. Relying on Mom and Dad for the first 2-1/2 weeks for stuff to do. I will probably travel alone for 1-1/2 weeks. Hopefully some relatives will have time off for vacation and show me around.

That’s it for now. Can’t wait to go!!!

jimbing………

Sept. 29 (Thursday)

Found out Mamang died today. A very sad day. Talked to Dad, Jiggs and more importantly Maria.

All encouraged to continue travelling. I have mixed feelings.

I checked with a nearby KLM office to see if I can get my flights changed. No luck. Very costly and would not get me there earlier to make the funeral.

The rest of the day spent thinking about mamang and the family.

Day 27 Amsterdam
Sept. 30 (Friday)

Talked to Maria and Dad. The funeral is for Sat. Oct. 1.

Wished Dad a happy birthday, but I’m sure it was bittersweet for him as well.

Went to the Rijks museum and the Van Gogh museum.

Day 28 Amsterdam
Oct. 1 (Saturday)

My thoughts were with the family as today they buried mamang.

More importantly will be heading home tomorrow.

Did some shopping to occupy my time. Did a few tours in town. Walked alot, especially at Vondel park near the hotel.

Placed my backpack at the CS so I won’t have a load to carry from the hotel to CS.

Day 29 Amsterdam
Oct. 2 (Sunday)

Got home safe and sound.

Sept. 28

Happy Birthday to me!!!

It’s been a bittersweet day. I checked my e-mail this morning and got some bad news from home that mamang is in poor condition. My heart just sank as I wanted to go back home ASAP.

I proceeded to head for Haarlem to check the sites there. But it was a strange and lonely ride to Haarlem.

Went to see the church at the square interesting enough. Saw a draw bridge. touristy stuff.

Got back to A-dam to check e-mail.

Pretty much stayed in the hotel to take in all that was happening.

As many of you know, that I’am back and have been back for some time. It has taken awhile to come back to this blog as serious personal events have happened since my return from Europe. But I will try to reconstruct my daily events during my stay in Amsterdam.

Sept. 27

Left the hotel 1 hr before the scheduled train departure time for Amsterdam. Walk to the town square, people were out and about going to their normal routines for work. Today being Tuesday. Looking forward to this leg of my travels as I have heard A-dam is a good place to hang out and relax. Took me some time to find the Train Station. It was located underneath a nondescript building. The sign indicating that it is the Central Station is hard to find. The Belgians want the tourists to keep guessing where it’s at. I then proceeded to find the track. Trains from Brussels leave every half hour I believe for Amsterdam with stops at Rotterdam, The Hauge and Schippol Airport.

The train ride was quiet as business people around me bussied themselves reading reports or logging in their laptops.

At the Rotterdam stop, I had to do a double take as “Mountain Man” walked in. People at work would know what I’m talking about. Had exactly the right look with the hair, beard, clothing, some mannerims. The only thing different was this guy was slighter built and did not shout out “ouiee’s !!! The funniest thing so far this day.

Got to A-dam before noon and decided to ditch the heavy backpack. The Central Station is easy to navigate in but it was under construction. Their building a subway connection from Central Station to the north Island. So the main doors are not usable. You had to exit thru the wing doors.

Went to place my backpack in the locker. My bag went thru a x-ray machine and was tagged to have the bag inpected by an officer. They said they wanted to see the big object in the bag. I knew exactly what they meant. I had bought two bronze statues of the Mannekin Piss in Burssels and had them wrapped in newspaper and taped. They might have thought this is some sort of bomb. So I took out my workman’s utility tool and exposed the knife to cut the tape and show the statue. I guess they’re not so much worried about the knife than a bomb. Showed her the statues and was cleared. Placed the bags in the locker and started to head out and explore that is Amsterdam.

First thing I did was go to the Information center directly across the street from CS. I bought the A-dam pass and my transport pass. All for a cost of 52 Euros. It entitled me to free entry to most all of the museums, two free scenic canal boat rides and 3-days worth of bus, subway and tram use. Also got the location of my hotel and how to get there. This actually took longer than I originally thought (1 hr, at least) as there was a long que to ge get the A-dam pass.

By now I’m getting hungry as I have not eaten all day. I proceeded to walk up Damrak up to Dam Square. Dam Street which is the main thouroughfare in the whole town was packed with people, mainly tourists. This actually used to be a cannal until filled in to become the main st. out of the CS.

Walked all the way down to the square (about a mile walk) to check out the A-dam vibe. It was really fun as I have not been in a big city in a long time. The sights and sounds just on this street is amazing!

Found a place to eat a hearty english meal for lunch.

After lunch it started raining, so I stayed at the retaurant for a bit and get my bearing on how to get to the hotel. Went back to CS picked up my bag and took the tram to the hotel. Had to use my umbrella for the second time on this trip.

Checked in the hotel with no problem and took a nap.

After the nap, took a shower and head out to Leidzeplein for some dinner and drinks.

Overall a good start to my visit in A-dam.

Where: Brussels, Belgium
When: Monday, Sept. 26, 2005

Got up early to a beautiful day. For some reason I heard the birds chirping even though there is not a tree in sight from my window.

After breakfast, went to see the Fine Arts Museum and it was closed. Next to the Museum is the Royal Palace. The Palace is not open to tourists.

Then headed to St. Micheals Cathedral and spent 2 hrs there. This cathedral I think is much better than the cathedral I saw in Vienna. The little treasures museum they have within the church was spectacular. With items dating back hundreds of yrs. ago. I did not climb the 560 steps to the top. Getting out of shape I guess or I’ve just climbed way to many steps in this trip. The last 30 min of my visit, I just sat at one of the pews and admired the art, stained glass and the quietness of the Cathedral.

After the Cathedral I picked up a baguette for lunch and went to the cental square to eat and people watch.

Did two loads of laundry lunch. The two ladies in the laundrymat helped me learn to operate the washing machine. Neither spoke english and my french really sucks! oooppsss, pardon my french! That took less than 2 hrs to do and I should not have to do laundry for the rest of the trip.

Went across the street to log-in and chat with maria and update the blog.

The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping for presents for Maria. Very successfull and can’t say here çause she’ll probably be reading this.

For dinner, went to a place Chef Tony at restaurant row (Rue Bouchers) and had their special. Bread, Shrimp salad, Beer, Fries and a big bowl of Mussells. When in Brussels, must have mussels. It was a delicious dinner to end my stay in Brussels. All that for less than 20E.

Talked to a guy traveling a bit. He’s been travelling for 2 months and he’s from France. He’ll be travelling for about 6 months he says. Short conversation as he was ending his meal (the same special) as I sat in the next table.

Brussels is a beautiful city, one of the best I’ve visited! Maria would have loved this city çause she could have practiced her french here.

Anyway, to A-dam tomorrow!

Au Revior!!!

Where: Bacharach – Cologne – Brussels
When: Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005

Got up early to take the 6:21 train to Cologne. Walking to the train station was eerie as I was the only one walking the streets. So I had to take some pictures to show the deserted streets of Bacharach as it is only this time of day that it is not full of tourists. While waiting on the platform 2, the gentlemen that helped me out with the tickets made a special anouncement in the speakers that the train to Koblenz was coming. Very nice of him to help out.

The train ride to Koblenz was uneventfull as it was still dark outside and I caught up in some sleep.

Made a transfer in Koblenz to another train to Cologne. An inter-city express double decker train car. Sat on the upper level. From this vantage point, I had a great view of the Rhine river with it’s shipping traffic as the sun was rising. There was heavy fog at some areas.

Got to Cologne Haupbanhoff with no problem and got tickets to Brussels on the ICE. Only a 3 hr ride. Stored my heavy backpack in a locker and went to look for breakfast. I have to say that the Cologne Haupbanhoff is by far the best for looking for food, shopping and taking care of personal needs. Had to pay 0.60E (no more Euro sign since I’m using an American style keyboard) to do the no. 1. 1.5E for a no1 & no.2. Saw this great place for Breakfast. It’s 830 in the morning and they are already grilling………………………….chicken! I ordered the no. 4 menu which consisted of 1/2 grilled chicken, sauerkraut and drink. I figured if I ate this I can skip lunch and just have a decent dinner in Brussels. Yummy breakfast, I gulped it down as I was really famished. Did not eat supper the night before.

As I exited the Station, I looked to the left and there it was, the Cologne Cathedral! What a sight as it towers towards the sky. The exterior is blackish as a result of pollution. But they are in the process of cleaning the exterior as evident of the scaffolding around the church. Service was going on so I went to the pedestrian only strasse and did some window shopping. Baught some postcards and other souveniers. Went to the internet cafe to update the blog which took 2 hrs. After that was done, I went inside the cathedral and took some pictures and sat at a pew to listen to the mass going on. It really is a big church.

I left the Cathedral around 12:45 to retrieve my bag and board the 1:16 train to Brussels.

The train ride was unsignificant except for a few things. After a stop at Aachen, the lady next to me realized someone had taken her luggage. That’s all I can surmise from the situation as they were talking in French. Later on, while she went on a bathroom break, she forgot to lock the door and someone openned it and she just let out a scream which seems to last a long while. Now these bathrooms have really wide doors to accommodate the handicap and it takes a while to open and close and they are all done automatically. You can’t just manually open and close it. Earlier, when I went to use it, after openning and closing with no problem, the red light kept blinking. I did not know what that meant and did not push it. Only when I was doing the business that I thought that you have to press it to lock the door. I did not press the button and just hurried doing my business. Luckily no one came to open the door. Unlike the lady across the aisle from me. The second time I went, I did press the blinking red button and felt more relaxed doing my business. Could have read war and peace in there. A few moments after she came back she moved to a different seat since the guy that openned the door sat 3 rows behing her. She was feeling a little embarrased I guess.

I wonder if this is where they filmed the scene for Mission: Impossible when Tom Cruise was trying to get the bad guy outside of a travelling ICE train. The tunnels and the terrain looks very familiar. I’ll have to watch the film again. Anyway at it’s fastest the train was doing 250 km/hr. It was really flying.

Got to Brussels in time around 3:32 and got on the subway to get to Central station. The train dropped us off at Midi or the Sud Station. Got to Central Station with no problem and got the tickets to Amsterdam for Tuesday.

They had no TI at the station and had to rely on my guidebook for navigating to the hotel. The first thing I spotted as a location pt. is the spire of the city hall. Since I knew my hotel was only two blocks away from the city center I headed for the Spire. The streets are busy with people as it was beatifull weather. Once I got to the square, there was a celebration going on with childrens medievil games and stories the depicts important events in Belgiums history. It was fun to watch. Walk around for 1/2 hr. soaking it all in.

By this time the backpack was getting heavy and proceeded to the hotel. Found it after getting lost by two blocks. Checked in and rested a bit. After washing up, I went back to the square.

The first thing that interested me once I got to the square is a Escargot stand. So I ordered since I’m feeling a little hungry. I haven’t had any escargot d’or in a long time. I tasted really good! The Belgian guy who was standing next to me told me that this is a traditional Belgian snack. There were 10 escargot for 3E. While we were talking and eating a British family looked at us and what we were eating and asked if it was good. I said yes and that it does not taste like chicken but more like boiled squid. They tried it and the ladies did not like it by the grown son and father seem to like it but probably will never try again. She mentioned that she now can say that she tried it. I said good for her.

After some sightseeing around the square, I picked a seafood place for dinner and had paella. Very good Paella!!! muy extraordinaire!!!

With my tummy filled, I went to the Grote Markt square and lo and behold there was a band playing music from Mexico. These guys were using bamboo flutes and other home stlyed instruments. They were playing favorite top 40 tunes along with traditional tunes from Mexico. I sat at a bench listening for about 45 min. Of course, one of the guys was hawking their cd’s.

Now, I saw these same guys earlier in the morning at Cologne in front of the Cathedral. They were either following me or vice versa. Just coincidence I guess as they mentioned that they’ll be back next week.

I took a stroll around the center square and got some water at a grocery store and called it a night.

It’s been a long day.

Bonjour!!!!

PS- They speak more French here instead of Flemish. Like I said before, Belgians are French wannabees.