Traveling abroad can have its difficult moments, as I found out the first time I spent Christmas away from home....in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The Kiwis weren't big on public holiday displays, and celebrating Christmas day in a Queenstown hostel when you're feeling anti-social doesn't help.
As my second Christmas of the 'round the world trip approached, I made it a point to be out of Egypt, and in a major European city.
I picked Brussels because I'd never been there, and it was the cheapest flight from Cairo.
I shopped for warm clothing, and dived into the warm waffles and fries, and stocked up on rich chocolates.
The evenings were dedicated to sampling the Belgian nightlife with a great group of American guys and Brazilian girls I met in the hostel.
- Europe Revisited
- Christmas Eve in Brussels
- The Christmas Day Pub Crawl (hint: we ended up at an absinthe bar)
But all things being equal, I still prefer to spend Christmas with family.
