Belgium pics part 2

Update 12/17/08

I was in Belgium for a group show from Nov 29th to Dec 3rd. I stayed in the city of Gent and these are a few of the hundreds of pictures I took of this artfully constructed city. Everywhere I turned, there was this amazing architecture, which felt kind of fake - like is this really real. It felt like Disney world - particularly at night when the city was lit up.

Also, some of you may be wondering what's going on with the black face and the black man chocolate figurines. Well, the short answer is, this character is known as Zwarte Piet - Santa's "helper". Kind of like an elf but not...more like a slave. Originally Zwarte Piet put bad kids in a sack and beat them. Now, he helps Santa bring goodies to all the good boys and girls. Anyway, it's an interesting bit of Belgian culture that would be seen as incredibly offensive over here. Check out this Music video to see what i am talking about.