Ghent Before Brussels

Before I move us on to Brussels, I wanted to share a few interesting bits from Ghent.

Lace shops a go-go in Ghent. I noticed that all of items for sale were marked "handmade." I asked the sales clerk about this, suspecting they were "handmade" in China. She said the needle work is done by elderly Belgians. Is this true? I wanted to buy a few doilies for framing, but lost energy. So pretty aren't they?

This was a garden shop that sold flower flavored ice cream. Emily and I each had a sample. She tasted Orange Blossom. I tried Rose Petal. So glad I only had a taste, it was too perfumey. Not at all like the subtle Rose macaroon from Laduree. Anyone else tried flower flavored ice cream?

I loved this store. It is called Huiszwaluw. Managed to find a few things there that I couldn't live without.

Saw this sign at a public toilet. Does anyone know anything about it?

This confused me. Anyone?

Ah, Belgian chocolates. We each picked out one. Eva had a milk chocolate rose. Mine was coconut with Contreau. Audrey's was shaped like a crown and filled with orange flavored ganache. Bryce chose best. Hands down. His was a little cup of the best caramel you've ever tasted.

Brussels here we come!

Ghent by Boat

Yup, almost immediately after our carriage ride we headed over to the canals to take a boat tour. After our experience in Amsterdam, we were careful to book on a boat without a roof. We found that a roof hinders the view and, well, just doesn't feel as boat-like.

Our guide gave the tour in Flemish and French. Luckily we were given a sheet of pictures with explanations in English of the important sites.

Buildings along the canal. Very Dutch.

The canal was lined with flower boxes. It was beautiful!

Ghent's Castle - The Castle of the Count. Eva really wanted to go inside but it is now being used as a museum of weaponry - not a topic we'd choose for ourselves or our 5 year old.

The tops of many of the buildings had gold statues on the highest point of the roof facade. The one I tried to photograph is a ship.

My BIL snapping a pic.

A view of the canal from the street.

Let's see, so far we've traveled by car, tram, horse carriage and boat. I'm sure you can figure out what's next!