Blogs from Gent, East Flanders, Belgium, Europe - page 4

Just back from a lovely weekend in Ghent, Belgium. We headed out on the Eurostar sipping bubbles as we arrived in France. It has been such a dreadful day in London, it was great to see the sun! Only has we departed Brussels did the sun start to go down around 10.30pm. It was the longest day of the year so evenings have been long, however it has been hard to tell given all the rain. And rain was predicted most of the weekend in Belgium as well, not ideal. After convincing Adam it was too far to walk from the train station to our hotel we jumped in a cab and were soon racing towards the canal lined old city. After settling in we headed across the canal to one of the oldest pubs, the ... read more

If ever there was a part of a multi-stage city break for which the term of phrase 'last but not least' best applied, then that accolade could quite easily be awarded to Ghent, which was the 3rd and final Belgian city visited on this tourist itinerary. Getting there was made so simple given the fact that it is on the Brussels - Brugge rail network, therefore a stop-off in Ghent early in the afternoon is literally all it took to be able to sample this Belgian town's set of charms. Upon arrival at the station, a direct tram ride takes the visitor into the town centre, and what is effectively the hub of all tourist activity within the town proper. Ghent is essentially Belgium's prime University student destination, so aside from being blessed with the youthful ... read more

The three cities of Bruges, Antwerp and Gent were always on the radar for visiting. European medieval history cannot be complete without a visit to compare the differences between the Protestant North of Europe with that of Catholic southern Europe. Flemish artworks to be compared with the work of Italian masters, the guild houses, flemish bond brickwork and gabled houses all reminders of North European culture. Gent felt small and fairly compact with easy car parking facilities close to the centre. Tram lines ran along the streets intersecting market squares full of shops selling chocolate and the cafes which spilled onto the streets. Gent proved to be a bicycle heaven with most locals using them as their preferred mode of transport. The cafes proved to be pleasant places to enjoy a coffee The ambience thought felt ... read more

Ons huis staat op z'n kop en het is een rompslomp met papieren. Hier in België zijn overal regeltjes voor...het is blijkbaar niet 'gewoon' als je langer dan 3 maanden op reis gaat. In ieder geval aan ons moeten ze wel 'gewoon' worden. Als je eenmaal de reismicrobe te pakken hebt... We kijken er erg naar uit om te vertrekken! 5 oktober is het zover. Vanuit Gent gaan we eerst naar Parijs (met de bus). Daar zullen we nog een dagje de 'toerist' uithangen , en nog eens in een deftig bed slapen. De 6e vertrekken we naar Christchurch. De vlucht zal 23 uur duren!! Amai, we hebben nog nooit zo lang op een vliegtuig gezeten! Tussenstop in Kuala Lumpur (Maleisië). Laat het avontuur maar komen!!... read more

With the weather looking gloomy again this morning, we set off for Ghent. Nina assured us that we should not be deterred by the weather as, more often than not, it does not end up being as bad as it might look. Nina proved to be right and we enjoyed an overcast, but otherwise fine ride to Ghent along towpaths and through green pastures and picturesque villages. Until we reach Compiegne (next Monday), our route follows the Santiago de Compostela pilgrim's route. The only difficulty that we had today was a section of road construction that we had to walk our bikes along!! We arrived in Ghent by mid-afternoon and went for a short walk around the town before the Elodie arrived. After she docked we changed our shoes and walked back into the town centre ... read more