breakfast was a wonderful way to start the day. A man in the flower markets gave us directions for a great place to eat and off we went, passing so many chocolate shops along the way. It is also delightful that here they still close all their shops on a Sunday so people can enjoy down time together. As a result the day was filled with family groups enjoying the markets and eateries and churches and museums.
After a great breakfast we boarded a small open boat, blankets tucked across our knees, beanies and scarves firmly in place, and enjoyed a 40 minute canal cruise through the old sections of a town established in 630AD. The guide had a great sense of humour and we really enjoyed our snapshot of history as we explored these amazing buildings from the water side.
We managed to find the boys after a little bit of window shopping, propped in the Beerhuis, a bar that has over 160 varieties of beer. They managed to sample 4 and had quite a glow as we headed to the cathedrals. One has a bell tower you can climb and take in the panorama over Ghent, a bell in that tower was from 1369! We also saw the painting by Van Eyk called the Miracle of the Lamb which has a chequered history, part of which was told in the Hollywood movie 'The Monument Men'.
We walked home in the cold wind after warming ourself in a Chocolate house with an Expresso Chocolate drink and a few chocolates, we'll call that lunch.
A little rest and we were off to dinner, Max chose a Moroccan restaurant for us and our hotst was charming, the food was great and we laughed as we thought we had ordered fried rice, but ended up with French fries.
We took a promenade on the mild evening air through the beautifully lit streets, uplights highlighting the old buildings and reflecting in the canals. We arrived home just as a few spots of rain began to fall. We had an amazing day.
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