Belgium

A couple of weekends ago we did a quick search through the flight scanning websites and came up with our next destination, based purely on convenience, which is how we ended up going to Belgium!

Not that Belgium was a bad choice, and actually it had been on our list of places we'd quite like to visit for some time, but it wasn't exactly at the top of that list and from its reputation we didn't have high expectations.

Of course this presumption was completely unfounded, and we ended up having a fabulous time exploring the cullinary delights of Belgium (Chocolates, Beers, Mussels, Chips & Mayonaise, Waffles, etc.) as well as some its very pretty medieval cities.

We started in Ghent, a city I'd never heard of before this trip but which came with fantastic recommendations from the travel websites. Our hotel fronted onto a Canal with fantastic old building facades, and we had a great time exploring the streets and cafés.

We also visited Saint Bavo Cathedral and laughed at the extravagant entry fee required to duck around the corner to look at The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, by Jan van Eyck, which was trapped behind multiple layers of glass in a climate controlled room.

Then we travelled to Bruges which is another very pretty town but far more touristed than Ghent. Fortunately we weren't visiting in peak season otherwise it would be a bit unbearable.

Aside from wandering around the streets and buying lace (a local speciality), we had the best dinner of our trip, made up of a bucket of mussels in beer broth and some of the local soup.

Lastly, we spent only a few hours in Brussels, buying up big on chocolates from the famous ateliers, before doing our typical hustle to the airport (which this time was unnecessary since the flight was delayed). All in all we had a fantastic time in Belgium and came home feeling fat and happy from our experiences.

This was our best photo of that icon of Brussels, the Mannekin Pis. It's difficult to capture in a photograph because it's just so small!