Ghent

We got to Ghent around 1:00 on Friday. We were immediately thrown from hearing French to reading and hearing Flemish. A cleaning lady in the bathroom was ranting to me in Flemish and I tried to make it clear that I understood absolutely nothing but she kept talking away. We took a tram to the center – in the wrong direction on the first try – but eventually got there with the help of a high school student who definitely downplayed his city. It was really, really gorgeous. The buildings were all connected and of different widths and colors, and it really felt like I was in movie or dreamland. We wandered around for a while and then sat for a bit in a café (what else is new?). Then I went off on my own and felt like I truly saw the city. I think we had bypassed the good stuff on the first walk, but it was stunning. I went up the Belfry tower and got a view of the entire city from above. With the snow settled on the rooftops and the people sliding through the slush on the streets, it was perfect. I talked to a boy in the train station who said it doesn’t usually snow in Ghent. In hindsight, that makes sense because the locals on bikes were falling all over the place in the slush. I think we were lucky to see it at a time that looked like a winter wonderland. After my lovely solo stroll, Julie and I went in search of a famous ribs restaurant. We found it with the help of several sweet people (the people here are so nice!) but it was closed until later. Instead, we collected Rebecca at a café and got kebabs. Now I am on the train to Bruges and cannot wait to see this city that I have built up in my head (based on several reports and a certain movie). I am so enamored by Belgium so far even with the freezing cold. The people are so cute (the guys are much cuter than those in Spain) and it just seems so quaint. It is full of chocolate and pastry shops (which I have barely had any of yet) and beautiful streets and buildings. Now I’m off to fall in love with Bruges…