Gent, Belgium

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others.

September 28th- 30th, 2005

After Devon John and I spent one last night with friends in London and travelled to Gent, Belgium (by way of Calais, France where we unfortunately got stuck for a night-- though you should read our travel page for that story).  We stayed with a lovely young woman and had a great time.  I highly suggest Gent to anyone travelling through Belgium.  The people we met were fantastically sweet and the city was gorgeous.  Canals thread through the city and oh, the Belgian beer!

Near the center of the city we stopped at a chocolate shop, Jacqlin Handmade Belgian Truffles.  The ornate pieces were quite expensive, but after a few minutes of hemming and hawwing, John and I decided on these two.  A pistachio buttercream and a praline.  The pistachio buttercream was quite good, but very sweet.  I would have enjoyed a bit more of the subtle bitter flavor that lurked below.  The praline was not nearly as good. 

Next we stopped at a fantastic bread shop near the castle.  It has no sign and I failed to learn the name however.  We ordered a cheese and poppy seed breadstick and lovely roll. 

Both were excellent.  The cheese breadstick especially.  It had a flaky, buttery texture and melted in your mouth.

Directly next door stood a "Belgian Waffle" stand.  We ordered one from a delightful man in an oversized hat and savored it on the street.

This waffle was warm, soft, and superb.  It tasted of apples and toffee and was far-too-fleeting.

Visit Gent!

Next stop, Munich.