Traveling to Belgium...Papaver help!!!!

[indysteel]

I've been meaning to post an update to this post. My DH and I ended up staying, as I indicated we might, in Brussels for one night and Gent for three. Our day in Brussels didn't go so well. Brian wasn't feeling well (he ended up being diagnosed two days later w/ a sinus infection) and it was extremely rainy and cold. We just lost our Mojo for the day, so we didn't really enjoy ourselves--but I can't say that was Brussels' fault.

From there, we took the train to Gent and immediately fell in love with the city. It was, as Papaver said, very vibrant and gorgeous. We stayed at a centrally located B&B called Simon Says. It's owned by two young Brits and has a cafe/restaurant on the ground floor. We loved it. Our room was huge (even by American standards) and comfortable. The bed was divine. Breakfast was in the cafe and was quite generous. The owners were so lovely. They helped us out in so many ways, in particular, by booking Brian an appt. at a clinic on a national holiday and then finding a pharmacist that was open. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat.

We mostly just roamed around Gent. Brian felt okay one day, horrible the next, so his energy wasn't good. On the third day, we went to Bruges. It was swamped with tourists, and it wasn't too our likely. I'm sure it was lovely, but it was hard to see anything. We ended up renting bikes and traveling to Dammes, where we spent the better part of the day. It was the nicest day we had on the entire trip weatherwise, so it was just lovely in Dammes.

The people we met in Flanders were just wonderfully friendly. I'll admit that after six day of speaking fractured French in Paris, I was happy to encounter so many people in Flanders who speak English. It made the last few days a bit easier. We'd both go back to Belgium in a heartbeat.

Oh, and we're both addicted to Speculoos spread (the crunchy version). OMG; that stuff is yummy.

[Possegal]

I'm glad for this thread - I'm working on a Rotterdam, Brussels, Paris trip right now and all that is left is the plan between cities/countries. You are all re-affirming my "I'd rather take the train" attitude. And any and all links directing me for that is just icing on the cake.