DAY 13: Ghent to Brussels (Steigenberger Icon Wiltcher)

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As breakfast wasn't included in this hotel, we ventured out into the chilly dark streets around 7.30am to find a cafe. It turns out nothing opens until 8am, so we wandered around for a while until a nice looking cafe opened its doors. We had a very good breakfast for much less than it would have cost us to eat in the hotel. I had mini pancakes with fruit (including grapes and pomegranate) and Jim had scrambled eggs with avocado and smoked salmon.

Before we left Ghent, we decided to visit the famous Gravensteen Castle - which was only 5 minutes from our hotel, smack back in the middle of the city. It was an amazing looking place from the outside - and had obviously been extensively restored. Inside, it was a bit disappointing as the rooms were all empty, except for anachronistic Christmas decorations. It spoiled the atmosphere really.

After a fairly speedy tour around the Castle, we walked back to the hotel, packed up and then headed off for an hour drive to Brussels.

Brussels is enormous! As big as Paris it feels like. We reached the outskirts and then drove and drove to get into the centre. The city has all these underground tunnels, so at least you don't have to make your way through narrow streets.

Our hotel is extremely fancy. It's the kind where a valet rushes out when you pull up to snatch the keys from your hand and drive your car off somewhere, and another one insists on carrying your bags for you. Our room is very spacious with a comfy king-size bed. We didn't have time to enjoy it though, because we had booked a walking tour for 2pm - and I discovered it was a 25 minute walk to the meeting point. (I think our hotel is in the Collins Street end of the city, while the tourist sites and Old Town are at the other end.)

We made it with a minute to spare, and then spent the next 2.5 hours walking around Brussels, which we discovered is very hilly and very busy! It's nowhere near as nice as Ghent or Bruges. There are some lovely old buildings, but a lot of just modern buildings too, so it doesn't have as much atmosphere as I was expecting.  

The walk was very informative, but we were tired and cold by the end of it. The sun was starting to go down at 4.30pm, when we finished - and we still had a 25 minute walk back to the hotel.

After a rest, we went out to dinner at a local restaurant - and it turned out to be owned by a couple of Greeks. The cuisine was a mixture of French, Belgian and Greek food - so I had dolmathes and moussaka, while Jim had mussels and pasticcio (the Greek version of lasagne). The owner shouted us two glasses of wine because Jim spoke to him in Greek!

Comments

  1. Barbara6 December 2024 at 12:32

    I was hoping that some of the dishes might have been Greek-Belgian fusion. Although, I can't imagine what that might be like.

    ReplyDelete

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