Belgium Take 2 with Mary

Our friend Mary came to visit at the end of June 2017.  I was her Young Women leader for many years, and she was always one of our favorite babysitters, but this time she was just coming to visit as a friend.  Well . . . we did get some babysitting out of the deal.  We really wanted her to have the experience of seeing some of the continent, and after doing quite a bit of research we decided our best option was a quick trip to Belgium.  This time we drove directly to Ghent via the Eurotunnel.  This is such an easy way to go!    

We left Saturday morning and arrived in the early afternoon.  Ghent felt a little bit less touristy than Brugge and more like a city where people live and work.  The chocolate and waffles still lived up to expectations though.  

The first day we did a walking tour of the small city.  We stayed outside and enjoyed the architecture.  We found a street market, and Mary and I bought matching pants.  We also found a few different places to try chocolates.  

We toured Gravensteen Castle, which had beautiful glass windows and views, but also actual torture devices with graphic, detailed descriptions of how they were used.  James was thrilled in the castle that I let him scoot around some.  

We also found Graffiti Street.  The kids were excited to find a beagle amongst the images. 

Matt tried to be more authentic with the pom frittes he ordered.  The gravy and mayo drenched fries were not a big hit.  The nutella, strawberry, and whipped cream drenched waffles were. 

 

While we were exploring, we noticed signs for a race.  Matt, being the runner he is, decided to research it and found out the race was that very night with a 10:00 PM start time.  After we got to the hotel and got the kids settled in bed, he returned to the city center to race a 15k with over 1,000 people.  The Midzomernachtrun was a fun spontaneous adventure for him.

 On Sunday we were able to attend a Belgian ward.  I believe the meeting was conducted in Danish, but they had headsets available for English translation, and it seemed there were also a number of French speakers.  I just remember it being a very multilingual ward.  After church, we ventured back into the city to explore a bit more.  We took turns kayaking in the Ghent River. 

We had pizza hut for lunch, which made everyone happy.  Then Kaylee, Mary, and I went to St. Bavo's Cathedral to view the Ghent Altarpiece, which was truly incredible.  The audio guide to this really made a difference in enjoying the subtleties of the painting. 

This is not St. Bavo's Cathedral, just a nice shot of these two besties.

We opted for a different route home Sunday afternoon.  We drove to Dunkirk and took a ferry across the North Sea.  It is a slower route than taking the Eurotunnel (2 hours vs 35 minutes), but it was also cheaper and gave us a beautiful view of the cliffs of Dover.  The kids enjoyed being out of the car and they had a small play area perfect for James to crawl around on before the final drive from Dover to home.  In general I think the Eurotunnel is a better option for us, but it was fun to try the ferry and it's a good alternative to remember. 

SEAGULLS!

The rest of Mary's visit was equally fun.  As with most visitors, she did some exploring on her own, but the littler two kids and I often joined her during the day while the older two were in school.  She even babysit overnight so Matt and I could get away to Brighton and the South Downs to celebrate his birthday.  It was so much fun having her and we are thrilled she enjoyed her stay enough that she has already made plans to return this summer.      

Delicious bakery.  Tired preschooler. Rockstar friend. 

Come to London.  It will be fun.  I'll make you carry our stroller and help my daughter maneuver the tourist crowds on her scooter. 

Matching Belgian pants in Piccadilly Circus.  Fun times!