My grandparents are world travelers, so when I asked my Grandma which European country was her favorite and she said Belgium, I knew it would be lovely. All of the travel blogs and sites said to skip Brussels and go to Ghent and Bruges instead. Our first stop was Ghent and it was love at first sight. Ghent is a bit quieter and less crowded than Bruges, but was so charming. Once we arrived in Bruges, however, it was even more beautiful!
Belgian waffles and Belgian beer live up to the hype. I would compare the taste of the waffles more to a funnel cake! As far as beer goes, we didn't try one that we didn't love. Thankfully for us (especially Derik), our couchsurfing host (we finally found a host in Europe!) was president of the beer club of Ghent. To give this a little more perspective, he has tried over 300 beers since the start of 2017 and has a journal to record each one. Needless to say, we had a great reference in him. The quality of Belgian beer was refreshing compared to what we had tasted in the previous cities: beer really isn't their forte.
Our hosts in Ghent gave us maps of Ghent and Bruges called Use It. These are the most thorough maps I have ever seen: wifi locations, travel tips, how to interact with locals, best food, history of the city- you name it, it was on the map. The Bruges map had hearts throughout (12 to be exact) which symbolized kissing spots. Yup- according to Use It, Bruges is the kissing city. What better way to celebrate a honeymoon than a "kissing spot hunt"! We made it to 9/12, with the last few being too far out since we were doing this hunt with our backpacks.
There isn't anything else I need to say about Ghent and Bruges because the pictures say it all- beautiful.
Belgian waffles and Belgian beer live up to the hype. I would compare the taste of the waffles more to a funnel cake! As far as beer goes, we didn't try one that we didn't love. Thankfully for us (especially Derik), our couchsurfing host (we finally found a host in Europe!) was president of the beer club of Ghent. To give this a little more perspective, he has tried over 300 beers since the start of 2017 and has a journal to record each one. Needless to say, we had a great reference in him. The quality of Belgian beer was refreshing compared to what we had tasted in the previous cities: beer really isn't their forte.
Our hosts in Ghent gave us maps of Ghent and Bruges called Use It. These are the most thorough maps I have ever seen: wifi locations, travel tips, how to interact with locals, best food, history of the city- you name it, it was on the map. The Bruges map had hearts throughout (12 to be exact) which symbolized kissing spots. Yup- according to Use It, Bruges is the kissing city. What better way to celebrate a honeymoon than a "kissing spot hunt"! We made it to 9/12, with the last few being too far out since we were doing this hunt with our backpacks.
There isn't anything else I need to say about Ghent and Bruges because the pictures say it all- beautiful.
Pictures are gorgeous. I love the kissing spot idea. The mapping tool would be a great resource to attract outside tourists to their town . Super neat! Been watching Parks and Rec, so I have taken on this mindset of government, and activity driving economic growth. Haha
ReplyDeletePS love your grandparents!
ReplyDelete