A Day in Ghent

As we passed by the sign which said Ghent I became excited, even more than I already was. It is the name of the town where I will stay for a year. The part where I am staying is in the suburbs, about a 10 min bicycle ride from Ghent’s centre. It’s a relaxing neighbourhood with a few shops, a church with a graveyard, cars passing by frequently and houses of all sorts. It is beautiful and impressing, but the real amazement came when I went with my host mom and the kids to the Centre of Ghent a few days after my arrival. It was great to finally be able to explore my new home. We went our separate ways and I got to explore some more.

The first church I saw was already magnificent and it only became better from then on. The buildings vary from street to street, people take their time walking to make sure they see everything, trams and busses pass by, people talk and laugh and the city is full of life. I walked from the centre near the Gravensteen Castle alongside the canals. For lunch I bought some bananas, water and bread and sat at the cannel side to enjoy the sunny afternoon light filtering through the leaves. 

I walked through the magical Citadelpark towards Station Gent-Sint-Pieters and stopped at a vegan restaurant for some dessert and tea. The restaurant is called Lekker GEC and is really worth a visit if you're vegan or like vegan food. I enjoyed the outside atmosphere and the apple crumble was delicious. Afterwards I took the bus back home (after asking various people which bus I should take). My first trip into Ghent was a successful and I hope for many more to come.  

Felicia

xoxo