ghent

date: sat 12 jul 14
tags: ghent
DSC_2241I kept seeing these trams bound for "Moscou" and kept thinking "MoscoW" for some reason
DSC_2243 Rows and rows of designer glasses
DSC_2250 There seemed to be quite a few Brompton bikes in Ghent
DSC_2245 This was our "regular" breakfast spot - they do organic croissants and organic coffee
DSC_2263 Artwork next to the canal
DSC_2260 Crossing a canal on a wooden bridge
DSC_2264 There was quite a bit of rain on Sunday - I like the "Apple" logo
DSC_2265 This must have been a more "upmarket" boat trip as they had champagne
DSC_2272 CocoCola ready for the Ghent Festival
DSC_2267 Graffiti next to the canal
DSC_2277 Shoes thrown over a wire
DSC_2274 Iconic canal frontage buildings
DSC_2282 Rainy - a tram goes past the "meathouse"
DSC_2289 Imacs in the hotel lobby - luckily there was free wifi in the rooms (limited to 1MB/s) so I did not have to use so much roaming data (it's £3 per 100mb bundle with EE payg so about over twice the cost per mb compared with browsing at home)
DSC_2285 One of the few modern buildings in central Ghent
DSC_2290 Inside the hotel
DSC_2298 Sheltering from the rain
DSC_2295 The street behind the hotel
DSC_2300 Crossing a wooden bridge near the castle
DSC_2299 Outside the "meathouse"
DSC_2301 A tram goes past with a t-rex
DSC_2302 Ghent visitor centre
DSC_2305 Hopping on and off the tram
DSC_2304 Sheltering from the rain opposite the Meathouse
DSC_2311 Club Reserva
DSC_2307 Crossing the bridge near the castle
DSC_2337 Boat Trip - it started to pour just as the boat departed so the next 15 minutes was spent sheltering under a bridge!
DSC_2324 the boat trip resumes
DSC_2356 People watch our boat pass under a bridge
DSC_2353 Canalside buildings
DSC_2374 The "bierhuis" - they have about 150 different beers!
DSC_2373 Canalside buildings
DSC_2397 The boat turns around here - this is the edge of the "old town" and there are high rise blocks at the edge of Ghent
DSC_2382 A Michelin starred restaurant featuring lobster
DSC_2413 Outside the Meathouse (again)
DSC_2438 The castle at sunset
DSC_2462 The "bellfort" tower at sunset
DSC_2458 Not sure what this was for - a warning not to sit under palm trees?
DSC_2476 A modern building near the Bellfort tower
DSC_2475 View from the hotel room - the church bell rang for about 15 minutes at 7am every morning so no lie-ins!
DSC_2484 The basement of the hotel
DSC_2482 A vital delivery service for the city
DSC_2497 Bells in the belltower
DSC_2506 This mechanism played a short tune on bells every 30 minutes - as the hotel was next to the bell tower I ended up hearing the same melody many many times!
DSC_2519 A zebra
DSC_2510 View from the belltower - almost all the tall buildings were at the edge of the city instead of in the middle, apart from the church towers.
DSC_2527 A tram stop and ticket machine - 1,30 EU is all it costs for a ticket so good value
DSC_2523 Snorting sculpture
DSC_2530 We walked to the "trappisthuis" to find trappist beers but it was closed. This was en-route there
DSC_2529 Booze Cruise
DSC_2541 Frog & bike
DSC_2533 Peep show
DSC_2545 Bellfort tower at sunset
DSC_2557 The shoes at nightfall
DSC_2555 Hotel entrance at night
DSC_2546 Cool cubist style backlit poster
DSC_2568 The city at night