Last weekend Andrew had Monday and Tuesday off for Veteran's Day, so we decided to use one of those days to do a little sightseeing. I looked up a few places to go within a reasonable driving distance within Belgium, because we didn't want to stay overnight and we don't have our international driver's licenses yet. We decided to head up to Gent and just "see what we could see". We didn't make much of a plan, but that was fine because things rarely go as planned with an infant anyway.
So we got up on Tuesday, threw the stroller in the trunk, grabbed some Pringles and bottled water and hit the road! Even just being in the car, I immediately felt relaxed. It was really nice to just be out of the house, chatting with Andrew, with no particular agenda to follow. CJ fell asleep in the car, and didn't start to fuss until we were about half an hour outside of Gent. We decided to push through and feed her when we got there.
Upon arrival, the first goal was to find parking. Fortunately, there were several parking garages to choose from, so we picked a spot and I fed CJ while Andrew got the stroller out and ready to go.
We had a really nice day just strolling around, looking at beautiful old buildings and the canal. It was a little cold, so we bought hats and wished we had brought warmer clothes for CJ. She kept kicking off her socks and we didn't have mittens for her hands, so next time we'll be sure to put her in one of those little baby Eskimo suits that she can't wiggle her way out of. Despite the cool weather, she seemed to have a good time looking around and sitting in her stroller "like a big girl" (without her car seat) for the first time.
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| Bundled Baby |
We also wished we had brought the baby carrier in addition to the stroller, because having the stroller somewhat limited what we were able to do. The shop doorways were narrow, but many of the shops were closed for Armistice Day anyway. The restaurants were a little crowded and we had a difficult time finding one we could get into with the stroller (we finally ended up at Subway simply because it was the least crowded - it wasn't fantastic and definitely tastes better in America), and we would have liked to go on a boat tour on the canal. Next time we go we'll definitely do that, and make sure it isn't a holiday!
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| The Canal |
We quickly realized that you could easily spend days there visiting all of the museums, shopping, and touring the city. Since we live pretty close, we'll probably just make several day trips there while we live here.
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| Panoramic view of the city center. |
It was a great day and it ended up being a good choice for our first sightseeing trip. We're looking forward to going back, as well as visiting other cities all over Europe!
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There were a lot of cool statues like this one.
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| Selfie. |
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She fell asleep while we walking around,
which is pretty impressive considering the cobblestones and bricks. |
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| I tried my first Belgian waffle! We got it fresh from a street vendor. |
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It was delicious, and absolutely nothing like an American waffle.
They are crunchy and have caramelized sugar on the outside, along with the chocolate and whipped cream.
It was definitely more like dessert than breakfast. |
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This was on our way back to the car, after we discovered that
CJ needed both a diaper change and a wardrobe change. |
