Mostly Mom: Belgium

We made our visit to Belgium last October and I'm just now getting to posting pictures of our time there. I think I was most impressed by how much history Belgium had to offer. First off, we stayed in the attic of an artist's home which was right next to Graversteen castle in the town of Ghent, a town which dates back to the Middle Ages. Our accommodations were cozy, but the kids were very excited to be sleeping in an attic next to an old castle. We enjoyed touring the castle, which had many artifacts dating back to the Middle Ages complete with a torture room! We saw many armors and swords and even an old guillotine and a few other torture devices--it was a tough time, the Middle Ages!!

After our castle visit, we went on a canal tour of Ghent. Known as the less touristy alternative to Brugges, Ghent offers just as much history and architectural beauty as it's next door cousin. The following day we headed over to Brugges to see the belfry tower. We climbed up 366 very narrow steps to the top to see a beautiful view of the town and a look at some of the bells which still play to this day. Food is a big part of Belgian culture and we enjoyed sampling some pommes frites and local chocolate and of course: beer. I enjoyed a cherry bear while my husband liked the heavier dark ales. Our short visit to Belgium was enjoyable and I marveled at the age of the towns we visited. The Belgian people seemed genuinely friendly and very open. It was sad to hear of the bombings that occurred in France and Belgium not too long after our visit there.