Our last full day in Europe was less adventurous but with train trips to two amazing Belgian cities: Bruges and Ghent. We got going pretty early and walked back to Brussels Centraal for the train ride to Bruges, sans bikes, and got there shortly after 9. We enjoyed a relaxing breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien and spent a couple hours exploring Bruges’ narrow pedestrian streets, canals, and old market. The market was filled with tour groups describing the city’s history – the tourism is definitely heavy!
From there we took the train back toward Brussels and stopped at Ghent, a Flemish town with an unbelievable collection of old, dense churches and a castle right in the city center surrounding canals. Much less touristy and more lived-in, we all loved it. We also got to be like locals by taking the tram between the train station and the city center – it was fascinating to hear Flemish being spoken and added to the variety f languages we’ve heard throughout our trip.
Back in Brussels, we finally gave in and had McDonald’s for the first time on the trip, then we did some casual shopping on a suffocatingly busy Saturday shopping day in Brussels. I also got my bike out of the hotel garage and ventured across the city center to get some of my favorite face lotion at a drug store! After that, Noah and I grabbed groceries/snacks, and we watched TV before packing a bit and going to bed early.
Dan – Tammy – Noah 
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