Dinant and Ghent, Belgium

One of my favorite things about traveling is finding new places randomly while driving or when you have to go somewhere different because your originals plans get messed up. On my most recent European adventure, both of these things happened in Belgium. Along our drive from Champagne to Brussels, we discovered the beautiful little riverside town of Dinant. Later in our travels, due to the start of the Tour de France, our plans of exploring Brussels didn't pan out. Instead, we decided to spend the day in Ghent, and what a great day that was! What's that phrase, again? Oh yeah, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." Even when you plan everything out (which I have a habit of doing), you never know what could happen. It's important to roll with the punches and just enjoy your travels.

Dinant, Belgium

Dinant is a beautiful city in the Walloon Region of Belgium. Located on the banks of the Meuse River with steep cliffs to the east, it is a very picturesque little town. We only had a couple of hours to explore as we were en route to Brussels, but even in that short time frame we were able to see a lot. Driving along the Meuse River on N96, as we got close we got our first views of the Collégiale Notre Dame de Dinant (Collegiate Church of Our Lady). This 13th-century Gothic style church has a very unique look with a pear-shaped bell tower.

Behind the church we discovered there was a cable car that takes you to the top of the cliffs where the centuries-old fortified Citadel is located. I'm a sucker for a cable car, if I come across one when I'm traveling, I pretty much always have to ride. They're such a fun way to get 360 degree views! We bought our tickets and made our way up top to look at the old ruins and to take in all the views of the city. We lucked out with beautiful weather, so the views were awesome.

When we came back town to the main road, we made our way to the row of riverside restaurants, picked one, and ordered a Belgian beer. After all, when in Rome right? The views were just as great along the river. We saw some bikers presumably preparing for the Tour de France (we weren't 100% sure though), which was cool to see. We also learned while sitting here that Dinant is the birthplace of Adolphe Sax, better known as the inventor of the saxophone. There were saxophones everywhere around the city and along the main bridge there were giant saxophones representing different countries around the world. Not only did we come across a new city, but we learned some fun history as well. Score on both parts!

This was a foreshadow to troubles ahead!

Ghent, Belgium

As stated, our original plan was to spend two days in Brussels. We knew before we left for our trip that the starting point (aka the Grand Départ) of the Tour de France would be here. We didn't know however that (1) there would be construction everywhere, both highway and in the city center and (2) that they weren't blocking anything off until rush hour of the night we arrived. It was pretty insane and no one seemed to know what was happening or what they were doing. You would think that if you've known for years that you're having the Grand Départ, you'd have a plan in place for everything that needed to be done. It did not appear they did! We sat in traffic for over an hour just to get to dinner the first night. We decided to just walk around the city center after dinner and see some sights since we were already down there. It was super crowded and with construction everywhere, it was not exactly the lovely time in Brussels we'd hoped. But that meant that the next day, of which we'd planned on exploring Brussels, we drove up to Ghent instead. What a great decision that ended up being!

Pretty much the only street not crowded with people shoulder to shoulder.

I would describe Ghent as a smaller Amsterdam. The city is located at the junction of the canalized Leie and Scheldt rivers. These canals cut through the city and provide wonderful sights throughout. We walked along the east side of the Leie and came across the main area with restaurants and shops. We ate lunch at a delicious Italian restaurant called Di Massimo looking over the canal.  After lunch we took a 40 minute boat ride (a "boot trip") around the canals. Our driver (captain?) gave us historical facts as he pointed out different buildings, churches, parks, and more. He was actually hilarious because we were the only ones who spoke English as our first language, but we don't think he knew that. He must have assumed everyone had trouble understanding him because he kept throwing in random comments and jokes that no one noticed but us. It was one of the best parts of the day! haha

One of my favorite sights in the city was the Gravensteen ("Castle of the Counts"), which is a really cool medieval castle dating back to 1180. What was once the residence of the Counts of Flanders, was later a court and prison, the site of Ghent's mint, a cotton factory, the center piece of the Ghent World Fair of 1913, and now open to the public. It sits between two branches of the Leie river and offers a commanding presence in Ghent.

If you walk away from the canals, Ghent is also filled with great shops, food stalls, and restaurants. We of course had to have a Belgium waffle because, duh! Topped with Nutella and strawberries, it was the perfect end to a wonderfully unexpected day (and a great end to our vacation!).

Bon voyage!