Ghent Day 1- Under Construction!

If you wanna visit Ghent, don’t visit for the next year! The whole city is under construction! Every single monument we’ve been to in Europe is under construction, so it’s been a running joke with us but this is ridiculous! The ENTIRE historic center is being overturned (and trust me, it ain’t fun with wet dirt and rain!) with Ghent’s plans for a more pedestrian-friendly, tourist-happy center.
I checked into Marriott today, voted #1 within the Marriott brand worldwide. It is really nice; I’ve got my own bar! Haha too bad nobody to drink with!

I pulled my arm muscles pulling my luggage to the Bruges train station earlier this morning, so I took a time-out when I got to Ghent. When I finally went out, it was raining pretty bad, although it’s still quite scenic~
Korenlei:

Gravensteen Castle, Castle of the Counts:



Historic Butchers’ Market:

This statue honors Jacob von Artevelde:

He was a leading citizen back when Ghent was a major city in Europe (it was at one point the second largest city in Europe, second only to Paris. It was larger than London!). England was bullying Ghent by blockading their raw materials supply, which Ghent relied on heavily for their textile trade. Ghent had a history of siding with the French, but Jacob von Artevelde realized that in order for Ghent to survive, they needed to side with the English during the One Hundred Years War. The citizens agreed, so he became a local hero…. only for his political opponent to murder him a couple years later when the sentiment turned against Jacob… turns out England’s King Edward wasn’t keeping some of his promises to Ghent so they got angry with Jacob. His statue points toward England, the country that brought him so much popularity but also led to his downfall.

This frieze is kinda gross! I wish I never read the guide book in my hotel room! *Shudder* So it’s based on a Biblical story of a man sentenced to death by starvation, so his daughter feeds him by breast-feeding him! Eeeeewwww! Out of ALL the Biblical stories to carve a frieze on, REALLY???!!! That’s what they choose?! C’mon!
On a happier note, some chocolates I saw today:


Panos is a sandwich chain in Belgium. The prices are reasonable. I chose a 3 euro sandwich of Serrano ham, mozzarella cheese, pesto, lettuce, tomato and the most delicious whole wheat bread I’ve ever had. The bread was crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside, and there were various types of seeds on top, but what astounded me was the flavor! It was complex, caramelized and wheat-y, and not at all grainy! The Serrano was fatty and perfectly cured and the pesto went soooo well… plus my truffle mayo ~__^.

I found a Spar next to my hotel and UGH my favorite Cote d’Or, the Praline Noir, is 2.39 euros!!! They had a Spar coupon~ buy 2 get 0.80 euro off! This is the cheapest I’ve ever seen it for!
World Cup is kicking off and Belgium is a BIG soccer country. At least ½ of the TV channels are broadcasting pre-kick-off festivities!