Sir Kyle of Gent?

My next point of interest (destination really) was to The Netherlands to visit my good friend Elisabeth who is studying in Leeuwarden (1.5 hours north of Amsterdam). However, on the way to Elisabeth’s I decided I wanted to make a stop in Lille, France to see the beautiful square, and to couchsurf in Belgium for a couple days. I hear they have good beer there. Haha And chocolates, waffles, and fries... J

I debated where to stay in Belgium for a little bit, but was swayed into staying in Gent (or Ghent) because I heard it was still nice but less touristy than Bruges or Brussels, plus, my dad mentioned on the phone/skype that our heritage of Gaunt comes from the city of Gent (cool huh?), which at one point was the second largest medieval city in Europe (Paris was the largest if you were curious). Either way, after sending out a few couchsurfing requests I got a response from Jasper who is studying Art/Graphic Design in Gent. With the comfort that I had a place to stay for a couple nights, I set off on my trip to Lille and Gent.

Lille is one of the coolest cities I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to fully appreciate the city from the pictures I took, but man was it cool. It’s the type of city you want to get lost walking through, jaw dropped, looking around at all the cool colorful buildings and tiny streets. And I can imagine the city looks even prettier at night tho, because here are strings of lights on every street, hung between the alleys like clothes lines in Brooklyn or something. I definitely need to come back here and stay the night.

I had a fun afternoon wandering about, and I guess one of the highlights was checking out the free zoo on the river. A FREE ZOO! Awesome! Haha I was pretty impressed with it, and had a good time wandering about looking at all the animals. The coolest animals I saw were: snow owls (not sure what they were doing in Lille), rhinos, different types of monkeys, and this strange anteater/horse-like creature. It was a fun time in the zoo, but everyone kept staring at me because I wasn't with any kids or a girlfriend like everyone else...

After a fun afternoon in Lille, I made my way to Gent (or Ghent), Belgium. Jasper met me at the train station, and after dropping off my stuff at his place, madness/awesomeness ensued the rest of the night. First stop, a traditional Belgian fry shop! It was packed with a line out the door (which is fairly common I guess at the millions of fry shops they have in town), but within 20 minutes Jasper introduced me to everything unhealthy in Belgium. haha And the fry places just don’t serve fries like I thought. There are tons of deep fried meats, burgers (if you wanna call them that), and a bunch of other random fatty menu items as well as a long list of vegetarian items too. They definitely love to deep fry things over here. Just bread some meat and throw it in the fryer and you’re good. Haha We definitely got WAY too much food, and after downing a burger, multiple fried meat things, and god know how many fries, Jasper and I crawled out of there and continued our tour of the city.

Gent is a beautiful town, but especially at night. The city has won awards for its lighting, which is very unique in that the buildings in the city center/on the canals are lit from the ground rather than with streetlamps. It’s very cool, and gives an eerie look to the city. Jasper was an excellent city guide, and definitely knew a lot about the city which was fun and unexpected. Due to cold weather and rain, we decided to warm up in a pub for a bit and have a drink/shot. Jasper introduced me to a special type of whiskey-like alcohol that comes from Belgium, and was just what I needed. The rest of the night tour was sweet, until it started to pour. So, after a miserable/fun 10-15 minute walk in the rain, we finally made it to his friend’s house for a housewarming party.

Jasper’s friend Reuben (who just moved into the place) was freakin sweet and was a hilarious host. Everyone was dressed classy (Reuben had suspenders haha), except Jasper and I who showed up drenched and in street clothes. Haha Either way, Reuben made me feel welcome and poured me a delicious beer immediately upon me arrival (made sure to use the proper glass). After drinking a few of the beers they had, I started to understand why Belgium is famous around the world for its beer. So good! Reuben’s girlfriend also made a ton of snacks, including guess what, more deep fried meats with their own personal fryer! Haha So crazy, but delicious. The rest of the night was fun meeting new people, hanging out with jasper, and trying new beers/whiskey. We also busted out some cigars and rocked out on guitar which was fun. Either way, Jasper and I eventually made it home safely, and I got to sleep on a mattress in his living room which was nice. Goodnight Gent!