After a pretty horrendous 30 miles of concrete roads from Bruges we turned up in Ghent, only to be shooed away by the hotel receptionist because we were too early for our room.
We dutifully sat in a cafe for an hour and a half and try to check in again this time only to be told that the room key had been lost...!
Anyway we got a room overlooking the castle which is alright, and overlooking the tramlines which isn't alright.
Our first day in Ghent was pretty grim because the weather was cold, and my feet were sore, as my darling wife had forced me to to wear some outrageous shoes for the trip. They look like the sort of shoes Hannibal Lecter would have fashioned from the skins of his victims, and are VERY uncomfortable.
One of the highlights of our first day was visiting the St Baaf's cathedral to see the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Jan Van Eyck.
I've no idea whether he was smacked off his tits on the medieval equivalent of methamphetamine, but the bizarre religious symbology and metaphors were a little freaky. Doubtless all the religious types out there will love it to death, and I like to adore a lamb as much as the next man, but I wouldn't have it on the wall Chez Nous.
More in keeping with our style was the mobile bar for stag parties. At some point during the day they would be so anaesthetised that they wouldn't be able to pedal any more...
The next day was much better - the sun came out, my feet were only mildly crippling and we had breakfast out followed by a trip to the Design Museum, which was far too stylish for us.
Yet more beer - 11% this time...
In the afternoon 25,000 supporters of KAA Ghent turned up to welcome their team back to the town after winning a Belgian EUFA Championship, or something like that...
So in the style of a mediaeval fairytale, eventually Ghent turned out to be a pretty nice place after all, and we all lived happily ever after...
