Frites in Belgium

 I am now in Belgium and of course Belgium is famous for its fries served with mayonnaise. Very yummy but I think I am starting to get a bit of a carbohydrate overload. I promise I will eat nothing but salads when I get home.

My kind hostess Brigitte took me for a walk around Gent - the third largest city in Belgium. There is still the old part and mainly based around the river where originally there was a large port so bridges and water feature prominantly. I was impressed with how they try to leave the facias even if the interiors need demolition

 There is a very famous mustard shop where they pour the mustard into your chosen size container as you wait. There was a big queue waiting but I'm sure it was worth the wait.

 There is a story on the one of the old buildings which used to be a prision about a condemned man who was being starved and only visited by his daughter. However he was getting stronger until they discovered the daughter was breast feeding him on her visits.

 

There is really interesting architecture here too.

 

 

 Brigitte and her husband are great cooks and I am eating very well. Her chocolate mousse was wonderful and with her reluctant agreement to cover it with fresh raspberries from her garden it was even better.

 My class was Crystallization and although only some of my students spoke English we still managed to have a great day. They seemed

 

One of my students showed me her 1/4 hexagon quilt. Madness - in  a nice way of course.

 As a treat - I was given a real Belgium Waffle

 A quick trip to the beach as the sun set.

 Busman's holiday - the largest craft/hobby show in Belgium started today so we went along for a look. It was fine as long as you were into Scrapbooking or characters or beading for jewellery. Not much for quilters and no textile design work.

  I did run into my friend Jasminede Beuckelaer who I met in Luxembourg earlier this year with her exhibition. The world of quilting is so small isn't it.

They even sell local delicacies at the show just to tempt me. I did not resist.

 I was really interested in how they divided the exhibition hall. These are inflated columns which just look like concrete and obviously much easier to move.

 On the way home we went to a medieval castle. There are quite a few of these scattered around the countryside.

Lochristi - where I was staying used to be famous for flower growing. A lot of these are no longer here with the land now being built on but this field of peonies in full bloom. They are grown for their bulbs and exported worldwide.

I've had a great time in Belgium but now it is time for a long train trip (or three trains to be exact) to my next stop - Gronigren in the Netherlands.