We traveled to Ghent on a Monday, which is apparently akin to a Sunday in which there was very little open including restaurants. We didn’t care because we were on a mission to see Gravensteen Castle, which basically translates into Stone Castle. (I love castles, so expect to see a lot of blogs in which we are wandering around them.) We arrived right when they opened and they give you an audio guide with your ticket. It was one of the strangest audio guides I have ever listened to at a historic place. At one point he is talking about his morning yogurt and at another he alludes to the fact that perhaps the owner of the castle may not have had children because he was too tired at the end of a long day to walk the few feet over to his wife’s chamber. I enjoy the audio guides because each one is unique and this one certainly stood out!

The castle was very impressive with several towers you can climb and a history of torture and killings, which the audio guide explained well. I love exploring every nook and cranny in these castles and you are allowed to do so with only a few locked doors. It also had the first chimneys in Ghent, which I though was a neat fact.

After the castle, we wandered around town for a bit and encountered Graffiti Street and some beautiful churches. There are also several canals and the houses along the canals are so picturesque. I had lunch at this fast food place called O Tacos. It is a taco in which you can choose the meat, cheese, sauce and it includes fries. You can also put melted cheese on the top and I chose Raclette. It was a huge mess, but tasty!

We decided to return to Brussels to check out the auto museum instead of trying to fit in Antwerp on this trip. We had a great trip! Belgium chocolate is definitely my favorite.