Ghent

We drove to Ghent, and found the city run campsite was very nice. It’s located near Ghent’s water sports area where there’s a long straight channel, called Watersportbaan, maybe a mile long, where they have boat races of some kind. There are some scenic views in Ghent that are as interesting as the street and canal scenes in Brugge.

One year we found a nice laundromat that was open on Sunday. There was a lady doing her laundry, and she helped us figure out how to work the coins, the soap, and the buttons. She had her dog with her, and the person who seemed to be in charge of the area, asked her to keep it outside the building. She was very upset anyone would treat her dog like that. She said a dog wouldn’t be treated like that in the US. We assured her in the US dogs are not permitted in any store, restaurant or laundromat. She was shocked, and we figure we won’t see any sign of her in the US, with or without her dog.

In downtown Ghent, along with the Cathedral and other old buildings, there is a McDonald’s right near the picturesque bridge over the river. It’s a two story restaurant that is decorated in an attractive manner. The diners on the second floor have a view (Ghent’s town square) that’s as remarkable as any to be seen from a McDonald’s, anywhere in the world.

We parked on the bridge, on the main street of Ghent, then went into the McDonald’s for some French Fries. But we bought Egg McMuffins instead. In Ghent, McDonald’s fixed Egg McMuffins all day long, and they made a fine lunch. I asked if we could buy some ice, but the McDonald’s manager insisted on giving us a large can of ice — a necessity for Coke and ice tea American style. Of great importance, every McDonald’s has available, clean, restrooms.

We see many more bicycles in Belgium than we see in France and Germany, but The Netherlands is the champion in that department. In the residential districts, the pleasant houses have shrubbery in front, that often needs trimming.

At the street market in Ghent, Emmy bought a smoked Mackerel, some olives, American cheese, sourdough bread, and cherries. A young woman was broadcasting her sales pitch in a sing-song manner. A man nearby said it was a sing-song sales pitch about the low price, and good quality of her herring.