I didn't recognize anything from the Frommer's so I suggested we go into a cafe and get a coffee and regroup. I was looking for the balfort because they were supposed to have maps of the city, which we desperately needed. We asked our waiter if he could tell us where to go and he said, go out of the cafe, turn right and go all the way to the end of the block. You'll see it from there. He was right.
This isn't actually the balfort. It's St. Nicklaus Church.
Another view of St. Nicklaus Church.
That big tall spire is the balfort. We went in and asked for a map. I noticed that they had tickets to go up to the top of the balfort. I know what you're thinking but I couldn't help it. I wanted to go. You're probably wondering how I got John to go up with me. One word: Elevator. We had to climb about 50 steps but then they had an elevator that would take us to the top.
This was the bottom of the stairway that we had to go up. These people must have been really small. It's very narrow.
The balfort and cloth hall date from 1425 and was the gathering place of the cloth and wool merchants. The belfry holds all the bells. The most beloved bell, Roland, cast in 1315, was destroyed in 1540 by Charles V as punishment for Ghent's insubordination. The new Roland (above) was cast in 1660.
Now THIS is a view! This is St. Bavo's Cathedral as seen from the top of the balfort.St. Bavo's was built back in the 13th - 15th century by the wealthy merchants of Ghent. Inside is the painting the Mystic Lamb.
St. Nicklaus Church.
After the belfry, we decided to have some lunch. I'm not sure what the deal was with the Big Ben look alike but it was a very pretty view. With my new map in hand we found the canal area and picked out a nice sidewalk cafe for lunch. We thought it'd be a touristy place but we were pleasantly surprised. We hadn't really been bowled over by the food over here. But this place was really good.
After lunch, again with my trusty map in hand, we walked around a bit.
This is Gravensteen Castle. It was built by Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders in 1180. This was cool. A real castle
Looking for the front door of the castle..
Up on the turret. I think that's the flag of Flanders.
One of the rooms - the ceilings are really cool.
The wall around the castle. I'm thinking this is where the guards would stand and make sure no one was going to storm the castle.
Guess what this is. John's not really "using" it. He's just a goofball. But this was out along the wall. Can you imagine that you're a guard out there defending the castle in the middle of winter and this is where you have to go? I'd be inclined to get another job.
There was a bit of a dungeon. The lower part of the castle actually had the water in there where you could park the boat. I didn't see how you'd get out but I'm sure there was something.
I'm not sure why he's got his head down. Maybe he's crying because I'm as goofy as he is. 
We spent quite a bit of time at the castle. We had time to do one more thing. We could either find a place to hang out and people watch or we could do the canal cruise. We chose the canal cruise. This makes four canal cruises in one trip. Everyone of them was worth it.
I thought this was a really pretty view of the canal. I think the tower in the back is St. Nicklaus Church.
The Graslei. The architecture is gorgeous. All the gables are a little different but they are step gables.
Waiting for the cruise to start.
It took a while for the boat driver to show up so we got bored. This was the best of the bunch.
Another of the guild houses. They have a Big Ben clock in the back. It's really a gorgeous view. Notice the step gable on this house.
This narrow house was the toll collectors house. If you wanted to bring your boat of goods into the canal, you had to pay a toll.
Guild houses.
So back in the day, the people couldn't read. Instead of street addresses, they put pictures on the houses. This was the ship house.
St. Michael's Bridge facing one direction.
St. Michael's Bridge going back the other way.
The three towers of Ghent. The St. Nicklaus, The balfort and St. Bavo's.
I think this is a convent.
Convent. There are doors that open right onto the water. I wonder what they were used for.
I don't know what building this is but I thought it kind of cool because it had a statue on the side.
More guild houses. I'd like to have seen the inside of that really narrow one. I'm guessing these houses are used as apartments now.
Ghent's version of the Mannekin-Pis. They keep theirs clothed. The guide was saying that all the cities in Belgium had a Mannekin-Pis statue as the mascot. It's odd that in Ghent the statue is on top of a doorway..
Another lovely view along the canal.
So check out the door that's right there. There's not even a step or anything to keep you from going straight into the water. What if it rains really heavy and the level of the canal rises? Is that door going to keep the water out? What's the purpose of that door!!!
Gravensteen Castle.
Just another view from the canal.
The Monastery.
Augustine Monastery - still in use. There are 12 monks that live here.
I just thought this looked kind of cool - the building right on the canal and the weeping willow..
The Rabot Gate
The return trip up the canal. That's the monastery directly in front.
The castle.
This looks like some sort of secret exit, don't you think? An obscure door in the wall that leads right to the canal?
Gravensteen Castle.
St. Nicklaus Church. After the canal ride, we headed back to the train station. We caught tram 1, which was the tram we were looking for in the morning. The trip to Ghent was fabulous. The rain went away and it turned out to be a beautiful day. I think I could have spent a couple of days here. 
When we got back to Brussels, we decided to grab a burger at the Quick. They had Quick in Paris. It's the European equivalent of McDonald's. So in Belgium EVERYTHING comes with fries. In Ghent, John ordered some ribs and it came with a baked potato and fries. Really. A baker with a side of fries. We were so tired of fries that when we went to Quick, we just wanted the burgers. When we ordered, we told the girl that we didn't want fries. I guess that was pretty unusual because she had to void out order and start over.One other thing that we've noticed while we were here is that all the stores close pretty early. I'm talking like 8-ish pm. We're staying in the shopping mecca of the city and all the stores shut down at 8. Sheesh. Well, I mention this because this particular night the city was celebrating "The Louise Night". It's Louise because that's the name of the street that all the stores are on.
So all the stores stayed open late (11 pm!). The press was there, the stores had DJs and girls dressed to the nines handing out fliers. One place even had a jazz band and it was a pen store. (Mont Blanc) Unbelievable! There were red carpets everywhere - for some fashion expo. It wasn't even like there was a fashion show. It was just the stores staying open late.We went and found an ice cream cafe and people watched. The guy serving us ice cream was wearing a suit. It was interesting for about 10 minutes. Then we got bored and went back to our hotel.
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