Europe Part II: Ghent and Bruges

Though they aren't nearly as inexpensive as I'd like them to be, trains in Europe certainly are convenient. On our way from Brussels to Bruges, we hopped off in the town of Ghent, stored our luggage in a locker, and set off for a half-day excursion. If you're ever passing through, make sure to stop in Ghent for a few hours if not a day or two if only for the cuberdon.

Most of these buildings have been rebuilt to look old, but it still makes for a really cool waterfront

Ghent has lots of old churches and even a castle (not pictured due to entry fee)

Same old church, different angle

Our favorite candy we've found anywhere on our travels - Cuberdon, a firm surgary cone filled with raspberry syrup

We used Bruges as our base for a few nights. There's plenty to see and do there, plus it's easy to get out and see the countryside and neighboring towns.

It seems every city in Netherlands and Belgium has canals

Apparently that's the blood of Jesus in that vial

Ornate church

Free harp concert! Of course we tipped - I'm not that cheap

Maybe Bruges is our favorite

They have swans!

The central square in Bruges

One of the reasons we used Bruges as a base is because we could go cycling from there. They have an amazing network of bike trails, most of which are completely flat since they follow the canals. We rented a couple bikes and rode out to the coast on a beautiful fall day...

Steph loved the flat cycling

Dammmmmme!

Everybody loves a good windmill

Old church in Damme

Made it to the coast - not that nice really

This church had lots of cool artwork inside

Belgium is also famous for it's fries - double fried in animal fat - unfortunately we ate them before we remembered to take a picture

They love bikes around here - they have parking garages for them!

From Bruges we took the trains over the border into France to Lille then hopped on a bus for Paris!

Europe Part I: Oslo, Amsterdam and Brussels

We originally planned to spend 5 or 6 weeks in Europe but somehow, despite not having jobs at the moment, we never seem to have enough time to do all the things we'd like. Tough life. Three weeks in Europe will just have to do. In the end I was very happy we only had 3 weeks since Europe is expensive! The trip got off to a somewhat audacious start, at least when it comes to doing a blog about it, since our camera broke on day number one. We were able to get some photos during our stopover in Oslo, Norway but the lens got jammed before taking a single photo in Amsterdam. So, some of these pictures are from my phone until we could buy a new camera.

Downtown Oslo. Nice, clean, beautiful street lined with quaint cafes...wait..is that TGI Fridays?

Nobel Peace Center - kind of underwhelming

Oslo is on the waterfront with a nice harbor

Amsterdam was probably my favorite

We stayed on a boat! This lady came by in the morning with her baby for breakfast

Windmill in downtown Amsterdam - also doubled as a brewery

Funky

Like going back in time...other than the motor scooter

me too!

We love markets...

...they're the best place to find sweets!

From Amsterdam we took a train to Brussels in Belgium..

The touristy part of Brussels

Brussels has a really nice square. I realize it's hard to get good pictures of squares

Half the reason we came to Belgium - waffles!

Probably the most famous landmark in Brussels - a statue of a small boy peeing

We visited all the chocolate shops - this one had huge meringues!

Steph at Cantillon Brewery - they make sour beers aged in old wine barrels

Walking around Brussels at night - this is some government building

Back in the square at night

From Brussels we stayed in Belgium and visited Ghent and Bruges, but this is already getting too long so I'll post those photos soon.

More Road Trips Photos: Canada and the East Coast

From Vermont we drove up into Canada. Yes, Ginger is now international! We stayed overnight in a really cool little town Bromont just over the border before heading into Montreal...

Old town Montreal had lots going on. These people in the red jackets were doing some kind of weird interpretive dance for the person wearing the headphones. Because art.

Ginger enjoyed the interesting music

Our first poutine - crispy french fries covered with delicious rotisserie chicken, cheese curds, and a peppery brown gravy

From Montreal we turned left and headed west. My friend Thad and his wife Krista invited us for a week at Krista's family place right on the water of Georgian Bay, which is a few hours north of Toronto. We had an incredibly fun week swimming, running, sailing, kayaking, picking wild blueberries, going for boat rides, scuba diving, playing volleyball, badminton, soccer volleyball, and lots of games, plus eating tons of good food and hanging out with Krista and her family. Ginger, needless to say, had the best time of all - swimming all day until she could hardly move at night.

Too many people in a kayak

Thad and I out for a sail. I mostly observed

Steph is 30!

To the islands!

This is how tired Ginger was - she'd even let little Eva share her bed

The boys made a mexican feast one night

Homemade wild blueberry jam

Ginger at her happiest

After our week with the Gilliams we headed back east the way we came and picked up my mom at the Ottawa airport. She joined us for the next 10 days of our road trip.

Ging was very excited to see her grandma despite how she looks in this picture

We stopped a really cool shop/cafe place somewhere between Montreal and Ottawa. This guy (who turned out to be the owner) walked up to us and said "wanna see something cool?" and led us upstairs to his working Pianola Aeolian from 1904. He sits and pedals the machine to play sheet music. It was indeed cool.

Next stop - Quebec

Quebec had a really cool, but really popular, old town

Really cool waterfall outside Quebec as we made our way Northeast towards Tadoussac and the Saguenay Fjord

We came here to see beluga whales. Literally first thing we saw when we got there - see those 2 white specs out in the water? A pod of belugas!

We went on a whale watching trip on a zodiac

This humpback whale made my mom cry

Watched this humpback for a long time

This is the only evidence I have that my mom went on a sea kayaking trip - hoping to see belugas up close. We did not see any and the seas were way too rough to every pull out the camera for in-water shots. 

Sea kayaking the next day was much calmer - saw some whales in the distance but nothing very close

No caption needed

We drove back south and into Maine to Acadia National Park. Had to have a lobster dinner! Sadly I was not impressed

Neither was Ginger

The top of Cadillac Mountain for sunset - a must do in Acadia

Steph and I did the Beehive "hike"

Steph and my mom's favorite part of Acadia - coffee and popovers with fresh strawberry jam. Obscenely overpriced but they were really good

This part was pretty good too

After Acadia we headed down for a day in Portland before my mom flew back home. Of course the girls stopped to shop a few places on the way. Back at just the 3 of us, we headed into New Hampshire to do a hike along the Appalachian Trail.

Made it to the peak! Tough hike and low vis but everyone was happy at this point.....

We missed a sign and went over a mile the wrong way. To add insult to injury it starting hailing like a maniac! Even with rain jackets on it hurt!

From New Hampshire we headed south, usually hitting one big city every day.

Walked the "Freedom Trail" in Boston...

Where we saw one of our forefathers in person

Steph really wanted to go through Newport, Rhode Island to run the famous "Cliff Walk" and to see some of the mega-mansions

Found a free(!) parking spot right across from Central Park(!) in NYC

I actually had Steph drive through Manhattan so I could navigate and take pictures

She insisted we come here and wait 2+ hours for some overpriced cannolis

Stopped by Valley Forge for a run and to see some of George Washington's old huts

Ran up the Rocky steps in Philly

And of course had a (few) cheesesteaks

Drove thru Rhode Island

Ginger loved DC

Drove the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park - saw a few bears while there

Did some hiking in Shenandoah

Our final stops were Boone, North Carolina for my cousin Caroline's wedding, Clemson to visit the Neff's again, then back to Atlanta. I have to say, we were pretty much over camping nearly every night so were glad to be home, but now that I look back it was a fantastic 6 weeks. We put around 7000 miles on the Prius and visited a total of 21 states and 3 provinces! Next stop - Europe!