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I got up nice and early and went for a short run around the park, then went to Mass at The Parish of the Blessed Trinity. Most of the hymns were unfamiliar, and the sermon was one of those ones where there was clearly an undercurrent of local church politics that I wasn’t party to, but the people were welcoming. After Mass I picked Ramesh up from the hotel, and we went into town.
We were intending to visit the Beigijnhof, but just as we arrived, the heavens opened, so we went looking for lunch instead. We found a little bistro which looked nice enough, and the food was indeed pleasant, but it looked as though lots of other people had had similar ideas about hiding from the rain, so they were suddenly very busy, which led to rather slow service. By the time we’d finished eating the rain had eased off a bit, so we headed back to the Begijinhof, which was a lovely space, although the tranquillity which seems to be its hallmark was rather marred by all the tourists (I know, I can hardly complain).
We then went on a canalboat tour which was fabulous. I was feeling a bit sleepy, so may have missed occasional bits of the history, but I got the general idea, and especially enjoyed seeing the huge variety of houseboats lining the waterways. We then spent a little while just wandering the streets and soaking in the atmosphere, before having a light (ha!) snack of pancakes, and then heading back to the hotel for a short rest.
Whoops - that short rest turned into quite a long nap, and by the time we woke up and got moving the hotel restaurant had stopped serving, so we almost had to go without dinner. Fortunately we found a nearby pub/restaurant which we got to just before the kitchen closed, so the day was saved.
We were intending to visit the Beigijnhof, but just as we arrived, the heavens opened, so we went looking for lunch instead. We found a little bistro which looked nice enough, and the food was indeed pleasant, but it looked as though lots of other people had had similar ideas about hiding from the rain, so they were suddenly very busy, which led to rather slow service. By the time we’d finished eating the rain had eased off a bit, so we headed back to the Begijinhof, which was a lovely space, although the tranquillity which seems to be its hallmark was rather marred by all the tourists (I know, I can hardly complain).
We then went on a canalboat tour which was fabulous. I was feeling a bit sleepy, so may have missed occasional bits of the history, but I got the general idea, and especially enjoyed seeing the huge variety of houseboats lining the waterways. We then spent a little while just wandering the streets and soaking in the atmosphere, before having a light (ha!) snack of pancakes, and then heading back to the hotel for a short rest.
Whoops - that short rest turned into quite a long nap, and by the time we woke up and got moving the hotel restaurant had stopped serving, so we almost had to go without dinner. Fortunately we found a nearby pub/restaurant which we got to just before the kitchen closed, so the day was saved.
