DAY 28: GHENT

OTHER travellers inspired me to take a daytrip to Ghent (also spelt Gent) from Bruges because they spoke of its fairytale setting amid the snow of a cold February day.

This was a very hot July morning with showers at times and definitely no snow. But it was in the middle of the Ghent Festival (Gentse Feesten in Dutch), so we were welcomed into the Historic Centre with boisterous jazz on the stage near the famous belfry.

The 10 Days Off Festival within the larger festival, we were later told, is the biggest free music event in Europe (it started out as only techno in 1995 but now includes all kinds of dance music).  We counted at least nine stages on our stroll around town, including one straddling a canal.

Artists are paid through funds gained from drink (read, beer) sales. And this being Belgium with its myriad award-winning and fine-tasting beers, the festival no doubt also makes a tidy profit.

We were too early for the hot and sweaty salsa party that starts about 10pm and were told the stages generally only fired up at 6pm (when the drunks have sobered up enough to go another round).

So the first stop for us was St Michael's Bridge for a great view of "the three spires of Ghent": the two magnificent churches (romanesque/gothic/baroque St Bavo's Cathedral which also houses the 15th-century altarpiece Adoration of the Mystic Lamb - a towering, multi-panel painting by Jan van Eyck; and 13th century St Nicholas' Church) plus the landmark Belfort (belfry).

Ghent is in the Flemish region of Belgium - the largest city in the East Flanders province and much larger than Bruges.

But for me, her greatest attribute is her canals.

I must admit that I got a little snap-happy as the rows of grand townhouses, ancient bridges and buildings dating back many centuries -  including a castle - beg to be photographed from all angles.

The reflections - even at noon - were glorious, along with the weeping willows falling into the water and the colourful flowerboxes lining the canals and courtyards.

Such hard work exploring deserved some reward. So we grabbed the chance to try a few more Belgian beers at the Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant, which also had some cool jazz on tap, overlooking the Leie (Lys) River. 

Lunch was a very naughty chips with mayonnaise (the Belgians love their fries), broodwurst hotdog and a homemade mocha icecream from the Australian Icecream Shop (I kid you not!).

Lesson of the day: Sometimes you make yourself see more in a wham-bam-thank you-ma'm visit than you would in a week of slow-and-easy. Exhausting but exhilarating.