After our usual buffet breakfast we boarded our coaches for a short ride to the city centre of Ghent. We were offered the choice of joining the slower walkers or the normal pace walking group and because of my knee replacement, I chose the former. However, I think our local guide was not informed as we passed the other groups on several occasions. After a quick work in his ear we slowed down to a more comfortable pace and got to appreciate this charming town. Belgium is famous for its superior chocolate and the only advantage of walking at a faster pace was that I saved a lot of money on buying chocolates. We visited all the main points of interest in the town. Unfortunately, one of our group tripped on the picturesque cobblestones, which are common to most areas we visited. She was taken to hospital and later we were given the bad news that she had broken her hip. This really brings home how important it is to have travel insurance and to wear the correct walking shoes.
After lunch we joined most of the passengers on an optional excursion to the historic town of Bruges. A highlight was a canal boat ride around the town. Back to the ship for coffee and cakes and our pre-dinner lecture on the activities for the next day.
