Big Adventure - Belgium, Day 3

Monday, May 2, 2011

Aalst

Our first official day started at 8am and the jet lag made it feel like 2am. I just pushed through it. Breakfast was quick. I grabbed an apple yogurt, which I discovered is much more runny than US yogurt, and some cereal and joined the group on the motor coach bus for our journey to Aalst. Aalst was a very small town industrial looking area. There were plenty of homes but a lot of businesses, warehouses, and plants. It was about a 30 minute drive to the Tupperware Plant where our meetings were being held. I loved looking at all the surroundings on our drive. The highway was lined by a very rural looking homes and fields. It was very green and reminded me a lot of Indiana. Each day we would drive by three huge, super-techy windmills. They were so big and so out of place.

Giant Wind Machines

Scenery on our Route

Once we arrived at the plant we would head to our conference room for a full day of meetings. My meeting buddy was Simone from Tupperware Italy. We sat by each other every day and would make funny comments to keep things light throughout the day. Lunch was at the employee cafeteria. It was pitiful but it was free.

That night we traveled back to Gent for dinner at another local restaurant called T Pakhuis. It was an old warehouse that had been converted to a restaurant. We were seated on the second floor and were served a set menu. We had the shrimp appetizer again plus a spoonful of cheesy potatoes which were just plain awesome. The second course was Goose Liver! I tried it but I would never order it. It was gray and tasted like fancy bologna that was almost spoiled. The main entree was cod wrapped in seaweed seasoned with fennel. I was so hungry that I ate it, but I discovered that I am not a fan of fennel. Dessert was a sampling of tiramisu, chocolate cake, mousse, and pistachio ice cream. The evening was full of interesting conversation and I left full and ready for bed.

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel taking in all the buildings and the town at night. The buildings were all lit up and magical looking. It actually looked like a scene from a murder mystery but there wasn't any fear or scary music. It was quite the romantic scene except that I was surrounded by people I barely knew from work!

All the streets we walked on in Gent were cobblestone so walking in heels was a bit of a challenge. Luckily, I was able to do some tip-toe moves and I made it back to the hotel without twisting an ankle.

Gent at night