A Saturday in Ghent and mounting homesickness

We went to Ghent this weekend to catch some of the crazy Lotto z6s-daagse Vlaanderen-Gent (Six-Days Flanders–Ghent) bike race at 't Kuipke, the velodrome in Citadelpark. It was really fun. Concessions at events are SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper here—4 beer tickets for €9! Shit beer but hey, it's cheap, and that's what counts when you are standing in the infield of a velodrome.

We finally had a delicious meal. Low blood sugar led me to choose the closest, highest rated restaurant I could see in Ghent on Saturday, which turned out to be Brasserie Pakhuis. Definitely a stuffy spot but the food was delicious and once the hostess stopped hating us, the service was good too. The space itself is quite cool, big, open, art noveau, copper and green paint. Koshi's pics:

We also met up with an internet friend of mine, someone I've known for years but have never met. He took us around a bit of the touristy stuff and then to a great place for beers.

I forgot how nice it is to meet up with friends. The only social interactions I've had in 3 weeks have been with my husband and coworkers, with the exception of a night out with a couple of my husband's internet friends. It's safe to say that I am officially homesick. I miss my friends, our local bar, and I miss my kitchen. In particular, I miss our oven, our sink, and my Le Creuset. This is the epitome of a first world problem, I realize that, and the realization compounds my sadness because now not only am I sad from homesickness, I am also sad because I feel guilty for the reasons I feel homesick. WTF? But we did find kale at the market. I was a bit zealous in my purchase but but that's ok, I'll eat it for every meal if I have to.

Speaking of kale... I've had a weird eyelid twitch since arriving here. It comes and goes but it has happened at least twice every day for the last two weeks or so. I wasn't sure what was causing it, but I started to have this suspicion that it had to do with a lack of leafy greens, the major difference in my diet here and at home. At home, I have a big bowl of raw spinach nearly every day. Here, I have vegetables, but it's not the same. I made a giant kale salad for dinner last night and my eye hasn't twitched at all today.