Last weekend I was lucky to visit Ghent and had such a great time that I didn’t want to come home!  We stayed in a small studio apartment in a central part of the city, which had lots of quirky cafes, restaurants and bars.  And it was only a short stroll to the historic centre with its pretty canals, small squares and winding alleyways to explore.

Whenever I go away, I like having a morning or so to wander around the streets by myself.  There’s something relaxing taking in a city at your own pace, going into shops that look interesting and not having to worry about whether you’re staying too long at a place when everyone else wants to move on elsewhere. 

As you would expect, I headed straight for the area with markets and vintage shops.  Despite having read about a few places beforehand, I still managed to miss the main antiques market and by the time I found it, the stall holders were packing up to close.  Fortunately, the reason I didn’t find it until late was that instead I discovered a huge cavern of a building that had all sorts of vintage wares. 

It didn’t look much from the street, with this forlorn-looking ride-on dog greeting me at the entrance.  But I’m always optimistic about secondhand shops and it didn’t disappoint! 

Unfortunately (or fortunately for my bank balance) most of the items were too large to take home in our trusty little car.  There were lots of industrial lights and storage shelving, and some beautiful old leather chairs and sofas. 

I was drawn to the random pictures around and I kind of wish I’d bought this set of men’s fashion pictures.  Dapper gentlemen in suits gracing my living room wall would have been fun, don’t you think! 

However, I did come away with some nice finds including some vintage tins and a small set of glasses (plus two Italian made glasses that I went back for the next day!)

Oh and I found the sad dog’s partner, high up on a shelf in the warehouse.  I like to think that they keep watch over the many hidden treasures together!