Trains and Tournai

Getting lost seems to be a theme.
But this time I honestly don't understand what happened. Two weekends past, there was a kayaking trip. We (Samm, Ammie and I) would need to get to this adventure by train. We arrived at the train station, with every intention of taking the correct train. We asked our host mums which platform to go to. We asked the conductor at the platform if this was the train to Namur. Number three, yes, the correct train, you've filled out your GO pass correctly, have a nice trip.
Somehow, we ended up half-way to France. In total, the trip took us five hours and we managed to find our way home. I may or may not have become overly stressed. It was quite the ordeal for me, but after we found our way home, my friends were perfectly content to laugh it off and take a nap.
We did miss kayaking with the Rotarians.
So this past weekend, imagine how nervous I was to take the train to Tournai alone, imagine how daunting the idea seemed. There was another Rotary event, this time visiting the Tounai Cathedral and the Belfoi. But I had to go alone, I had to get on a train and figure it out, figure out how to get there and find the Rotex student I was meeting up with.
It was shockingly easy. I think the whole day hinged on the fact that I did, in fact, manage to get on the right train. The Rotex group quickly after I arrived and we set out for Tournai after a mere half hour of waiting.

The Cathedral is spectacular. The reason it really stood out in my mind from any other church, was the style of it. Half of it was built in the Roman style of architecture and the rest in Gothic. It's bizarre, pillars and arches and ornate twists of stone and wood. Inside, it's being restored, and it was high near impossible to see any of the statues or altars.
The Belfoi is a bell tower. It has 257 stairs and they are pretty much vertical. The sides of the walls are tacky and dank with the centuries of rain and humidity and still air. It's something. When the clock struck four, I was in the bell room. It was so loud! All of the bells have these little hammers and it's barely a tap, but the metal clangs and reverberates so intensely. All of the bells are different sizes. One would suit as a hot tub, another would make a decent tea cup, and everything in between. The view is spectacular. It goes on forever, and you can almost be stuck with vertigo looking down at the winding streets and blinding traffic.