During this trip we wanted to explore new places neither of us had been. We looked on the map and saw that Brussels, Belgium was a short train trip through the Chunnel Tunnel. We took a morning Eurostar, had a lovely breakfast that was brought to our seats as we traveled from London, through France and on to Belgium.
Belgium was our shortest stay but we celebrated the start of 2020 in Brussels. Our room at Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Place Rouppe was wonderful. The hotel was just outside the ‘touristy’ area of the City. An easy walk to Grand Place and the Galeries where the architecture is gorgeous at both locations. The Royal Palace of Brussels (which was closed when we were there) is also a beautiful building.
Atomium was one of the attractions that was on my husband’s list. It was a short train trip out of the city center. The day was very foggy so we didn’t get to see much from the top but it was fun to learn the history behind the structure. Other highlights were seeing the famous Manneken Pis, eating a lot of Belgian Chocolate (omg – yum), and of course consuming Belgian waffles (both sweet and savory) and Belgian fries. Thankful that they, too, appreciate and love mayo on fries. I am beginning to realize they love their food! We really enjoyed sampling the local libations, as well.
The last day, before heading to the airport to fly back to Dublin, we rented scooters (I already had the app on my phone) and made our way over to the south-east part of the city limits and the Parc du Cinquantenaire area.
Although some people spoke English, Brussels was definitely more challenging when buying tickets and making purchases. Several different languages are spoken there. Of the three countries we visited, Belgium felt the coldest (it was late Dec/early Jan) but with proper attire and all the walking we kept plenty warm.
Looking for more? You can view the scans from London, England here and Ireland here.
