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Published: December 23rd 2008
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And so begins our adventure to yet another country! To be exact, Belgium is now the 8th country we’ve visited in Europe! We began our journey on the Eurostar from London to Brussels. Taking the train was a nice change from flying since we didn’t have to be at the train station until approximately 45 minutes before departure. Although the Eurostar is one of the fastest trains in the world, we arrived an hour later than expected due to delays at the Eurotunnel which passes under the English Channel. Once we arrived we walked for over an hour through some very sketchy parts of Brussels until we found our hotel which ended up being in a nice part of the city. We stayed for 3 nights at the Crowne Plaza Europa Hotel.
We began Saturday, our first full day, by boarding a train to go to a small town called Bruges. Bruges is a very picturesque town with cute cobblestone streets and stone buildings. Bruges quickly became one of our favourite European cities. Bruges is known as the “Venice of the North” as it has many small canals weaving through the town. The town has a very festive atmosphere over Christmas
with Christmas markets lining the streets, an outdoor skating rink, music playing and plenty of delicious Belgian chocolates and waffles to feast on! We both endulged our tastebuds with a real Belgian waffle. Tasting the “real thing” was far better than any so-called Belgian waffles served at home! We later enjoyed a half-hour boat tour along one of the canals followed by a nice meal at an Italian restaurant. During the course of the day, we visited a countless number of specialty chocolate shops and took in the beautiful architecture as we walked through the small streets. Will got us lost at one point, and we almost ended up outside the town, but it worked out because we discovered a lovely part of town that is often overlooked due to it being so far from central Bruges. This part of town has two windmills up on a hill overlooking a quaint residential area. At night the town was well-lit with bright and colourful Christmas lights. We strolled hand-in-hand through the streets as we made our way back to the train station to return to Brussels.
Our last two days were spent in the city of Brussels. We did what we
do best while on vacation…WALK! We walked and walked and walked some more, exploring the streets, buildings and hidden gems of the city. The buildings were gorgeous and the food was fantastic. Belgium is definitely not a place to visit if you’re on a diet! We had our fair share of waffles, fries, croissants and hot chocolate (Bri enjoyed a few hot chocolates!). Our tummies still ache as we’re writing this blog! The hot chocolate was unbelievable. It consisted of a cup of hot milk and a cube of real dark chocolate on a stick designed to be stirred into the hot milk until fully melted. Absolutely to die for! To our surprise, Belgium is also well-known for having great fries. Their fries are considered so unique because of the range of sauces offered to accompany the dish. For example, you can get fries with mayo, cocktail sauce, ketchup, curry ketcup, mustard, tartar sauce, curry sauce, chili sauce or even pickled onions. It may sound like all we did was eat while on our trip, but we did take a break from all the food from time to time!
Overall, Belgium is a lovely country to visit. The Christmas markets
and festive atmosphere brought alive the Christmas spirit. Now, we’re back in England for the night and we’re off to Scotland bright and early in the morning! You’ll hear from us again soon! Merry Christmas!!!
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Mommy
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Wow!
How many people your age can say they've visited soooo many countries! Wow. Ted and I miss you terribly, particularly at this time of year but man, we're so glad that you are taking advantage of this fantastic opportunity. Great photos, guys. Thanks for sharing. We love you!!!!