Region de Bruxelles-Capitale Travel Blogs, Travelogues and Travel Journals - Page 3

My first autumn in the Northern Europe is fantastic weather has been fantastic with unexpectably warm and sunny days and the trees are beautiful! photos are c/o james as he is more motivated to take photos than I am

Some random pics from my random travels

We woke up at 6am and went downstairs to get our bags weighed. On Contiki, your luggage cannot weigh more than 20kgs, and the rule is strictly enforced.  The night before I had to shove a few items in my bus bag as my luggage was 26kgs when leaving Sydney (I know now I shouldnt have brought that much!). Luckily my bag weighed in at just on 20kgs and I was free to go! Next thing I know Bree and I heard someone yell out "European Impressions this way!" Turns out it was our bus driver, Mago…

I was invited by a friend to attend a wedding in Normandy, France. I couldn't refuse. After the wedding, we heading to Paris, Brussels, and finally Amsterdam.

We headed for a road trip to Brussels which was quicker than I thought.  Four hours by Eurolines bus from Paris to Brussels was not really that long.  Things were quiet when we got to the city and shops were closed which made us wonder if it was a holiday that day. After lunch, we took a short walk to the historical centre and there we found people, lots of them..... all around the small packed place. Like any other tourists, we were out there in search for the famous little …

So last night, I walk up to the front door of the house I am staying in and have the horrible realization that I had forgotten my key inside. And it was 1230a. I debated whether or not I should try and wake the family up and let me in. I voted for no. So instead, I spent all night wondering around Brussels and getting more and more exhasted. I dont know if I should put all of the details in here because it might make of the more faint at heart worry too much. I will be happy to tell you all a…

I had known for months that I would be traveling Europe with my childhood friend Dan during the summer of ’95, but like most other pending dates I had put off getting ready to the very last minutes.  Dan’s cousin (who we affectionately call Kin) and another friend were to pick us up at 7:00 am and take us four hours to Chicago’s O’Hare for our flight.  As it was ten PM, I had nine hours to move out of my apartment, put my things in storage, pack for a four month trip (and I …

We got ourselves out of bed at a reasonable hour on Sunday morning, vacated our hotel and followed our map to where the Sunday markets were hosted.  It was huuuuuge.  We only bought a few bits and pieces but it amused us for hours - so much stuff to check out.   We needed to check into the Eurostar in the late afternoon so once we'd finished at the markets we headed back into the town centre to finish up our souvenier shopping.  We were thoroughly exhausted when we sa…

I have a love-hate relationship with Eurolines. On the one hand they are cheap and, as buses go, not that uncomfortable. On the other, their timetables are never convenient and I dont remember being on one that came in on-time. This is ok because part of traveling is planning for delays and dealing with grumpy bastard drivers and stopping off at the most expensive cafeteria in Belgium. Going through the Channel Tunnel, or the Chunnel as the eloquent Brits like to call it, is both exciting and…

Gestern habe ich nur die moderne Kathedrale besucht, ein etwas älteres gotisches Gegenstück gibt es aber auch noch. Vorbeigegangen bin ich dort noch gestern abend nach dem Abendessen, zwar war es noch hell und die Sonne noch nicht untergegangen, aber trotzdem schon spät und so war sie leider schon geschlossen. Daraufhin habe ich nachgefragt, wann sie denn öffnen würde - sieben Uhr morgens wurde mir daraufhin mitgeteilt.Also war ich heute pünktlich um sieben Uhr morgens vor der Kathedral…

    Vandrarhemmet var något i särklass. Först fungerade inte våra kortnycklar till den stora entréporten, när den väl gjorde det gick vi upp för en trappa, öppnade en dörr med nyckelkortet som ledde till en gammal, sned, smutsig och till synes välanvänd spiraltrappa! Jag lyckades övervinna min höjdrädsla och gick längst upp till översta våningen, och längst bort i korridoren där vårt rum låg. Rummet var verkligen så kalt som det bara gick att få det. Det…

So, we'd previously been to Brussels, and that contrast we noticed in Brugge was again obvious as we arrived back there for a day looking around at a few things we'd seen before, and a couple we hadn't. Our first stop was the main square (again, it has some sort of famous name but just can't come up with it right now) to try to locate the waiter we'd dubbed "the best waiter in the world" on our first visit to Brussels. Unfortunately, there was a marathon on in town that day, and the obvious f…

After a very enjoyable night out and a slight hangover I suggested that we visit the Antomium (the only memory, apart from the pissing boy, I had from my previous visit)The Antomium is a relic from a 1950's past World's Fair . The Atomium is an iron molecule magnified 165,000,000,000 times and turned into a huge building, and i must say it is very impress to look out. Warning, I did come away with over 200 picture shots, (thank you digital camera)

My friends went to Amsterdam, I decided to take the hop on bus to be able to see more of the city. I sat on top of the bus, despite the cold. I wasn't able to bring my gloves so I am freezing =D Went back to the hotel to add more layers of clothes.. Watched the Nadal and P. Koshi match on TV. it rained, after rain went out again Went around on my own to see the daylight. Bought the chocolates.. soveiners nd decided to get lost in the city.. Looked for Japanese food - none went with jen t…

If you ever need to travel from the UK to Brussels or Paris take the Eurostar. I used the new London St Pancras station this morning - it is great! Very easy to check in, no queues, lots of helpful staff and loads of comfortable seating. If you are travelling on your own ask your travel agent to book you a 'solo' seat very comfortable. Best of all 2 hours and you are in Brussels! Met with my colleagues from Four Seasons Hotel in Istanbul, Provence, Cairo and Lisbon for dinner in a local rest…