Brussels

Airline: Eurostar

Belgium’s capital Brussels is a vibrant historical and cultural city that never sleeps. From the cobblestones roads, to creamy chocolate, chips topped with mayonnaise and onions and the very well dressed Manneken Pis with his many stylish outfits, Belgium is a great weekend away.

The Journey

This was the first holiday my brothers paid for from their own pockets. But I can say it’s isn’t for 17-year-old boys who think eating, sleeping and playing the PSP is a holiday.

The journey was eventful, a train strike meant delays most of the day. By the grace of God, we were able to travel from Shortlands station to St. Pancreas without any problems. We check the train timetable and soon realised that all the trains after ours had been cancelled. This time my mums annoyingly early nature worked in our favour for once.

We boarded the Eurostar travelling in economy and had snacks and drinks that we had purchased on the way. The funniest part of the journey was nearly jumping off at Lille France and having to run back on. Clear signs and a voice-over would have been helpful Eurostar.

My brothers are twins and over 6′ tall (I have no idea how I’m so short), and they found the journey very uncomfortable. This then made me uncomfortable as they took my leg room too. After our mistake of running off and back onto the train, we were too embarrassed to sit back in our seats so decided to sit out in the luggage area. This was the best idea we ever had! we had sooooo much space to be free. We even did a mini photo-shoot!

On arriving in Brussels, we had to get to our hotel, it was a quick train ride and a bit of a walk. We however got lost and explored their amazing and intricate subway system. It meant a longer walk down the cobble-stoned roads, but we made it. Whilst walking we quickly noticed a heavy armed police presence and this did make us feel unnerved to begin with, but it becomes part of the background decoration by the end.

The hotel experience

Warwick Brussels hotel is a regal and beautiful place, everything you would expect from a 5* hotel. Decorated in gold, it is clean and inviting and the beds were comfortable – I felt like royalty. However, this royal knows her limits and as breakfast was £30pppn we opted for the delicious breakfast al-a-McDonalds. Under £30 for the 4 of us and their Hot Chocolate, quite rightly so in a country known for its chocolate, was probably the best I had ever tasted. McDonalds in the UK need to take a leaf out of Belgium’s book.

Food

We lived on Belgium waffles, chocolate and speciality frites – we stayed true to what Belgium is stereo-typically known for. I preferred the standard sugar waffles, but the family all enjoyed ones with ice-cream, Nutella and chocolate. The chips or frites, whilst terrifyingly expensive, were moreish. Smothered in fried onions, mayonnaise and Tomato ketchup this £5 each delicious bomb of cholesterol was bad for your arteries and for your bank balance, but we probably had this everyday regardless.

Places of interest/activities

We walked around and enjoyed the culture but didn’t particularly do any excursions. Mum and I enjoy museums and history, but there was no way my brothers would do any of that.