Apr 24, 2013 - Brussels, Belgium

I failed to realize until is was too late that my seat assignment for the flight to Brussels was a window rather than an aisle seat. Unfortunately for me my seatmate smelled funky (then again most of the passengers did) and was a large woman who took up part of my seat as well as her own. This meant that each time I fell asleep she'd bump & wake me, yet she kept looking at me as though I had done something to offend her. Good grief people! She could at least be nice/apologetic about it. I'm so thankful for having access to an arrival lounge...

Apr 17, 2013 - A Naughty Boy and EU Headquarters

We were up and ready for breakfast this morning, but first I went to tray and upload yesterday's journal, but could not make a connection. Another fellow was also trying unsuccessfully, so I felt better. I had been unable to do so last night and blamed low battery power in my computer, but that may not have been the problem. We enjoyed breakfast and we were supposed to be ready to go to Brussels from Ghent at 10:00am, so I quickly tried to connect with the Internet and did so with no problem and was able to get things done. We went to the...

Nov 5, 2012 - Crossing the channel and Brussels Belgium

The ferry across the channel was very peaceful except for this poor kid who kept screaming bloody murderer something in French while his parents ignored him. Modern parenting I guess. They told us that they had the remnants of hurricane sandy last night which made the north sea very rough. Thank God the weather changed for the better. The rest of the afternoon was spent driving to Brussels. We are now six hours ahead of you. Went downtown Brussels tonight. Yes jerry I saw mannequin pis. I even drank a Belgian beer at his pub! Dinner tonight...

Nov 3, 2012 - Brussels day trip

This morning it is raining again but I am off by fast train to Brussels to spend the day and add another country to my growing list, lol The train takes 1 1/2 hours with no other stops along the way. Take the metro to the the city center of Brussels and check out the center square and the Grand Palace very nice, a stop at a small museum for a local brewery, showing a short film on making beer then to the tasting room for a couple samples very nice. A nice day here rained just before I got into the city, then a little sun peaking through the...

Oct 11, 2012 - Belgium

Scott had a rest day today and I took the kids to the comic strip museum and bought Stan a man bag and togs. Millie also scored some goggles in preparation for squad training when we get home. We also discovered Oscar de beaver waffles which Stan gave lashings of praise to. In fact throughout the course of the day we had made so many trips to Oscar de Beaver that he gave us a freebie. I guess that is when you know you've over done it so we went to Quick (think McDonalds) and ate some fried cheese. That didn't really make me feel any better....

Oct 10, 2012 - Belgium

Brussels is quite lovely. Scott and the kids are enjoying its cleanliness after Paris but I suspect some of the cleanliness it to do with regular rainfall. Scott has not wanted to do Belgium on this trip and rather than humouring me he has been punishing me leading up to this visit. Yesterday, I showed him a trailer for the movie In Brugge on the Internet and reminded him that watching this movie was the only requirement I had for him leading up to the trip. After watching the trailer I think he finally realised that the trip to Belgium...

Sep 30, 2012 - Amsta to Brussels via Bus

Hey, record broken Here. However, not super early wake up call for me today. Get up, head downstairs for my standard Hostel breakfast. FYI, not every hostel offers free breakfast, but anything is a bonus if YOU have the time. Breakfast starting times vary between 7am & 9am and finish either 10am or 11am.  I have about 35mins  before I to start walking to the train station for my 20min ride to the bus station. All goes well with no issues and I'm on the bus. Oh, first time in awhile, it hasn't rained at the start of my travel day. Nice! Oh,...

Sep 21, 2012 - Belgium - Brussels

13th - 14th September 2012 When anyone mentions Brussels Belgium, we immediately think of its famous chocolates and beers. But there are many attractions that the city has to offer. It is a centre of European culture, officially nicknamed ‘the European Village’, with almost 90 museums, beautiful parks, cobbled medieval square, fascinating walks, trendy restaurants and bars. Not forgetting the enticing scents of Belgian waffles. Unfortunately, we only had a two day stay in Brussels so a 3 hour walking tour gave us a broad overview of the...

Sep 17, 2012 - Brussells

We woke this morning and I was itching to get up and get at it. Ali wanted to lay in for an hour or two more, so I got up a bit earlier, to head out to the old town. In particular, I wanted to see the romanesque church - Gross Sankt Martin or Great St Martin in english. It has a magnificent tower, which forms part of the city skyline. I went out quickly, and walked a little bit over the same territory I was at yesterday evening. I walked down to the town hall, and instead of walking along the same streets, I turned down a corner tower which...

Aug 29, 2012 - in Brussels

This is quite a pretty city. Our guide was very informative and showed us some special things. He suggested a group of us have lunch on the top of an Art Deco style-museum so as to have a good meal with a great city view. (Sat with 3 folks from Woodenville, WA.) The sun was hot but the breeze helped keep us comfortable. Ivan and I did some “winkeling” [shopping]. Found new foot pads for him, toothbrush for me, and dark Belgian chocolate for us! In our travels we came upon the Grand Place in the heart of the city. The gold touches on the...

Aug 28, 2012 - Train to Brussels, Belgium

Up at 6:15 to pack and be ready for our 7:15 taxi to the train station. We were leaving too early for the hotel breakfast but Gunther gave us a bag with 2 pears and 2 apples plus a cup of coffee for me while we awaited the taxi! Such a kind and thoughtful guy! No problems finding our train or our seats today. It was a 6-hour ride to Frankfurt and a 25 min. layover before our 4-hour ride to Brussels. We got a taxi to our hotel, arriving there at 6:15 to freshen up, unpack a little, then walk a couple of blocks to meet our next Rick Steves...

Aug 20, 2012 - Bruxelles et Bruges en Belgique

Départ de Paris en TGV vers la gare du midi à Bruxelles. En moins de 90 minutes et nous sommes arrivés à destination. Nous avons quitté Paris au bon moment puisqu 'on annonce de fortes canicules pour les prochains jours. Pour notre première journée, nous voulons découvrir à pied les incontournables de Bruxelles soit: la Grande Place avec son tapis de fleurs, Manneken Pis, les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert et bien sûr s'arrêter prendre une pause et boire une bonne bière froide "À la Mort Subite" (bistro) institution datant de 1910. La...