Hi darlings how are you today? If you follow me on Instagram you already know that on Christmas weekend we went away to Belgium. As promised here is all the info from were we stayed to where we ate!
Transportation
We were debating whether to go by train or car but in the end we chose to rent a car. The price of the train went quickly up and the car was more affordable, plus it was more convenient for us. The boys were working on Friday 24/12 so we’ve decided to go right after they finished with work. It was only 2.5 from Haarlem to Brussels and we reached our destination at around 8-9pm.
Were we stayed
We stayed at Hotel ibis Brussels off Grand Place. The location of the hotel was fantastic! It was so easy to access by car and had a parking right next to it (22 euro the whole day). It was also right next to the city center so you could do everything by foot. The room was small for 3 people but personally we don’t care about the size of the hotel room. We are the type of tourists that go out in the morning and go back to hotel only for sleep! Everything else was perfect! It was warm, clean and easy to check in/out. Actually for the check out you only needed to leave the keys in a box and that was it. Overall very happy with our choice and for sure we’ll chose it again in the future.
Places we visited
Our plan was only to go to Brussels till the 26th in the evening and then come home. Because it was Christmas weekend though everything was closed so we could only walk around the city and explore. That’s why we’ve decided to wake up early on the 26th, pack our things and stop in Antwerp on our way back home.
In Brussels we walked around the historical city center and an little outside of that. Among the things we saw were the Grand Place, Manneken Pis, the St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral, the Brussels Park, the Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon, the Royal Palace of Brussels and the Halle Gate. Unfortunately as I said everything was closed for Christmas so we only could see the outside. Thank goodness the Christmas market was open so we an even more magical time!
In Antwerp we did the exact same and walked around the historical city center. Among the things we saw were the Het Steen, the Antwerp City Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady Antwerp.
I want to visit both cities again when everything is open so I can see even more things. In general I liked Belgium and I want to explore it more.
Were we ate
We had breakfast on the 25th at Break point. I got panini with ham & cheese that had salad on the side and earl grey tea. The boys got omelettes, Simos had a cappuccino and Alex café viennois. Everything was tasty and the portions were filling. We paid in total 42 euro.
Belgium among things is very famous for its chocolate so we couldn’t visit without getting any. We got from 3 different stores but we actually tried only from one ourselves. The chocolaterie is called Mary but I’ll dedicate the next post only on that! The chocolates we got from the other two places are for our families so I haven’t tried them yet. These stores are Delices du Roy and La Belgique Gourmande.
We our Christmas dinner at Le Bistro – Porte de hal. Simos and Alex went for a tradition Belgian food, the Flemish beef stew, and I got steak with fries. You cant go to Belgium and not get fries! I asked the steak to be well done (please don’t shoot me!) and it was still so soft and perfect. On Le Bistro we had one of the best food we had in a while. Definitely recommend it if you ever be in Brussels. From the food, to the service and the whole vibe of the place it was without doubt a 5 out 5 place! We also had 3 Orval beers and paid around 72 euro.
On the 25th after our dinner we went to Delirium for beer. We got 10 tap beers for 25 euro.
Another thing that Belgium is very famous for are waffles. On the 26th we ate breakfast/brunch in Antwerp in House of Waffles. I got the – Club BLT (bacon, lettuce, egg and cream cheese), Bruges Cheese Festival (Bruges cheese, cooked Breydelham, lettuce and tomatoes) and Banana Bonanza (banana, whipped cream and chocolate saus). Simos got cappuccino and Alex and I tea. I got Earl Grey Imperial he got Sencha Lemon Chamomile. We paid for all 61 euro.
