How We Spent Two Days in Brussels AKA A Two-Day (48 Hours) in Brussels Itinerary

I am determined to get this out before the end of the year because it's bad enough to be writing about this eight whole months after but to then carry it into a whole new year. Nah uh. 

Read about the other parts of the trip here: Paris here. And London here


This promises to be a much quicker read than the other two. 


Day 1: we arrived in Brussels and frankly, it looked a little rougher than expected. Of the three countries, this looked the least prettiest imo. Okay, so of course, we Uber to the hotel. Then we rested a little at the hotel. And went to look for food. We landed at a place called Pomodoro. Something was off here. The servings were HUGE (we had started getting used to the European decent serving size and not the humongous American sizes). The food was okay. It wasn't great but just okay. Then we headed back to the hotel. Ordered desserts from room service. Day 1 it was. 








Day 2

Day 2 started really really late. At this point, we were getting really tired and fatigued. In any case, we headed out to a place called Frank for breakfast/lunch. And the food we had there was the worst of the entire trip. The idea that anyone can ruin breakfast is insane. We ordered pancakes and it came looking sooo bizarre and tasted even worse than it looked. So did the Eggs Benedict something something. And the wait staff was incredibly impatient. Each time we asked for something, some sort of clarification from the menu, she responded with “do you need a minute?” Like ma’am I already went through the menu, I just want to know more from YOU. Anyway, we left when we finished eating, and then found another cute place for some coffee (and decaf for me). The ambience was even more beautiful. And then we left for some exploring. There was a market type place with lots and lots of shops. We did a lot of shopping here. Store to store to store. We found really nice things and for great prices too. Paris could never! We also had some Belgian waffles! It did not live up to the hype as much. But it was only one place; some others might get it better. Oh we found THREE beauty supply stores. We were soo shocked. And it was blackity black too with all the products for natural hair you can think of, wigs, weaves crochet hair, braiding hair, you name it. Anyway, we had a ton of things from shopping so we went back to our hotel to drop them. We walked all the way by the way.











Then we went to a place called  Grand-Place and it was so picturesque. The whole journey there was beautiful. I can’t imagine how gorgeous it would be at Christmas. Then we went on the hunt for Belgian chocolate. Actually no, somewhere along the way, rain started to pour so we took refuge in a chocolate store and bought some. Then we started hopping from place to place buying chocolate along the way. 












We then went to a place called The Noodle Bar for dinner. The ambience was wack but the food was great and flavorful. 







And it was time to head back to our hotel.


Day two it was.


Day 3

We started the day by heading to a place for brunch. I always had this sort of fantasy that an European country like Belgium would do breakfast so well; especially things like waffles, pancakes etc. But it was just a colossal waste. The pancakes were bad. We barely ate it and left. Then we found a Haagen Dazs store! Haagen dazs is one of my favorite dessert places in America. Their Belgian chocolate milkshake is normally stuff dreams are mad of. So we were excited when we found one while explore and were all  yesss, ready to dive in. This guy gave us a watery substance that was more like emptying sachets of Milo into cold water. It DID NOT pass the vibe check. Anyway, we headed back to our hotel, checked out of the hotel and waited in the Lobby for a while.Then we headed to the train station. And it was time to head back to London. Here, there was security, passport check and all. Note than when leaving London for Paris, there was. But getting into Paris there wasn’t any passport check and then going from Paris to Brussels, there wasn't any check points at all, and it was pretty much like heading from NewYork to Philly via Amtrak or something. Only you actually see more armed men on the New York - Philly route Lol.






Back in London, and luckily the timezone changed again so we gained an hour. We headed to dinner with my sister’s friend: Fish and Chips. My sister had been wanting this so bad. I know fish and chips is wack (sorry!) but I obliged because of her. It was just too bland and lacking in any flavor for me to enjoy. The spring rolls were DOPE though so that was that. 


Then we headed to our last (Praise God!) hotel for this stay –minutes from the airport. At this point, I was so tired, I promised myself to not do anything like this again. It was too much in too little time. But also simultaneously too much time away. We were soo drained, so tired from all the moving up and down, I think we might have lost weight. I think that took a lot away from the “vacation” so that it became a trip. Like a school excursion or even a work trip. 


Final thoughts:

By the third country, I was drained and tired. It’s hard to then enjoy it. It also was expensive. No matter how much you budget, double it. That said, my sister is an amazing travel buddy. We packed a lot into such little time, had some of the best foods of our lives, and explored till we couldn't anymore. One for the books. I know I will definitely head back to London and Paris. Maybe not Brussels except for work or something haha.


This has been a long time coming. I hope you enjoyed this!


Love,


I


 


2 comments

  1. Haha not the first paragraph/disclaimer 😂
    I think the difference in checks is because the UK left the EU with their Brexit rubbish. I remember this too when I was going from different Schengen countries. I also remember being so fatigued and over it by the time we got to Madrid that I now feel I need another trip to actually enjoy Madrid 😂😂. The carrying of luggage everywhere, hotel changing etc. can be so stressful but it’s the experiences and the travel buddy for me always!
    Now, thinking to not ever put Brussels on my list 😂😂
    What do you usually get to buy wife ok these stores? Asides from really cute souvenirs, I don’t think I ever shop on my trips (except the UK 😂💀).
    Aish

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    1. Haha! You know you have a good point re Brexit; totally valid explanation. And I'm glad it's not just me that gets tired on the multiple trips thing: it can be a LOT. I don't really shop as well but being in Europe it kinda made sense at the time to shop cos they just usually have stylish things. Anyhooo...Happy New Year!

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