The night before, arrived at London city from Bricket Wood at around 6pm and stayed over at Journey's Waterloo Hostel (Day 1). Do refer to the reviews of Journey's Waterloo under the hostel blog.
The next morning (Day 2), took the 7.42am Eurostar to Brussels. The return train ticket costs 59 pounds. Arrived at Brussels Midi Station at 10.58am and proceeded to the ticket counter to purchase the Metro ticket to the hostel which is Jacques Brel Hostel where I stayed for the next 3 nights.
After checking in, went walking around the hostel area.
Passed by this beautiful church along the way.
Stopped by this place near the Grand Place for a quick fast food lunch and have a short rest observing the people around here.
After lunch, proceeded to the Grand Place (Market Place of Grote Markt). This place is well known as one of the beautiful town squares in the world. There were many tourists here and also a stage show was ongoing. The buildings were magnificent and beautiful. I felt like I was brought back many centuries before.
The Manneken Pis was nearby this place. It is a statue with a boy urinating. There are a few different legends about this statue but the one I heard was about this boy saving the city by urinating on some fire. The statue has become a main tourist spot for the city. Initially I thought it was a huge statue and somehow I just couldn't find it when I reached the location. I only realized it after seeing a group of people posing at one corner and after a close look, found out that it was the much talked about Manneken Pis that I was looking for, and sort of an icon for the Brussel city. I decided not to squeeze myself with the tourists and took a picture of it from across the street.
After that, took the Metro to Mini Europe. Just outside of Mini Europe is the Atonium but I didn't want to pay for the ticket to go up so I just took a photo of it and went ahead to my Mini Europe.
It was already 5pm when I reached the Mini Europe. It closes at 6pm. It was my first time to a miniature park and I was really facinated by the miniatures that look so much like real.
The next morning (Day 3), I followed the day tour from Viator to visit Ghent and Bruge. They picked me directly from the hostel. Most of the tourists were Europeans except for me and another teenage girl. I found out later that she was from Melaka but has been studying overseas and was there for a vacation too.
On the way to the city of Ghent....
We arrived at Ghent first. The weather was real bad on that day. It drizzles almost the whole day. We were given time to explore the city ourselves so off I went, snapping photos of the buildings and the city.
It was here that we left behind two tourists because they were late....the guide has specifically told us to be punctual and meet back at the bus at a certain time. We waited for an extra 15 minutes and they were no where to be seen so we left them and proceeded to the next stop - Bruge.
First to greet us was the Lake of Love. Sorry, I wasn't listening to the guide so not sure what was the history behind this lake...it was a very calm beautiful lake and I just can't help snapping pictures. It was a walking tour in this city and the guide will move on after he is finished with his story, so you see, if I pay attention, I would have no photos for memories or I probably would be the next to be left behind by the guide.
Bruge is a dreamy city to me. It is very tranquil and beautiful. People here seems so relaxed unlike the chaotic city back home.
We walked on the cobbled streets looking at shops and admiring the canals.
I stepped into this big church to have a peep inside. Nothing much to see, not my kind of interest.
We were then taken on a boat ride along the canals. It was one of the highlights of the day tour. We rode past houses and some of them who saw us on the boat waved at us from their kitchens.
This is a popular Market Square in Bruge. I like the cobbled streets.
Next, we stepped into a lace shop and was given a short briefing and demonstration on hand made lace. We were told that lace making is a compulsory lesson in school for the children.
We also walked passed some residential areas....everywhere is just so quiet and peaceful. I wonder where has everyone gone to.....
Back to Brussels next....that was the end of a satisfying trip and my 2nd day at Belgium. The tour company dropped me back at the hostel. Can't wait for the trip to Amsterdam the next day.
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