This Belgium trip was planned quite last minute. We were supposed to be going to Portugal but that fell through and Adrian decided to bring us to Belgium with him on another conference instead. He had been there the year before and warned me Leuven is quite a boring town (which I disagree). A few people voiced their concerns as to whether I'll be able to cope with 2 young children in a foreign country. But hey, we are living in a foreign country anyway so there isn't much of a difference, is there? I was more concerned about where to bring them during those 3 days when Adrian would be at the conference. Kids under 4 travel free on Eurostar so better grab this opportunity before Louisa turns 4 end of the month.
Travelling light and travelling with kids certainly do not go hand-in-hand. There are just so many things to bring when you have little ones travelling with you. For us adults, we can wear an outfit for more than a day but for kids, their clothes get dirty easily and hence must prepare more than 1 set for a day. Then there are the diapers, standby medication, toys and books to entertain them with etc etc etc. When we went to Disneyland Paris in May, we had Jean and Lydia to help with the luggages but this time round, it's just the 4 of us. Luckily, a colleague of Adrian who has a home in Belgium is driving there for the conference and has kindly agreed to bring one luggage for us. So we coped....one stroller, one cabin-sized luggage, a big bagpack and another smaller one.
Day 1
Took the morning train to Brussels. Reached there around 2pm. It was really hot and we were all looking forward to checking into our hotel room. However, we were shocked to discover the room had no aircon and NO FAN! I rang the reception and asked if they have any fans and one (very small) was promptly brought up to our room. We unpacked and had a little rest before going out for a walk in the town centre. Adrian asked the receptionist if there are any airconditioned rooms and was told that all the top floor rooms (executive) are but all were booked until our last night and they cost an extra 25 Euros. We were so disappointed but put in a reservation for that day anyway.
I was surprised to see many people cycling. It seems like everyone owns a bicycle. I was awed by the medieval buildings. The town has a lively atmostphere with many restaurants and cafes scattered all over. Adrian took me to the beads shop which he had patronised last year. The shop is so beautifully done up (I didn't take any pics as I thought I'd ask for permission later when I make a purchase). The beads that they sell are all high quality and very, very pretty. I was so excited even I was just looking at the many different hues and shapes of beads. One interesting thing though. To make a purchase, you have to take a card when you enter the shop and write down the price and quantity of the beads you are buying. They do not count the beads and will trust whatever's written on the card. As we were rushing off to meet Adrian's friends for dinner, we didn't stay long in the shop and I couldn't make a purchase.
We had a nice dinner at Old Market Square. The portions were huge! Things are relatively cheaper in Belgium than in UK. Beer costs about the same as water and juice. I love their cherry beer and we bought some from the supermarket to bring home.
All the shops close by 6pm so we went back to our hotel after dinner. We asked for another fan. Louisa kept waking up that night and complained about the heat. I couldn't sleep. It was about 35 degree celsius that day....unbearably hot and humid and the room felt warmer than outside.
Day 2
Adrian rushed off after breakfast so I was left with the girls. I planned to bring the girls out in the mornings and back to the hotel in the afternoons for Lavigne to nap. This trip is meant to be 'rest-and-relax' anyway. Adrian did some research on the internet for places suitable for children to go to. Our destination today is Hortus Botanical Garden. The girls had fun running around and as a keen gardener, I enjoyed looking at the plants and flowers. This is where I managed to capture a few good pics too. On our walk back to the hotel, I bought some bites from a bakery and the girls ate at the hotel lobby where there is aircon. It was again so hot I couldn't sleep. In the end, I got my novel and went to the hotel lobby to read till about 2am. Even then I didn't feel cool enough.
Day 3
The weather didn't look promising and so I decided to go shopping instead. Summer sale was on but there wasn't much to buy. I bought a tee for Adrian and a few pieces of clothing for Louisa and myself from Zara. A rather uneventful afternoon we had....Louisa played with her soft dough....Lavigne napped while I read.
Day 4
We switched room today. Moved up to the executive room with aircon. I didn't expect much of the room so was pleasantly surprised to see that it was newly refurbished and huge by normal hotel standards and best of all, it was cold!
We went to Kessel-Lo Provincial Recreation Park. It is a family park for recreation, sports and education. There are 2 playgrounds, electric boat rides, minicars track, a midget golf course and an open-air heated splashing-pool. The playground dedicated for sand playing is, in my opinion, excellent and one of the best playgounds I've been to so far. A mother offered my girls her child's play kit to play with when the latter wasn't interested with it. At the animal farm, Louisa happily observed the goats while Lavigne was a little scared with them. One goat had an itchy head as it kept scratching it against a branch. Very funny to look at. I'd love to spend more time than we did at the park but I didn't realise it was that big and therefore didn't prepare enough food and other stuff for us to stay longer. Nonetheless, the girls had so much fun and were worn out after that.
Met up with Adrian's friends for dinner again. Passed a packed luggage to Philip again for him to bring back to UK. The girls were treated to ice-cream (compliments of Philip) and guess what...it rained today! Yes.....after we upgraded to the exective room. But Adrian said that our room would still be warm even if it rained since it always felt hotter when we were in the room.
Day 5
It was a pity we only spent a night in the executive room. All of us slept so well the previous night. I went to the bead shop after breakfast while Adrian looked after the girls at the hotel. I was so disappointed it was closed and doesn't open till 10pm. Adrian only gave me 1/2 hr so I didn't have time to wait. We checked out and took a train back to Brussels. Upon reaching the hotel, we ran into so many problems with our booking. First we were given an normal executive room when we booked for a king suite. We were told all the suites were taken up when we had already confirmed our booking. Then we were given a suite on the 1st floor facing the main road and I found out the aircon wasn't working. Finally after much complaints, we were brought to one queen suite which had been magically vacated. It was a non-smoking room but I could smell the smoking stench when I opened the door. We were told our luggages would be brought up to our final room but they were not even when we went back to the hotel after a trip to Mini-Europe and that we a few good hours later.
Day 6
We had a train to catch at 2.50pm so didn't have much time to go anywhere. Took the metro to the Grand'Place, a historic market square with its splendid guild houses and the impressive Gothic beauty of the Town Hall, widely considered to be one of the most beautiful town squares in Europe.
Checked out of hotel (we were charged for a phonecall made from our room at a time when we were out) and hopped on Eurostar for our journey back to UK.
Afterthoughts
Adrian is pleased we were able to cope with the girls on a trip abroad. Though we didn't really get to see much or go to many places, it was overall a good trip. For some reasons, Lavigne didn't have a good appetite when we were there. Perhaps it's the heat plus the fact that she was teething. Will I go again next year? You bet!
Click here to see the holiday photos. (Reached my limit for the month so didn't manage to upload all. Adrian doesn't agree to me upgrading to a Pro account)
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