How We Ended Up in Belgium
Every ten years, for Josh’s birthday, we do the same(ish) trip to the UK. The twins came on the last one when he turned 40, but I realized when they were born that they would be in late high school when our trip for his 50th rolled around. I dreamed that we’d do a three-day walk into Canterbury, reading Chaucer along the way.
But then COVID happened.
And the company that ran the three-day walk shut down.
And we weren’t certain we should go on the trip at all, especially since we hadn’t left home in years due to the pandemic. But we talked it out and decided that we were all okay with the restrictions we’d need to put in place (masks, takeaway meals in parks or in the hotel room, curtailed plans) to make the trip happen. So we stuck with our tradition and hit the UK for Josh’s 50th.
One afternoon, the ChickieNob and I Googled how long it would take to go from London to Paris on the Eurostar. It was too far for a day trip, but as we played on the site we discovered that Brussels was only two hours from London. We started campaigning for day trip to Brussels, which became a family joke for a few days.
Until Josh bought the Eurostar tickets and we were locked into a 7 am train to Belgium. Which meant we needed to leave our hotel at 5 am to get to the station on time. Suddenly it didn’t seem quite as funny.
But it turned out to be one of the best days of the trip. Not just the endless waffles or stocking up on French books. We did very little research before we left, so we spent the day wandering up and down streets, poking into cathedrals and parks, and just watching the city unfold in front of us. As someone who overplans, it was a nice change to have a day somewhere unknown with no agenda.
9 comments
I love your pictures!!! Thank you for sharing. I am so happy to read that you and your family were able to have a safe and enjoyable trip. Yay!!!
Did you get any chocolate? My favorite company is Mary. Our train went through Brussels on the way to Paris, but we didn’t stop.
That sounds fabulous! I am envious!
My mouth is watering over those waffles!! lol And that architecture!! I’ll bet you’re glad you made that spur-of-the-moment decision to go.
Kind of mind-blowing that you could travel two hours, across (under??) water, even, and be in a totally different country. (Well — I’m only about two hours from the U.S. border, maybe even slightly less… but you know what I mean!)
There’s something wonderful about a day with NO PLANS on a trip, just the pure joy of exploration. I’m so glad you had such a lovely time. And glad you had the waffles. We had our very first waffles at the train station in Brussels – they were simple sugar waffles, but delicious!
Beautiful pictures and I love a good “covid didn’t ruin this” story. I’m so glad you got to take your trip. I’m a planner, too, but a day spent wandering is so lovely.
I lived in Brussels. And commuted to Lyon where my husband worked. It was a really nice period in my life.
Happy to hear you liked it. I liked it as well.
Woohoo!! That sounds like a wonderful blast!!! Glad you went and enjoyed!
That is so fabulous and spontaneous! I love the art, especially the bicycle building. Who can say they took a day trip to Belgium???? YOU CAN!