Our tourism time in London was done and it was time to head to the train station. We hadn't taken a London cab yet so we decided it was the slightly easier way to get there though we technically could have taken the Underground and it would have been faster. London cabs are awesome. They have a low floor and seating for up to six and everyone plus your luggage piles into the same area. They are even handicap friendly as you can fit a wheel chair in through the door. Our cab driver was Malcom and there was a clear screen between him and us so unnecessary chit chat. Paying was easy too. Just say yes to the $2 tip and tap your card and you are done.
We had given ourselves the full 90 minutes to get checked in for the train but we could have probably pushed it to about 45 minutes. Our station was St. Pancreas and our cab dropped us off just down the street from the entrance. As soon as we got inside we were able get through security. The only thing that went wrong was that it would have been easier if each of us had our own ticket on our own phone. You scan your phone as you go through the turnstiles so we had to have Kerry hand her phone back to us as we went through. Security was similar to airport security but not quite as picky. You can take on liquids in a sealed container and even though I had the big bag with dozens of lotions and potions in it, it got a quick second look and then they let me through. Once we were through security we went to a holding area where we waited for them to tell us which platform we were leaving from. It opened up for us about 20 minutes before our departure time and our plane left at 8:16, perfectly on time.
Once we were on the train, we put the big bag in a holding area at the front of our car and went to our seats. There was room above and under our seats for our bags and suitcases and we had seats that faced each other with a table in between. No USB but there was WIFI, though it was a bit spotty. The train itself was clean and very smooth. It got up to 225 KM an hour and at one point 75 meters below the English channel. It's a shame Canada hasn't figured out high speed rail. We could get to Prince George in about 4 hours at those speeds. We arrived right on time in Brussels.
We knew we didn't have a real plan on getting from the train station to our hotel room but we also knew it wasn't that far. About a 20 minute walk which was only mildly complicated by rough cobble streets and the heat of the day. We've been contemplating how to get back there for our trip to Amsterdam and we've decided it's easiest to just walk again. I'm not even sure how close a cab could get to our hotel. Hopefully the wheels on the big suitcase survive the trip back. I have to lug the 50lb bag around.
We checked into our hotel right away and were lucky that our room was ready. The hotel is in the heart of old Brussels and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site but was still quite modern inside. The check in person insisted on having someone carry our big bag to the third floor and he didn't even stick around long enough to get a tip. Just dropped our bag and left. The room has a spacious lower layer and a loft area with two more beds. Carter and I got the loft while the girls got the lower area. No air conditioning but they've got three stand up fans for us to use. Our window looks out into a central square with lots of activity.
It was lunch time so our first stop was for some Belgium fries. They are quite crispy but I think it's the sauces that our their specialty. We had something that had the appearance of mayo-chup but with a bit of spice. We also learned the local rules on getting takeout. The prices for sit down are different so when we briefly sat to get our bearings they quickly ushered us a way. We then had desert at a waffle place that had the sugary waffles covered in toppings like caramel, chocolate, whipped cream and more. Very tasty.
We wandered around and accidentally came across the famous peeing baby statue. I think I was expecting it to be bigger but it was pretty much life sized. Callie and I had watched a video by John green that highlighted European artists and whether they had ever actually seen a baby. I'm not convinced the artist here had seen a baby. A little too muscular and really just looked like a tiny adult. It was peeing though, which is all that really matters.
We went back to our hotel in the afternoon and then did a bit more exploring around our hotel. We found a big church, a mural with the Smurfs which were apparently created by a Belgian and an open square with a stage set up. I'm assuming it was for summer concerts or something though it would have been nice to see the square without the stage in the way. The buildings near this square have gold covered accents and lovely statues. It would take weeks to check out all the details on all of the buildings.
We had dinner around 8:00p which was technically 7:00 from where we were yesterday. The pizza was quite delicious. We also stopped in at a local market where they had a machine that made you fresh squeezed orange juice. I think the whole orange went through it but it had a good filter so no pulp. We went back to our hotel and got all the fans going. It is about 27 degrees here so our room gets hot during the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment