just another morning here

We woke up to a grey misty morning that showed no sign of lifting (it didn’t), so we decided to head for Brussels. Set the sat nav to take us to the Centre Belgique de la Bande Dessinee, and it did a great job, we spotted a car park nearby and parked there. Spent a couple of hours looking round, it was a good museum although way too much for us to take in! We bought the children a Tintin book each on the way out

Started to walk towards the Manneken Pis and Planete Chocolat, our two other chosen destinations, and stopped for lunch on the way. Walked down a street full of cafes, inspecting the menus and not really knowing which one to go in, until we found Chez Leon – advertising free meals for under 12s with their parents! Woo hoo, so we went in, and the food was fantastic – theirs as well – the girls had delicious spaghetti bolognaise while Joe had chicken, chips & applesauce, which he loved. And ice cream for dessert – all free! So Steve and I *really* enjoyed our meals too Felt a bit bad to have steak rather than mussels in Belgium but I just couldn’t stand the thought of ordering them only to find out that my memory was correct and I still hate them!

So after lunch – carried on walking, had to go into the Tintin boutique just because it was cool, then eventually got down to la Grande Place (very grand indeed) and saw the Mannekin Pis, then Planete Chocolat. We’d thought we’d see chocolate making demos in the shop (that’s what the guidebook said) but as it turned out they were only on Saturdays so we just bought a small bag of overpriced chocolate and went back to sit in La Grande Place and have a taste (overrated, imo).

From there we walked back to the car, then decided to go home via the Atomium. The Atomium was pretty cool, both inside and out. Would have loved to see it lit up at night too, but we didn’t stay that long – got home by 6pm for some more playing/tea/relaxing/bedtime.

Tintin books were much appreciated later on and gave us hours of peace and quiet! Just as well, because it started raining when we got back to the tent and didn’t stop for about 2 days!

So we have 2 days left before our big summer holiday. Big as in long (even though Steve dosses around an awful lot while we’re home it’s still a big deal to leave the garage for 2 whole weeks), and big as in exciting to be going somewhere different! We’ve done a few French holidays in different areas of France but those are easy because I speak fluent(ish) French so not much challenge there. This one feels far more adventurous to us, anyway, and it’s about time we had some adventurous travel!

We’re planning one week near Amsterdam, at Camping Zeeburg. After that we’re heading down into Belgium to stay nearish Antwerp at Baalse Hei.

Boring post at the moment, just a collection of links of stuff we might do while we’re away – mainly published here so that I can access them all easily from anywhere – and so that Steve can look at them while he’s at work today! And if anyone’s been to Amsterdam or done a tour of Belgium I’d love to hear any other recommendations.

Anne Frank’s House
Artis Zoo
Nemo Science Centre
Amsterdams Historisch Museum
Pizza Cruise!
Rijksmuseum
Van Gogh museum

Haven’t looked for the Belgium week yet, might add to this post later – but I am mainly planning a day in Antwerp, a day in Brussels, and a day in Bruges – then plenty of dossing around on the site.

Bruparck incl Oceade, Mini Europe and the Atomium.