It’s feels weird that I’m finally sitting at my desk and blogging again. From the last time I posted until today, I’ve been the busiest I’ve ever been. I’ve started multiple new jobs and had so many things to do that I was totally overwhelmed by it all. I missed countless of events, both blogger events and friends/family, to try and catch up with everything. I’m still running around like crazy but I’m learning to prioritise better which has become necessary.
But no matter how busy I am, there’s always time to travel! We had never been to Brussels so we decided to make good use of the public holiday, that falls on the 8th December, and made our way for 72hours in Belgium with a couple of friends. This is not exactly a travel guide as we only spent a couple of days in Belgium but I thought it would be nice to share what we did, what we saw and where we found the best food!
Leuven
We were staying in Brussels but Leuven, Belgium was our first stop. It’s known to be a university town and a great stop when travelling from Bruges and Brussels. We didn’t spend a lot of time in Leuven but its gothic architecture is striking and stunning to say the least. The best thing about Leuven is that you can easily explore everywhere on foot. Belgium weather could get freezing in December (in fact it snowed on our trip) so we visited an incredible amount of coffeeshops. Koffie Onan had an amazing cinnamon chia latte that helped us gear up for the cold weather.
Ghent
On that same day, we caught the train from Leuven to Ghent, Belgium. Ghent is absolutely beautiful, especially during the festive season. Ghent Christmas markets were some of the best I’ve seen. From sausages and hot wine to gluten free coconut pastries and chocolate; Ghent had it all. Its city centre is a pedestrian area and the architecture and narrow roads were a gem to explore. We decided to act like tourists and visit the Gravensteen Castle. The view from the top is magical. By night, Ghent transformed into the magical city of your dreams. The Christmas lights were on in full swing and we all got into the festive vibe. Apparently, you cannot visit Belgium without eating mussels and fries. So we made our way to our hotel in Brussels and went to Lobster House for dinner. Needless to say, we all ordered a giant bowl of mussels and fries.
Bruges
Bruges, Belgium is one of the prettiest cities I’ve been to. But be aware, it’s VERY touristic. While we were walking to the centre it seemed like we were all in one big tour because the amount of people walking in our direction was massive. At some point, people started going their separate ways so we could breathe again. Bruges is known for being a romantic and inspiring place and it honestly looks like a fairy tale. The picturesque canals and historical buildings are definitely worth exploring. After we visited the Choco-Story Museum, we enjoyed lunch at a very cute place called Books & Brunch. It had a Christmas tree made of books! I ate the most expensive gluten free sandwich I’ll probably ever eat but at least it was super tasty! I also have to give a shout-out to Bourgogne des Flandres for spotting me on Instagram and inviting us to try their homemade beer. Thanks guys! We want to another seafood restaurant for dinner in Bruges. I cannot remember the name but the service wasn’t great so I wouldn’t really recommend it. The mussels and fries were actually rather tasty though.
Brussels
We dedicated our last day to exploring Brussels. The best part of it all – IT WAS SNOWING and I had never seen actual snow. It snowed in Glasgow last year but it had all melted by the morning. This was proper snow and it was magical. We got soaked and we were terribly cold and so we went to warm up at The Sister Brussels Cafe. If you have dietary requirements, this is the place to be. They even have gluten free and vegan waffles! We explored the Brussels Christmas markets and you cannot go to Brussels without seeing the Grand Palace and Manneken Pis. We also caught the Christmas Lights Show in the city centre which was enchanting.
Thanks Belgium, visiting you was great!
I can’t wait for our next adventure!