Brussels to Bruges part 1

Last week husband and I took off on the Eurostar to Brussels. It was ace. Have you tried the Eurostar? That's a post in itself really, so exciting for this English girl to get on a train in London and get off in another country, must be the island living. I digress...

Brussels

Such a small city bursting with an array of architectural styles, different nationalities, languages and vibrant cultures. We had 3 days in Brussels so naturally one of those was spent enjoying our hotel and catching up on much needed rest. Party goers we are. When we weren't sleeping we visited the Grand Place, climbed up the Atomium, wandered around national parks, ate waffles and chocolate, drank Belgian beer and visited the European parliament.

The skies were grey, it rained some of the time and it was so very very cold. However, it was exciting to explore with my adventuring husband and it's another city ticked off my travel list. My favourite part? I'd love to say it was the culture but it was the food (history graduate truth right there).

Top tips for travelling to Brussels:

1. As with most of Europe now, carry a 50c "wee coin" to pay for public toilets
2. Research travel cards for the transport system as you can save a lot with passes instead of pay and go travel cards
3. If a hotel says it has a star rating take 1 star off to meet your "at home" expectations. We stayed here
4. You can walk to most places in the city, buy a map and see the sights as you walk
5. Lunch/breakfast snacks are cheaper and just as nice at a local Carrefour supermarket rather than using cafes all the time
6. On from 5, Brussels doesn't have many cafes, buy snacks when you can
7. Eating out in the evening is expensive, Brussels is expensive
8. Most museums run at a 15euro entry price for an adult...choose a couple you really want to visit
9. Brush up on your French, it'll be really useful for travelling around the city/reading signs
10. If you're travelling from London, Eurostar and Easyjet are cheap options to get there (we paid £30 p.p. return on Eurostar)

They love this little weeing statue

So. Much. Chocolate.

Fresh waffles 

A gold gilted building in the Grand Place

Grand Place

Atomium (you climb stairs inside the tubes to get to the spheres)

Spot the military security

I have no clue what this represents

Family & Friends

After the family had all feasted on their six course meal we rolled ourselves outside to have photos taken before starting the dancing. We'd arranged for hog roast buffet to be served for the evening guests and i'm told it was very very good but personally, I couldn't eat another morsel after the formal dinner! The sun was causing some problems for our photographer but every time a cloud came over we all smiled and got the photos taken. These are a mixture of family and friend shots...

Our reception pt.1 (the feasting part!)

The country club we held our reception at was so beautiful and the staff were brilliant. The maitre d' organised his staff and our guests in such a low-key professional way that we didn't really notice anything going wrong. We kept the first part of the reception for just family and friends joined for the second part. The dining room was gorgeous and the food was so great I think I ate a little too much for a corseted bride!

Our wedding : before we said "I do"

Our ceremony was at 1pm on the big day giving us plenty of time to prepare and beautify ourselves! I woke up around 7.30am (after an almost sleepless night) and had a leisurely breakfast with my niece and dad. My hairdresser arrived at 9am and my hair and nails were started...

I sort of imagined lots of people around on the morning of the wedding. What I failed to realise was that they all had to get ready too! So I did my own make-up on the floor of my parents' spare room and listened to some worship music. Final bridesmaid arrived and they got me into my dress - then the nerves really started to flood in! We had some first look photos with my dad and were on our way to the church. The morning had flown by and I felt like I was being carried on a stream of people moving me from one place to the next! 

Now for some before the ceremony photos...

The walk down the aisle felt so short, it wasn't long before I had to let go of my dad's arm and stand at the altar with the entire room looking at us *nerves*