JUNE JOURNEYS: Brussels
Larnaca - Brussels Charleroi
We flew there with Ryanair arriving to a small but modern airport, Brussels Charleroi airport which is in the south part of the city. From there you can access the centre either by taxi or shuttle bus. The taxi was the most expensive choice since they run on a fixed tariff starting from €25.
We took a shuttle bus from outside the airport and a return ticket cost €22. It took around 40 minutes to get from Charleroi airport to Midi train station in the centre. Once at the station we had to take a tram to get to our hotel. Without the help of the generous worker from the station, we would never get to the last tram and find our way around. The Midi station is quite big with lots of shops, trams, metros, trains and buses leaving from there and due to our late arrival in Charleroi, the station was literally empty.
Brussels
Brussels as a city apart from being an extremely expensive city it is nevertheless a business destination with a few hidden appetizing gems to discover.
Grand Place was indeed a beautiful square and all the buildings around the square seem to stand holding a dynamic old architecture full of history.
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| Grand Place |
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| Grand Place |
What stands out as the symbol and most bought souvenir of Brussels, is the Manneken Pis. Well, as curious travellers we went to see why this famous bronze statue attracts so many people. It definitely failed to win our attention having been so tiny and plain in reality.
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| Manneken Pis |
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| Manneken Pis |
Now before you scratch this popular hot spot off your travelling list we must say that despite being let down by the Manneken Pis, we fed our appetite by the surrounding places offering tasteful waffles freshly made. We tried waffle with nutella chocolate and fresh strawberries which was simply amazing! Leonidas is a chocolaterie that you will see literally everywhere from the airport to the station and it has the best waffles and Godiva is the most known for belgian chocolates.
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| Belgian waffles |
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| Leonidas Belgian Waffles |
Don't forget to also please your stomach by walking down the famous rue de Bouchers and sit in one of the several restaurants to get your hands dirty with moules frites (mussels with fries)!
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| Rue de Brouches |
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| Rue de Brouches |
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| Rue de Brouches |
Of course a visit in Brussels cannot be completed without a visit at the European parliament. A tour around the parliament or an audioguide from Parliamentarium is a must.
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| European Parliament |
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| European Parliament |
The Atonium, although appearing grand, was far away from the centre and it stands on its own without anything else nearby for someone to do.
Brussels Charleroi - Larnaca
Brussels was a destination that didn't have any surprises for us. It can only be enjoyed as a city to visit for a day or a weekend, have coffee in the Grand Place square, scoop mussels for lunch at rue de Brouches, enjoy shopping stopping at Rogier station, at Ciy2 shopping mall or from the many shops outside the mall and of course savour belgian waffles and chocolates.
