Bruxelles

We traveled to Bruxelles by Eurostar which took us approximately 3-4 hours from London. Comfortable seats and there was a lounge where you can purchase sandwiches and snacks. (Rate: 8/10) Upon arrival, we took the cab to our hotel, Moon hotel. =) Simple room with a lovely view. Breakfast provided as well. The only drawback in most EU countries is that their hotels are narrow and there aren't any lifts so be prepared to drag/carry your luggages up via staircase on your own. Yes! No bellboy etc. It is a budget hotel after all, so, no frills. =P

Our room at the Moon Hotel.

( A very strategic location in the heart of Brussels)

The Grand Place

Just a 5 min walk from our hotel, the Grand Place is the Central Market square of Brussels. Surrounded by guild houses, the city's Town Hall and the Bread House, the square is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels next to the Atomium and Manneken Pis

Restaurant Leon.
A local favourite, highly recommended

Vol-Au-Vent

This was really yummy, I enjoyed it. A local delicacy, a must try!

Delirium Cafe

After dinner, Van & Victor took us to this pub called Delirium cafe. Awesome place with approx. 1000 over kinds of beers. An excellent hang out join to try all kinds of beers.

The Manneken Pis

One of Brussels tourist attraction. You'll see plenty of its miniatures in the souvenir shops around. Made in all sorts of material, metal, wood, fridge magnets etc. And its attire changes everyday according to the sponsored attires from several diff countries. There'll be a signage alongside the gates explaning the attire for the day and the next change for that week. Interesting! Oh, and there is a female version too, Jenniken Pis. (less popular tho) & rather obscene. Hehe...

Rue Des Bouchers

One of the streets with all the seafood restaurants and displays of raw shellfish etc.

Belgian Beer

We ate in one of the restaurants one night and the Paella was to die for. This is by far the best I've tasted. Excellent!!

Cinquantenaire triumphal arch

There isn't much to see in Brussels with the limited time we had, so after dinner we walked around the town a lil' and took a train to triumphal arch. It's always nice to walk around with such nice weather. However, if you have the time to spare, take a trip down to Brugge. Highly recommended. Very scenic apparently, but we didn't get to do so. Next time! =)

When in Brussels, you have to try their waffles!! Yummmmmy! And of course, Belgian chocolates. They are all over the streets. The best would be Godiva (expensive tho). A more affordable one and equally as good is Leonidas.

A blissful trip to Europe - First stop (London)

Earlier this year, March to be exact, both Tle's and I traveled to Europe, our first time and we were excited!! After approximately 13 hours, we arrived London! Esctatic, we didn't stop to rest a bit and went onto our tour of London immediately after checking into our hotel. It was brrrr.....cold!!

Central Hotel B&B
2 min walk to King's Cross St. Pancras Station (the biggest interchange station on the London Underground) - very convenient for going around the city of London.

Where we slept and had good English Breakfast - I miss the hearty brekkie!

Decent accomodation for approx. 50 pounds per night. Prices differ according to season. Best to check current rates online if you're intending to travel there. Clean and friendly staff, and we had a shared bathroom per floor. I'd say, a good deal.

The Emirates Stadium (Arsenal)

Our 1st stop of course. Haha, to satisfy my Tle's desire to be in an actual stadium of one of the Premier League teams. We were taken on a tour by Mr. Charlie George, a former English footballer around the stadium, the locker rooms, the shower areas of the players etc. It was magnificent! (Yes, me a non-football fan saying that) =)

The Underground

Where we traveled to and fro of streets in London

Les Miserables
That night itself, we went to watch Les Miserables. The best musical ever made, the cast was amazing! A must watch when you head to London. If possible, go to a musical every night you are there. It's worth every penny. Even if is isn't your thing, go for one. At least you know what it's like. =)

Madame Tussauds, London

The next day, we went to explore more of London in which Madame Tussauds was one of it. We had fun taking pics with all the celebraties and well-known figures in the world. Yes, a very tourist-y thing to do and we did it!
(25 pounds per adult) - door price

My advice, always check online before visiting any of these places as you'll most probably get good cheap deals. =)

London Fashion Weekend

I had heaps of fun here! New designers that season include Luella, Richard Nicoll, Eley Kishimoto, Emma Cook and returning favourites include Lulu Guinness, Sass & Bide, Kors by Michael Kors, Juicy Couture Footwear, Philip Treacy and Designer Studio. It was a great experience having being able to be there. Thanks Angie for taking me. =)

The Tower Bridge

The weather was great, so we decided to walk our way around the city. A real good exercise and you get to see so much more. Here is the Tower Bridge of London which many tend to mistake it as the London Bridge . The actual London Bridge is far from what you see here, in fact it looks like our very own Klang Bridge. Haha. I was shocked!

Borough Market
We walked and walked through the Tower Bridge and found ourselves the much spoken about Borough Market where you can get all sorts of fresh food, yummy pastries, hotdogs etc. So we went around, oogling over these awesome goodies and I couldn't resist myself and bought a strawberry tart. It was just scrumptious! The cheese were huge and just....drooool!

And of course, we had to get ourselves that hotdog which was fragrant from a mile away. Are we glad we did that. =)

Millenium Bridge
London's Millennium Bridge is the first pedestrian river crossing over the Thames in central London for more than a century. It is a 325m steel bridge linking the City of London at St. Paul's Cathedral with the Tate Modern Gallery at Bankside. It was really wide and a beautiful sight as we walked towards the St. Paul's Cathedral.

The Tate Modern - for art lovers

St. Paul's Cathedral

There is a small admission fee of 11pounds (door price) to have a thorough view of the interior. Should you want to tour the cathedral, there'll be a min. fee of 3 pounds per adult.

This was the last day we were in London, as we headed to Brussels after. And during the last few days of our Europe tour, we went to the other side of London, the Buckingham Palace.

The gates of Buckhingham Palace

(At approx. 11am everyday, there will be the change of guards - best to grab one of those travel brochures in your hotel for the latest updates)

THE London Eye

(Unfortunately for us it was raining that day, so we didn't get to go on the ride)

Most of the last days were spent shopping and catching up with friends. It'll be nice to visit Harrods when you're there. (Lady Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed's memorial can be spotted there. Huge as it is, it is so well co-ordinated and be prepared to be in a maze. Hehe.

For branded goods, you can visit either the Old or New Bond Streets, depending on the specific brand you are looking for. Many other stores around the corner, such as Topshop, H&M, Selfridges etc.

For a cheaper option, visit Primark. It is situated at the Marble Arch stop where the Underground stops. Also, lots of goodies to get and M&S (Mark's & Spencer)

We enjoyed ourselves.