INSTAGRAM SNAPS FROM BELGIUM

Last week I left my beloved London behind to explore Belgium for a few days! I originally booked the tickets with my ex boyfriend which is sad, but luckily my lovely friend Louise came along to keep me company instead, thank goodness for friends at times like these!

The journey there was surprisingly easy, we managed to check in and find our way to the terminal okay, and I still can't believe how quick it was. It took me less time to get to Belgium than it does to go and visit my family in Devon! The Eurostar dropped us in Brussels and we then had a 40 minute train to Antwerp where we were staying; we were rather excited by the very clean and spacious two-story train we got to ride there! (Obviously we sat upstairs).

OUR FIRST LOOK AT BELGIUM, BRUSSELS FROM THE TRAIN

THE VIEW FROM OUR HOTEL ROOM

That first evening we went for a walk and found a cool little burger restaurant to eat in; I'm not sure what it is about burgers but I always want one when I'm on holiday or in need of a treat! We also had some delicious Liefmans Fruitesse beer, which we continued to drink throughout our trip. On our way back to the hotel we popped into a pub called The Duke of Antwerp, which after Louise saying, "I wish we had more pubs like this in England", we realised was a British themed pub, ha! It was so wonderfully tacky with iconic British photographs on the walls and a large selection of tea behind the bar... 

After stuffing our faces with complimentary breakfast the next morning, we headed out for the day, wandering down quaint cobbled streets, drinking Belgium hot chocolate and people watching. Whilst on our travels we stumbled across a charity shop where we stocked up on vintage knitwear; I bought a jumper and two cardigans for just €14! We also did a bit of commercial shopping down the main high street, where we spent quite a while playing dress up in Forever 21. Eventually we accidently managed to do a complete loop of central Antwerp and ended up back at our hotel!

That evening after a strange Mexican restaurant experience we got dressed up and went to a bar where, the drinks were super cheap, but the people were rather rude. We did get chatting to one guy though who very kindly suggested some places for us to visit the next day, marking it on our little tourist map!     

WHAT I WORE ON SATURDAY

BUY ONE OF LOUISE'S ADORABLE KNITTED FOX SCARVES FOR YOURSELF HERE

 

Saturday was an expensive day! We went to the aquarium after breakfast, which was pretty rubbish if I'm honest, but it is what you make it right!? Then we headed over the road to the zoo which was great! It was bloody freezing though! Something that did strike us as rather odd was the clear lack of health and safety rules and regulations... it was a little run down and it would have been relatively easy to casually climb into some of the animal enclosures or fall over low barriers!     

PRETTY, PINK FLAMINGOS AT THE ZOO

After a quick rest-stop back at the hotel we wandered back towards the city center and went looking for a supposedly "cool" street - here we found the quirkier shops and some lovely boutiques. We were also on the scout for a club I wanted to go to that evening, so we kept walking and came across some other gorgeous little cobbled backstreets with retro furniture stores, vintage clothing shops and quaint cafes along the way.  

The club night was hilarious. It fascinates me how English club culture differs in comparison to other countries, we're pretty crazy really. Expecting an alternative evening of indie music and tattooed men, we walked in to what could only be described as something from the Inbetweeners. We had a fun night though, drank lots of beer, danced our little hearts out then got lost on the way back to the hotel at early hours in the morning!  

CATHEDRAL IN BRUSSELS

Despite feeling a little tender the next day, we got an early train from Antwerp and managed to have a look around Brussels at the beautiful architecture before our Eurostar train in the afternoon. We also bought some chocolate here, yum, and matching bracelets to remind us of our trip, n'aww.

I had a great time in Belgium, but I'm yet to find anywhere in the world that's more alive, exciting and diverse than London! I did get some outfit snaps from my trip so I will share these with you as soon as I can, have a great weekend everyone! xx

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