Three and a half countries (UK, Belgium and Netherlands, plus a half for France which we went through without stopping) is a lot for one day!
We left London first thing, taking a black cab to the train station. Our cab driver, Gary, was friendly and entertaining.
We walked across the road to King’s Cross to check out platform 9 3/4, but there was no divider between the platforms at all. There was a little tourist area where you could take photos with a bit of wall, but we skipped it. Both train stations were really pretty.
We took the Eurostar from London to Brussels, Belgium. The train went under the English Channel and through a bit of France. I accidentally booked us backward facing seats, so Willow sat backwards in her seat so she wouldn’t get queasy.
Brussels was absolutely gorgeous! I think it’s exactly what people mean when they say “old world charm.” There were flowers everywhere!
We stopped for lunch near the train station. We found that everything in town was printed in Dutch, French, and English. We learned from a local that part of Belgium speaks French, and part speaks a variation of Dutch that they call Flemish. Some of the translations were funny to us.
We walked a few minutes to see the Grand Palace. It was, as promised, Grand. Liam was not excited about seeing it, because “there are palaces all over the place here,” but I was awed. It was awe-inspiring. Awesome, if you will.
We walked by a cluster of thrift shops, so of course we had to stop for a few.
There was no way we could come to Belgium without having some Belgian waffles. They had every possible option for toppings, and the kids chose fresh strawberries and bananas with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
Next, we went to Chocostory for a chocolate workshop. We started with some instruction from the chef.
Then we made our own chocolate bars. We also made chocolate lollipops with designs, using milk, dark and white chocolates. Ours didn’t come out as perfectly round as the chef’s, of course, but we had a lot of fun experimenting.
We were so please with our results! We packed them carefully in our bags, and are hoping they make it home without breaking or melting.
After our chocolate workshop, we walked through the chocolate museum. We learned about how chocolate was made from cacao in Costa Rica, but this museum also had history of more refined chocolates. Apparently, hot chocolate was wildly popular in Europe in the 1800’s. We learned about the difference between a teapot and a chocolate pot. Chocolate pots have a hole in the top for frothing, a handle coming straight out the side, and the pour spout at the top so you get the foam with the drink.
They used to have chocolate vending machines on the streets in Belgium!! And the museum had samples.
We had planned to have dinner before our train to the Netherlands, but for some strange reason, nobody was hungry. Too much chocolate! We did have a toastie from Pret a Manger in the train station, which made Willow really happy.
From here, it was an arduous journey to Efteling, the amusement park that’s often called the Dutch Disney. We took a train to another train to a bus, and then walked. We entertained ourselves by trying to read all of the Dutch signs. The Dutch know that nobody else speaks their language, so signs in public places are usually translated, but sometimes only into French.
The last bit of the journey to the hotel was on foot. It had been a very long day, from London through France, several hours in Belgium, and then multiple trains and buses. We took a wrong turn and our walk ended up being about 40 minutes. Pulling the suitcase over bumpy cobbled streets and wearing heavy backpacks, it felt much longer. We were SO glad to arrive at the hotel. It was 11 pm, so the restaurant was closed, but the Takeaway app worked to get food delivered.
Omg, the hotel was sooooo cute!!
Tomorrow, Efteling park!