Ahhh, Brussels!

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This leg of the trip was part of an extended layover enroute to Italy! We spent about 7 hours in the city on a 10 hour layover! It was more than enough time to leave the airport and do some sight seeing. Here is a run down of our time spent while there.

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We landed at 8AM and were able to exit rather quickly. Once off the plane we located the train station that is within the airport as you are heading to baggage claim. If I remember correctly you head to exit out and will come upon elevators and escalators. You will head down to the lower level to get to the ticket station. We paid 18 Euros each for a round trip train ticket into the city. Just let them know where you are trying to go. Prior to the trip I found a free walking tour (many cities have them) that had a morning and afternoon tour. The meeting spot was the "City Hall" and I used that as my destination point. Once purchases the tickets we had to go upstairs to exit the airport and locate the storage lockers.

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Storage Locker Info:

 

This airport has 48 hour luggage storage lockers which is great for a layover to store bags while you explore the city. There are not a lot of these lockers available and upon arrival we couldn't find one that worked. Luckily, waiting for about 20-30mins paid off because someone came to remove their stuff. The locker was big enough to hold four regular size carry on roller bags and two large backpacks (maybe a little more but not much). You have to use cash in the machine, it requires 1 Euro and when you return you pay the rest of the amount (up to 6 Euros additional). I believe you can't go beyond 72 hours before yourself will be removed by airport personal. We had some problems with paying and had to wait for assistance. The person came but they used a machine to help open a locker for someone that didn't have a ticket- and forgot to reset the machine. I went to punch in our locker number and ended up opening SEVERAL lockers by mistake. In saying all this- PLEASE take caution on storing laptops, Ipads or other valuables. We contacted security again and all she did was come and close the doors. There is no telling the outcome if the wrong person  were to make that error.

 

We returned to the train station inside and boarded- we were on the train maybe 15-20mins at most before our stop. I want to say we had two stops then ours, so it was not far from the airport. Once we arrived we located the restrooms...which cost 0.50 Euros per-person to use. This is important to note because most of Europe (in the surrounding areas like Germany, Austria, Czech etc..) have these pay to use restrooms in their businesses. You either insert the money or give it directly to the attendant.

 

Upon leaving the station we basically picked a direction and started walking. We decided last min that we didn't want to do the Free walking tour. Past experiences show that you don't really get to stop and see things or take pictures the way I like too. We decided instead to find a restaurant so we could indulge in Belgium Waffles! I have included the restaurant in the picture gallery at the top of the page. They had an assortment and in my opinion it was pretty decent. I don't think I am the best to comment on it because I am not a SUPER sweet kind of person- and the option I chose had Nutella and bananas on top. It was late morning and too early for me to be eating any type of chocolate. None-the-less, "when in Rome"...you have to experience what you can while there.

 

The rest of our afternoon was spent walking the streets, window shopping and searching for Belgium Chocolate to take back with us. My sister and her husband stumbled upon an AWESOME Chocolate shop that made everything fresh in-house and offered Gluten-free options. We received a sample of their chocolate filled caramel and it was so good! The person who assisted us gave us a lot of history on the shop and production of the chocolates. You can actually watch them making it through a window when you walk in. The name of the shop is called: Chocopolis and they do ship overseas.

 

We cut our exploring a little short because of all the walking in addition to a lack of a decent amount of sleep. We headed back to the airport, cooled our heels while charging our electronics and found dinner. I want to add a suggestion that you allow yourself at least 2.5 hours to clear security when you return because the lines were developing pretty quickly and even though it was travel within Europe you want to be sure you don't get hit with the "SSSS" or run into transportation issues (trains can break down or have accidents). Enjoy your time but be smart  with allowing time for things that could happen.

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