Christmas in Brussels

Hi! It’s been a minute since I’ve given my blog some love and seeing as we just got back from our FIRST trip as a now, family of three, I thought I’d share an update on how it all went and share some photos of my first time in Brussels, Belgium.

I’ll start off by saying that Christmas is my favorite time of year. The music, the movies, the general cheery-ness in the air – I am here for it. As soon as we felt Emmy was good to travel (which really means, as soon as I felt semi-confident bringing her further than down the street to Starbucks), we decided to take advantage of the holiday happenings by traveling to Brussels to check out the Christmas markets.

We chose Brussels because it’s just a short train ride from London (about two hours) and we found a hotel deal right in the center of all the holiday action.

Can I just pause for a second to tell you how train travel is now my new thing? It’s so cool! We spent our two hours watching the French countryside go by, eating food and hanging out. Plus, security and immigration and all the bad parts about plane travel were much easier. I’m super pumped to take the train to other locations around Europe.

Anyway, we got to Brussels late Friday night and got settled in our room. Surprisingly, even with the one-hour time difference and traveling, Emmy still stuck to her normal sleep routine (I can talk more about that later). Saturday and Sunday was spent walking around the Christmas markets and parts of downtown Brussels.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed with the Christmas markets as most of the stalls were food. Don’t get me wrong, we did our fair share of eating, but they lacked unique gifts and all the local “stuff” I was hoping to find. Plus, it was a bit small. Dave and I agreed we could have had our fill over the course of two days, as opposed to three.

Alas, it was still a great “tester” trip for E, and we DID sample some famous Belgian chocolates, fries and beer. And really, what else is vacation if it’s not spent eating and drinking?

Stay tuned for more holiday cheer to come as we prepare to take Emerson on her first flight back to the states for Christmas. This will be our first Christmas home in three years since living abroad. Spending it with family and introducing our baby girl will be a magical holiday, indeed.