November 2021, an extended work trip to Brussels after 1 year and 9 months felt absolutely amazing. Visited Ghent in Belgium and Lille in France during the weekend as well and enjoyed the absolutely beautiful sunny weather that we were given in mid-November. Mostly it has been more rain even in March or April.
After all these online EJN-s we've been having, a live one (although still partially hybrid) felt so good! Everybody was full of energy and so much more appreciative than before. Seeing old and meeting new colleagues, talking, discussing and having dinners together makes all these work-trips great!
H greeted us with such a lovely feast when we first landed!
It was the last weekend of 'Bright Brussels' festival of lights. We were following red lanterns on several streets through Brussels to find and enjoy many artistic, interactive and impressive installations. The routes went through the Royal Quarter, the European Quarter and the Cinquantenaire Park.
We visited some old favourites and also discovered new places.
A wonderful Ethiopian restaurant Kokob - the oldest and most authentic Ethiopian restaurant in Brussels serving shared dishes of Ethiopian dishes and Injera (crepe-like bread).
'Drug Opera' - a fun restaurant in old town.
As we always go to 'Chez Leon', this time we went to 'Le Zinneke' - 69 different dishes of mussels!
And well, cannot not stop at 'Maison Antoine'. Still the best fries there are!
Lille, France
Rode a Flixbus to France. Lille is directly on the border to Belgium and a mere 1.5 hours away from Brussels.
A compact, old, bustling town that is very walkable and easy to explore.
The Belfry and the clock tower of the Chamber of Commerce.
The Lille Cathedral - a Roman Catholic Church and a national monument to France. The cathedral took almost 150 years to build and is a great example of Gothic Revival architecture. It is free to enter and is absolutely gorgeous inside!
The Vieille Bourse or “Old Stock Exchange”. The building dates back to the 17th century and consists of 24 identical houses built around an inner square. A second-hand books and art fair is held there on the afternoons.
Palais Rihour.
Place Charles de Gaulle - named after the French general and later president De Gaulle who was born in the city - is the central square in Lille Old Town.
'Les Francs Burgers' - great dinner, cheap beer and these little cuties to cuddle with the whole time. Can all restaurants come with kittens or puppies, please?
A fun rock'n'roll bar that turns into a club on Saturdays - Stairway, serving cocktails named after famous rock stars.
Ghent, Belgium
Rural trains in Belgium cost half the price on weekends, so it is a wonderful way to do daytrips!
Gravensteen – The Castle of the Counts in the middle of the town!
Waffle time!
St. Nicholas’ Church – one of the oldest and most prominent landmarks in Ghent, Belgium.
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