Hello blog fans! It has been just shy of two weeks since I brought you the good news, but it feels like a lot longer, and I've possibly neglected things a bit here, apologies. However the reason is because we've been on holiday! We took 6 days out to go and explore Brussels and Bruges on a DIY day trip.

We journeyed to Brussels on the train, from Sheffield to London, then on Eurostar from London to Brussels, so we're doing our bit for climate change! Eurostar is fricking amazing, it is so fast, you can't help but smile like an excited child as you pass the cars on the M20 at twice the speed the fastest cars are going, sheer joy!

Anyway, “what did we get up two?” Well, glad you asked. On the first day we did Brussels, saw all the main sites, did a lot of walking, took quite a few pictures and a bit of video. In the evening we ate at a restaurant called L'Atelier, which was really good, I had the steak and Dawn had the lamb.

The next day we did our DIY day trip to Bruges by getting the train up there. On arrival we walked all over the place and soaked up the rays, as it was quite a sunny day. However we did find it a bit touristy and the meal we ate in Bruges reinforced that fact, so avoid Poules Moules if you find yourself looking for food. However, do take the time to visit the Choco-Story museum, once you've found it(!) it has quite a range of items to do with the history of chocolate, and you get a quick demonstration of how they make Belgium chocolates too. Also take the time to go on one of the canal cruises - they provide some beautiful scenery and a few interesting facts too.

The next day we explored one of Brussels parks, Cinquantenaire which includes the Brussels Arc de Triomphe and the Royal Museum of the Army and of Military History, which despite the name was actually interesting, with lots of tanks, planes, guns, uniforms and exhibitions on both world wars.

The final day saw us taking a stroll around the EU quarter and having a look at the European Commission and European Parliament buildings, sampling Frites from the best frites stand in Brussels (according to the people of Brussels) Maison Antoine (and they were really good), before heading back into the centre of Brussels to buy chocolate, Speculoos biscuits from the biscuit maker, Dandroy Biscuiterie, and beer. A particular beer I've taken a liking to, whilst sampling many, is the Belle-Vue Gueuze, absolutely full of flavour and smells, delicious!

The only downside to the holiday was checking out of the hotel, the breakfasts we had been enjoying weren't included in the room price so we had to stump up €200 - ouch!

I'm currently trying to find a decent video editing package to pull together all the odd bits of video I've taken, as Windows Movie Maker insists that the video I've taken is just audio, despite Windows Media Player playing it fine (bloody Microsoft!) So once I do have that sorted I'll let you know, in the meantime take a look at the photos, many of which were taken by Dawn. In summary, Brussels is good for a long weekend break, especially if you throw in a day trip to Bruges, but I wouldn't want a full week there.