ok so boom,

i did 5 countries in 10 days and Brussels, Belgium 🇧🇪 was a new place for me so i really wanted to observe and learn and just be a witness to the country and 🤯🤯 i really loved it. The streets were beautiful, the art was breathtaking, the beer 🍺 was bussin (i gathered really quickly that they didn’t play about that here), and the people were kind. between both Brussels and Amsterdam (Netherlands 🇳🇱 - my first time here too) the biking culture was huge.

i was sitting outside of the stella bar in brussels (yes, we doing lowercase from this point on) and this woman, maybe in he 50-60s strolled in on her bike, tucked it off to the side, took her helmet off, and greeted her friends. and the whole table was full of older woman and i thought 'damn, it must feel good af to be in your 60s and biking to meet your friends at the bar at 10pm'.

anywho, i was only in brussels 48 hours and i spend 4 of these napping the day i came in (long story) and 8 in amsterdam (no regrets, so happy i did this), here are some tips/tricks/loose itinerary if you plan to come to brussels soon

‍getting there

it's a quick train ride from paris. and is typically relatively cheap HOWEVER, at 9pm i'm casually packing for my 8am train and i just happen to check my email and i see that my train to brussels from CDG has been canceled (insert dramatic dun dun duns).

THIS IS THE PART OF SOLO TRIPPING THAT MAKES YOU QUESTION EVERYTHING

i made the decision to go to Brussels because the train from paris was so cheap. it was really a no-brainer for €19 when the alternative, to London, was TWO HUNDRED AND NINTY EUROS leaving on the specific day i did (literally the next day was half of that) and once the train price was set, i booked my hotel and flight to my next country out of Brussels. so safe to say I NEEDED TO GET THERE and in a timely fashion so i could make the most of the time i was there. it was truly a conundrum.

the train company offered to either give me a refund or i could book a train within 72 hrs from the cancellation. of course when i looked at the email and put two and two together

all the trains that day were sold out. im looking at other companies and the route now costs like €150+ i'm just like

MIND YOU! I was hoping for a chill night, maybe go to bed early, get my lil 8 hours. i had running point playing on netflix and it couldve all been so simple. but either way, i had to get in #datmode. after scrupulous research and setting a new budget of €80- 100 ~ after my refund hit. i realized quickly the most economical way to do this was to travel from Paris > Lillie, France > Brussels. this was giving €70ish but there were train layovers and super early leave times. i actually almost bought a connection that left around 11am for €150ish, that was a straight shot, but ofc it sold out as soon as i went to purchase. that actually happened a few times so it mustve been a sign for me to a. save coins b. go to Lillie, France. mind you this process took over, the more time passed, the fewer options i had and I WAS STILL PACKING.

safe to say, i didnt get to bed til around 5am, and was up at 6something to catch the Paris metro to the airport to get to my first train. ANYWHO

come back for pt 2.