Today, I thought I gamed the system.
First off, we are setting world records -- we got out the door at 11 am! Beat yesterday's time!
I had it all figured out: We would take the hop on hop off bus to see all the sites. It's a 1.5 hour loop that goes everywhere. We don't have to walk OR take public transportation. Plus, I get to listen to the history that I'm missing out on. And L would be thrilled to death just to have his first bus ride.
We went to the Grande Place to find the ticket counter. We didn't see it so we went to the visitors office. They said that it only starts at Central Station and I have to buy tickets there, but no problem, only a 5 minute walk.
I took a guess and turned right heading out of the station. We had to circle the whole thing, then go in the Hilton, to find out I should have turned left. By the time we got there, poor little Louis was saying his legs hurt. And by the time we sat down on the bus it was noon. A five minute walk turned into a 1 hour ordeal.
I knew the kids would be hungry.
I had read there was a decent restraurant at the Atomium and Caroline said it was a "must visit" for kids, so we'd go straight there, eat, and check it out. It was 30 minutes away.
When we reached to the Atomium, I realized the thing about the hop on off buses: They drop you off "there" but you still have a long walk. We could see the Atomium but by the time we got to it, mr. Energy was complaining that his legs hurt again, and I was motivating him up the hill. "I see it, we're almost there. When we get there, we're going to take and elevator way up high inside."
When I tried walking in, it was the security line to go up. (Wrong door.) they asked for my tickets. When I said I didn't have any yet, they said maybe I don't want to buy them because the elevator is not working. The guy said to me, "Maybe you want to come back tomorrow."
I didn't know if I should laugh in his face or cry or both at the same time. I'd spent I.5 hours getting here with my ONE and almost THREE year old, and he was telling me to do it all again tomorrow. Sure.
So we grabbed a crappy lunch under the Atomium at the other cafe outside.
By the time we got back to the bus stop, it was 2. The kids needed naps. Mini Europe was no where obvious in site (even though it's listed as being located "at the base of the Atomium) so we headed back.
I convinced L to ride on the top deck of the double decker bus, and once I had, I wished I hadn't! It was a little scary up there with 2 little kids.
We moved back downstairs. In the end, the hop on bus wasn't so great. I didn't the history lesson I imagined because you have to plug earphones in the wall and turn the dial to your language.
That wasn't happening while tending to 2 kids. Also, it takes a long time to get through the loop, and L got tired from the drop off point to the destination. I bought a 2 day pass for tomorrow to try for the Natural History Museum to see Dino bones, Autoworld for cars, or Brussels Park by the Palace by we will just have to see.
We stopped in a nice toy store I on the way home, and I let L pick out a 3rd bday gift. He chose a wooden pod-style espresso machine. (Of course!). He also got a die cast cargo plane, which flew all the way to dinner tonight.
It was our best dinner: just around the corner at Place St. Jean at a place called
Novo, a casual bar that seemed more popular for drinks than food. We had beer and gourmet burgers. It was relaxed (which is so great with kids) and delicious, and the sun was shining. More dinners like this, please!
Gimme an M.
Gimme an L.
Gimme a C.
Can I get a LC?
Takeaway for the Traveling Mom:
- Casual neighborhood dinners are a winner. Put the guidebook and recommendation list down!
- Same goes for city exploring when your kids are 3 & 1: Chasing pigeons, serenading patrons at the Royal Galleries cafes, and playing at the toy table at Exk were more fun than the hours and extra energy spent trying to see something and not really seeing anything today. Loose goals are good, but set lofty goals and you might disappointed.
Set the bar low.
No comments:
Post a Comment