Brussels

I was so looking forward to my Easter break. Not only is May and Mum coming over to visit me, but we're travelling around Europe! Woo hoo! After months of planning (done by May), creating itenaries (done by May), deciding which places to visit (done by May), choosing which transportation (done by May) but I can definitely take credit for buying the tickets :-)

So, first stop Brussels! After 3 hours of train ride, 10 minutes of trying to find our hotel with a map with no English words, 10 minutes of walking to our hotel (thanks to mum's heavy luggage!), we walked to our first tourist spot, Grand Place, a UNESCO World Heritage.

The minute we stepped into the square, the first words we said were, WOW! It is considered one of the most beautiful medieval squares in Europe, and indeed it is. My pictures couldn't capture just how beautiful the place was.

The Maison du Roi (King's House)

The House of the Dukes of Brabant

Brussels Town Hall

Next, we went to Art Nouveau Galaries Saint-Hubert for some chocolate shopping


So cute!! It's peeing chocolate!

You will see alot of this in Belgium. Chocolate heaven!

For lunch, we went to Chez Leon. They are known for their mussels.

Spagheti Bolognese, Mussels with Garlic, Garlic and herbs and Mussels with white wine. cream, mushrooms and chives. Sooooooo good! Mussel heaven

After lunch, we walked to the Cathedral St Michel

Inside the Cathedral

Next, to the Quartier Royal. Once the home of Belgium Royalty

Next, to the park. They are really big on statues..

Statue of Egmont and Hoorn at Petit Sablon, hailed as the first leaders of the Dutch revolt.

Some pretty tulips behind a church
The Palace of Justice

Brussels Park. Really huge park!

Mum at the fountain

You can't leave Brussels until you had their Waffles.

Manneken Pis. Didn't expect it to be this small huh!

The stories about this statue is quite funny and all of the stories end up with the kid peeing at the street hence, the peeing statue.

Next, dinner. Not very happy. I'm sunburned!

Next, Brugge!

New Babeh

Meow! Love my new BB

Oxford

Wow, first time travelling by myself! I like it! I get to set my own pace, I can eat anytime I want to and I don't have to worry about getting lost, got my handy GPRS with me this time, hehe.

My trip took only an hour and half from Birmingham to Oxford. This time, my trip costs me 20 pounds, but it's worth it. Oxford is a pretty quiet place, and what I noticed when I reached here is that nearly everyone rides a bicycle here. Well, not surprising, nearly 80% of Oxford are just universities and colleges. Nearly everyone is a student here!

Once I reached Oxford, I went looking for the tourist centre so I could booked my tour. The tour deal was pretty good, it's 2 hours and the tour guide could bring us into at least 1 of the unis. Awesome!

So, the tour starts at 2pm, and what I noticed is that the buildings has sculptures on them. Very gothic!

I noticed the heads on the wall when I first arrived. Scary!

Our tour starts of in Broad Street. Apparently that is the road where executions are usually done. Eeek!

The Bridge of Sighs (basically a building which connects to another -.-)

an illustration. Click to read it

Oh another thing, Oxford is also known for movie sites for Harry Potter and the Golden Compass. Here, is a movie site for Harry Potter, and also one of the oldest standing walls in Oxford.

I love how there are words on the steps :)

Radcliffe Square. A site for the Golden Compass

Click to read

See the sculptures?

Church picture is below

Carfax Tower. I wanted to climb, but I was too hungry to

Next, the main stop I wanted to see. Christ Church! It's known for Harry Potter site, the Golden Compass site and the story "Alice in Wonderland". I didn't know this, but the author, Lewis Carroll is actually a man called Charles Dodgson. And get this, Alice in Alice in Wonderland.. is a real girl! Alice is the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church.

Christ Church as you enter


Another film site for Harry Potter. Apparently, the whole field was covered with tents to accomodate the whole film crew.

This is the sweet shop which Alice frequently goes

Alice cottage

Entrance into Christ Church

The corridor used for Harry Potter

Inside Christ Church. It just takes your breath away

Alot of sculptures like this around

Picture below

mummy!

The pictures on the windows tells a story

The Shrine

Next, we headed to the Dining Room. Another famous scene in Harry Potter.

This is what Lewis Carroll looks like.

The blue grinning thing inspired Lewis Carroll to write about the Cheshire Cat

Real Fire Place!

The window shows portraits of Alice and creatures from the book

Middle is King Henry VII, apparently he was very proud of his legs, the tour guide says

Where the heads sat

Christ Church is actually a uni, so the dining room was still being used as a dining hall and the picture above is where they stayed

A movie site for the Golden Compass. Guess what scene is this?

the Great Tom. Every night, it rings 101 times because during the olden times, the college has 101 students and it rings to remind students to come back before 9pm

the library. If you look closer, the ceiling inside is spectacular!

A uni which J R R Tolkien once taught in. He's a professor did you know that?

Had an awesome time in Oxford! Where to next?