tvordlj: (Amsterdam)
[personal profile] tvordlj
First day back to work after 2 weeks off. Oh *god* it was hard getting up at 6 and staying up!
To add insult to injury i couldn't remember my network password, that's a first. I tried several and ended up locking my account. Got that sorted by the help desk without too much bother.
Installed my new calendar and desk calendar. I brought my Judoon mug to work. I'm getting quite a collection of mugs here! This one has a little battery compartment underneath it to power the talking stuff. I would guess i should not put the mug in the microwave to reheat it if i want the batteries to survive and there is probably metal bits in the battery compartment too.

So now a new year, and start planning for my trip to see Graham in May. Am now thinking of adding on a couple of nights in Brussels as well as Amsterdam. Hotel prices seem a bit cheaper there and if we go there, we can hop on Eurostar to London for an overnight or so there. I got thinking this morning, One idea might be to go to Amsterdam early on the first day and stay there two nights. The third day, we can still do more of Amsterdam or do a day trip since most things are not very far away anyway. Haarlem or Delft perhaps. We can then take the train around 4 or 5 to Brussels and stay two nights there. We'd have that night, all the next day and most of the day after that, taking the Eurostar to London around the same time of day. We'd then have the evening and another full day in London, going back to Manchester the morning of the last day.

I think that might work quite well, taking a late afternoon/early evening train to the next place on. By May it will still be light well into the evening and we can walk around, find a nice place to have our meal, see the city lit up. So, does anyone have any previous experience with hotels in central Brussels? I shall have to check the travel agents for brochures as well. I already checked the Eurostar site and one way tickets are only about 50 pounds for regular class tickets. It takes less time to get to London from Brussels than it does to get from London to Manchester! I"ve also ordered a Rick Steves book covering Amsterdam, Brussels and the area. I have some Amsterdam books but this one will have Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp too. I really want to go to Bruges which i'm sure we can do for part of the second day as it's not far.

The way things look now, we'll be in London on a Friday and Saturday night so a pub meet will definitely be in order, yes? Looking at the first weekend in May. I think since we will be arriving at St. Pancras and leaving from Euston, i'll get a hotel in that area. It'll be the most useful. Hopefully, the exchange rate will stay really low like it is now and i can get a nicer hotel for the same or cheaper than usual. A £60 hotel used to cost me over $150 CAD and now a £75 one will be in the vicinity of $130 at today's rates. Can't beat that with a stick! The Euro is about $1.65 CAD at the moment which is a little bit better than when we went to Paris. Onward and upward!

Date: 2009-01-05 06:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gramie-dee.livejournal.com
The trip plan sounds good to me. I know how much you relish going over all those details lol. But please do not put batteries in the microwave, they will explode and no doubt take out half the office too lol. Bloody Judoon and their invasion plans eh?

Date: 2009-01-05 07:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tvor.livejournal.com
Lol yes!!! It's a Judoon conspiracy!

I've checked Air canada and can get a pretty good price so i may book that very soon.

Date: 2009-01-05 10:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nancy-j.livejournal.com
Wouldn't Denise have some ideas of where to stay in Brussels?

Date: 2009-01-05 11:33 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tvor.livejournal.com
Maybe but she also was there on business so probably in a fancier place.

Date: 2009-01-05 10:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lola-is-naughty.livejournal.com
Brugges is only like an hour by train from Bruxelles, an easy day trip and VERY pretty to visit. Given a choice, I'd choose Brugges over Bruxelles.

Date: 2009-01-05 11:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tvor.livejournal.com
Yes but there's so much to see in Brussels too. Too many places, too little time!

Date: 2009-01-06 04:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] diggerjohn.myopenid.com (from livejournal.com)
I'm about to be really helpful and say I stayed in Brussels for 3 nights in 2001, but I can't remember where and because (a) it was a business trip and (b) it was one of the most boring experiences of my life (on my own; see the hotel and the business venue; come home) you probably wouldn't want to stay there anyway!

Don't mention it. Pleasure.

Date: 2009-01-06 10:50 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tvor.livejournal.com
Gee thanks John lol I knew i could count on you ;))))

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