I was the only one interested in breakfast in the morning. My travelling companions chose sleep over food.

Once again, a table had been set for the 3 of us by the amazing staff, but I sat alone! Here were the options available to me for breakfast at the Royal Oak.



I went with the full english wish a side of brown sauce. Another outstanding meal. And the coffee was plentiful and very good. Much needed after the previous nights beer intake.



My daughter had come down with a bit of a cold at this point, so I decided to head over to the local boots in Tisdale to grab her some cold medication. A few more scary country lanes and I was helped by some very nice people.

A quick shot of the pub on my way back. It is a beautiful place.



We headed out with the goal of finding an antiques store to grab my daughter a souvenir and Salisbury seemed like the right place to go. We were not dissapointed with another beautiful British Town.









After some more sightseeing it was time to head back to LHR, return our rental car and get ready for the next flight.

The rental return was easy and the shuttle was waiting to take us back to the terminal. Check in with Brussels airlines was anything but efficient. While I have E50K status with AC (Star Gold) it appeared as though I booked a super economy saver fare with the airline so no bags were included. The machine printed out our baggage tags but when we tried to get boarding passes it would not let us. Over to the customer service counter to wait 15 minutes for her to finally ask "Did you pay for your bags?" I explained the situation and she was kind enought to waive the 100 Euro in baggage fees for the 45 minute flight over to Brussels.

Security was a breeze and we were in the terminal. We had a good amount of time, but as I can only bring one guest into the lounge we decided to head over to the farther gates where the Air Canada lounge is as I can bring in the whole family then. We chilled in the lounge, had some food and a few drinks and still had plenty of time to make the 15 minute walk back to the other side of the terminal for our flight.



It didnt look great but was actually very tasty.



Not a bag view either. An Avianca aircraft would arrive in this position shortly after I took the picture.



Down at the gate, Our aircraft had arrived but we were told there would be a 30 minute delay.



Our first time flying Brussels airlines in a long time. They have not improved. We likely will not fly them again anytime soon.



Tight



Thankfully it was only a 45 minute flight.



Should have booked with Swiss.





After another 30 minute delay due to ATC restraints, we were on our way out to take off. At this point we should have already landed in Brussels.



Gorgeous A350





Customs took a bit once we landed in Brussels. This has also not changed since we lived there 15 years ago. Only two agents working and 150 people in line. Once though our bags were already spinning on the carrousel. A quick trip over to Hertz and we had our rental car and were on our way. During the drive we discovered that the Sunday of our departure was car free Sunday in Brussels. This meant we would have to change our plans around a bit. There is always something.

We had booked the Hilton Garden in Brussels for this trip and booked a suite. While huge, the room was one of the weirdest layouts we have ever experienced, There was a living room, one bathroom with a toilet, one bathroom with a shower and two bedrooms. It was a great room with the only issue being that the Air Conditioning did not reach back to the bedrooms. This meant it was quite warm. Opening the window the first night was a mistake as my wife was eaten alive by mosquitos.

The living room



Kitchen area.



Room with two twin beds



Master with a king bed.



Our daughter had enough for the day and wanted to just chill in the room on her phone. We however wanted to head out and hit up some of our favourite haunts. Our favourite restaurant when we lived in Brussels was called Olio et Oliva. However it sadly closed down a few years ago. A close runner up was a Pita place called Plaka. It is still alive and well and we headed down to grab some late dinner.

My first Maes beer in a long time.



I always get the Assiette maison. It is literally the exact same as it was the last time I had it in 2013. Not a thing has changed. Pretty sure it was still the same guy making it too.



Despite it being late, the Grande Place was still packed. It never dissapoints.





After that we headed back to the hotel to grab a quick shower and then call it a night.

Next up, some Chocolate, shopping and showing our daughter around her birth town.