The Pellegrins travel to Belgium

(For a bike race!)

Yes, you read that correctly! We planned our first trip to Europe solely around a cycling race. To be fair it was a monument European race – which if you’re like mean probably doesn’t mean much to you, but I do have a new love (okay interest) for the sport now! More about that later! First some backstory on how this happened.

One thing I knew when I was in high school was I wanted to travel and see the world. However, I also needed money to make this happen. Over the years I have been squirreling away money for my husband and I to use for travel. I have it set aside so it is only used for travel expenses and money is added monthly. We also have a Marriott credit card and try to stay at Marriotts whenever possible. These few things allow us to stay for free or discounted prices and give me peace of mind to spend on our vacations.

Now having told you a little bit about how it is possible, her’s the why… I decided several years ago that when my husband turned 40 we would take his dream trip and when I turned 40 we would take mine. We are 3 years apart so we have some time to build the travel fund back up! This Europe trip was his dream vacation.

We visited Belgium for 4 days and Germany for 5 days. 

My husband has loved to watch pro cycling since we have been together. One of the big cycling races is Tour of Flanders (De Ronde Van Vlaanderen) in Belgium. According to our Belgian friend “ there’s the Belgium national holiday, but this is bigger!” My husband was ecstatic to hear this, but I had no idea what I was getting into! Described his dream trip he stated he wanted to watch bike racing and drink beer (and explore)!

The first part of this blog will talk about our time in Belgium – Brussels and Brugge. We landed in Brussels in the morning, our luggage however did not land with us… It did make it to Amsterdam so we knew we should not have a hard time getting it. Regardless we had no clothes to change into and were feeling the effects of jet lag and needed a quick nap. 

Quick recap of Brussels: weather was dreary and drizzled on and off throughout our walking around. We found a few local bars and walked around the downtown area. Thank goodness for Apple Maps so we can find cool areas. Somehow we ended up in the pedestrian area of Brussels. The streets are shut down so cars cannot get on them. It’s adorable alleyways with greenery hanging from wall to wall. We discovered by accident the Grand-Place which was amazing! I also highly recommend going to Delirium Village. It might have been the coolest bars of the trip. It had several different levels and bars in one, which allowed for a bunch of beers to be on tap (like more than 2,000). They had turned old beer vats into sitting areas. It just had a great vibes.

Then we boarded a train and headed to Brugge. I had researched about Brugge and how gorgeous it was, but it exceeded my expectations in every way, and I didn’t even see most of it! I could definitely spend a week in Brugge alone. The cobblestone streets and Old world architect is breathtaking!

Words cannot properly describe the beauty of Brugge (especially when the words are coming from me!) We stayed at Hotel Casselbrough. From the arched wooden door to the marble flooring. The staff was very friendly and accommodating to American tourists. The bathroom (or wash closet) was enough to make my jaw drop! I could have hung out in there all day, just pass me a drink and a good book! Yea, may sound weird but it was seriously a huge room with sitting area not to mention peaceful.

Our hotel was within walking distance to the race start as well as several restaurants and shopping areas. We put our stuff away and hit the gym for a quick workout and sauna sweat. Then we explored the town a little. They were setting up for the race in one of the squares. We walked along the main shopping street (and I do mean shopping area as in name brands you would find on Rodeo Drive). It was drizzling but that did not slow us down. There are few market squares nearby which are lined with quaint little cafes and bars in them. We stopped in at one with a trendy vibe and even better drinks.

Finally the real reason we were in Brugge to begin with was for Tour of Flanders cycling race. I have never experienced a bike race, but this is considered one of the monumental races and has been around for a very long time.