[Europe] Stay at Hotel Ibis Styles Paris Gare du Nord TGV

As we know, Paris is a big city. It makes the cost of living become expensive. Finding a cheap accommodation in Paris is lil' bit hard. Especially if you're looking for the accommodation at the strategic place such as Champ Elysees, or the room with the view of Eiffel Tower. Therefore, while i was planning for my Europe Trip, i chose to find the hotel around Gare du Nord station.

Why did i choose around Gare du Nord?
Gare du Nord is the biggest train station in Paris. You can reach every place by Metro from this station. I came to Paris from Brussels with Thalys train , and it arrived at Gare du Nord station. I could go to the hotel only by feet. You also can go to the airport by take a RER B from this station without changing trains.

Source : www.accorhotels.com

I knew about Hotel Ibis Style Paris Gare du Nord TGV from Google Maps. I saw the location is right in front of the station. And the room rates was also not too expensive for this location. It's also at summer which means it's a high season in Europe. I paid € 161, 5 / night for Standard Room, and €178,5 / night for family suite (2 adults and 2 childs).

First time we arrived at the hotel, i felt little bit surprised. The lobby was really small. Even they still used the "old style" elevator, which the door must be closed manually. The elevator was also really small. It only fit for 4-5 peoples. If you bring a lot of luggages, you should bring them two by two.

However, the room was not too small. Even at the family suite, they have a big space to put the sofa bed, which can be used for 2 peoples. The room was also very clean and comfortable. Not bad for the hotel with that price in Paris.

Gare du Nord - from my room

They also provide a buffet breakfast. But the place was really small. It only enough for a few peoples. They don't have a various food. Just a few choices of bread, croissant, with ham and cheese. They also have a fruit salad, yoghurt, and fresh orange juice as well. FYI, their croissant was so delicious. I could eat 4 - 5 croissants (it comes with a small size).

Overall, i liked to stay at this hotel. Until i realized that Gare du Nord is not a good place to stay for a long time. Many pickpockets at this area (especially at the station), looking for tourist who bring a lot of stuff.  Many tourists were stolen at Gare du Nord station, including my hubby.

I stayed here for 6 nights, and i thought the pickpockets have watched our routines. What time we go out, and what time we go back. At the last night they saw a chance when we both felt tired, and they stole my hubby's wallet. It happened around 10 pm, when the security were changing their shift time. What a smart plan!!!! At that time there would be no security watched their move.

However, if you only stay for a few days in Paris, this hotel is a good place to stay. You can reach Gare du Nord station by walk, and you also can take the trains to go to another country such as Thalys and Euro Star without changing trains. Anyway, you also can see Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral from the upper floor.

Hotel Ibis Styles Paris Gare du Nord TGV
11 Rue de Dunkerque, 75010 Paris, France
Website : http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-8245-ibis-styles-paris-gare-du-nord-tgv/index.shtml

[Europe] From Brussels to Paris with Thalys

After had a great lunch at Brussels Grill, and tasted the most delicious waffle at Maison Dandoy, that meant my trip in Brussels has ended. The next that we wanted to visit was Paris.

Delicious Food at Thalys Train

From Bruxelles Central, we took a local train to go to Bruxelles Midi. Bruxelles Midi is a big train station. If you want to go to another country from Brussels by train, you should take a train from this station. In this case, we took Thalys train to go to Paris.

Actually, you can buy Thalys train ticket at the station. There's a Thalys counter to buy the ticket. However, i decided to buy the ticket by online, 3 months in advance. The price is much cheaper than buying directly at the station. It only costs  €29 by online. If you buy at the station, it will be cost around €50. FYI, you can use this Thalys train ticket to take a local train in Brussels for free.

We arrived too early at the station. But it gave us enough time to find out about the platform. 15 minutes before departure, peoples started to come. I also saw a crew was telling people about their coach location based on the ticket. The train only have a short time to stop. So we needed to get ready on our spot before the train came. Or we will missed the train.

At the train, the ticket checker will check your ticket, and scan the barcode. So don't forget to print your ticket (if you buy online).

Thalys ticket sent by email

When i was buying the tickets, i chose class comfort 2. And i thought it's good enough. We got a facing seat with a table in between. It was cleaned and also comfortable. They also have a small cafe on the train. I decided to buy some food for our dinner.

I looked at the menu, it didn't have a lot of choices. Just a few sandwiches with some snacks. They also have some beverages as well. I just ordered a croque monsieur and a hot chocolate. Surprisingly, the croque monsieur was so delicious. I liked the melting cheese inside, and the bread was also yumm. I never thought that i will get a tasty food on the train.

The journey from Brussels to Paris takes about 1.5 hours by train. At the train i saw beautiful view of sunset. I was thankfully for another great trip. At 10 pm we arrived at Paris, precisely at Gare du Nord station. This is the biggest and the busiest train station in Paris. You should be careful in here. Many pickpockets watch the tourists who just come.

From the station we just walked across the street to go to Hotel Ibis Styles Paris Gare du Nord TGV, the place where we gonna stay during in Paris. We were so tired after have a long trip. So we just felt a sleep at hotel, and take a rest. Tomorrow we're going to have amazing day at Disneyland ^^ See ya~~

[Europe] Meet The Smurfs in Brussels

Even though i'm not a child, but i really like to watch children's movies. Probably it because i have a 5 years old daughter, who likes to watch movies all the time. We like to spend our time together by watching cartoon, or another children's movies. But, there's one character that we like the most. It's The Smurfs....

Therefore, i'm so glad to knew about MOOF (Museum Of Original Figurines). I read about MOOF at people's blog  (i forget the name) who was traveling at Europe by Mega Bus . She had a short transit time at Brussels, and she took that time to go to MOOF for take a picture with the huge statue of Smurfs. It looks so cute and i really want to go there.

Finally, we arrived at Brussels. Aurelia and me felt so excited to meet the "giant" Smurfs. While we were walking from Bruxelles Central Station to MOOF, we saw some stores sell the Smurfs stuff such as dolls, toys, T-shirt. I was curious about that, but we just kept walking to MOOF.

MOOF is located between Novotel and Best Western Premier Hotel, not far from the Grand Place. We didn't go into the museum, because we didn't have a lot of time in Brussels. We just wanted to take a picture with the statue of Smurfs. Suddenly, we found the heaven for the Smurfs lover, next to the MOOF. It's a Smurfs Store!!!

At this store, i saw a lot of dolls, clothes, even the DVD, and all about Smurfs. Looking all the dolls here makes me wanted to buy them. Especially the biggest "Papa Smurfs" doll. It's really cute ♡♡ But i couldn't buy it because i knew it's gonna be hard to bring this doll during my Europe trip :(

Well, i didn't see the Smurfs just in here. While i was exploring another part of Brussels, i also saw the chocolate store sell the chocolate "Smurfs" box. The price is quite expensive, €32 for 1 box. However, if Brussels was the last city i visited at my Europe Trip, i would buy this chocolate for sure. It looks really cute and lovely.

Why there's a lot of Smurfs in Brussels?
Well, looking so many stores sell Smurfs stuff makes me curious about it. And i just know that Smurfs were created by Belgian cartoonist, Pierre Culliford in 1958. (Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2516878/Belgium-looks-Smurfs-boost-tourist-numbers.html ). This fact makes me understand why i met a lot of Smurfs at Brussels.

Who does love Smurfs??? Make sure Brussels become the city that you want to visit. I'm pretty sure you'll like it here.




MOOF (Museum Of Original Figurines)
Rue du Marché aux Herbes 116, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
Opening hours :
Tuesday - Sunday : 10.00 AM - 06.00 PM
Monday : closed

Maison Dandoy - The Most Delicious Waffle in Brussels

When you're traveling to Belgium, you must try their waffle and chocolate. Everybody knows that Belgian waffle and chocolate are the best. At my Europe Trip, i only visited Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. That means i only had a chance to eat Belgian waffle and chocolate in Brussels.

Therefore, before i went to Europe, i've been searching about the best waffle in Brussels. I was looking for the tasty waffle around Grand Place. Because i only visited Grand Place in Brussels. And most people said that Maison Dandoy has the best waffle.

It wasn't difficult to find this place. It's located at the street which connecting Grand Place and Manneken Pis. You will not miss this place because they have a quite big name at their place.

They have 2 kinds of waffle, Brussels waffle and Liege waffle. Brussels waffle has a soft texture, and Liege waffle has a crispy texture. I chose the Liege waffle with the strawberry for the topping. It costs around €5 - €7, depend on the topping. They also give the different price for Dine In and Take Away. The price is more expensive than regular waffle which sold around. But it's worth with the taste of this waffle.

Liege Waffle €6,5

The waffle was so delicious. It's crispy at the outside, but it's not hard at the inside. Another thing that I liked from this waffle was the strawberry topping. It was really soft. It's not a raw strawberry. I think they cook it first, to get the chewy texture. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, this waffle was absolutely the best waffle i ever ate.

Beside waffle, they also sell ice cream and cookies as well. I really wanted to try their ice cream. However, my tummy was so full after had a lunch at Brussels Grill .

Their cookies was also very recommended. If you have enough time, it will be better if you have afternoon tea time at Maison Dandoy. Unfortunately i only had a short time at Brussels. So i just take away the waffle. But i'm so glad had a chance to try the most delicious waffle in Brussels.

Maison Dandoy
Karel Bulsstraat 14, 1000 Brussel, Belgium
Opening hours :
Monday - Saturday : 09.30 AM - 07.00 PM
Sunday : 10.30 AM - 07.00 PM
Website: http://www.maisondandoy.com/en/home/

Lunch at Brussels Grill Le Char d'Or - the best pork ribs ever-

Honestly, i never thought that i would find the best pork ribs in Brussels. Nobody ever talk about it. It's just a coincidence, and i won't regret it.

I found this restaurant while i was walking to Grand Place from Bruxelles Central Station. I chose this restaurant because the price was not too expensive, and it also has a big portion. 1 portion of pork ribs costs around €20.

It's located in the middle of tourist crowds, right in front of Galeries Royale St Hubert. You can find this restaurant with "Stella Artois" name on its building. (Stella Artois is a famous beer in Brussels. You should try it when you're in Brussels)

They have a lot of choice on their menu, most of them are grilled. They also have mussels as well. We ordered a plate of pork ribs, and salad with pork belly for the appetizer.

First time i saw the pork ribs, it looks so dry. There's no sauce on the top. It didn't looks good at all. They only gave a small bowl of sauce for that huge pork ribs. But, when i tried a bite, the meat wasn't hard at all. It's so tender and juicy at the inside, with little bit crispy at the outside. I guess they fry the meat first to get the crispness at the outside, before they grill it.

One more thing that make me like this pork ribs is the sauce. The sauce is totally delicious. It didn't taste like another BBQ sauce. The sweet and sour flavour very balanced. I'm not a pork ribs lover. But i must, pork ribs here are very tasty. Even we ordered one more portion. One portion wasn't enough for this tasty food.

For the dessert, we ordered creme brulee. I knew it's not the right place for eat creme brulee. But creme brulee is my favorite dessert. I like the hard caramel on top, and it blended with the creamy custard. Yummmm....

Well, if you go to Brussels, don't forget to eat at Brussels Grill. Order some pork ribs and get a glass of Stella Artois. It will complete your day ~~



Brussels Grill Le Char d'Or 
La Maison du Char d'Or, Rue Marché aux herbes 89 - BE-1000 Bruxelles
Tel: (+32 2) 503 17 22
Email : grandplace@brussels-grill.be
Opening Hours : Everyday from 12:00 to 23:00
Web : http://www.brussels-grill.be/