The Brussels Diaries: Day 5 - Saturday 16th May 2015

Technically it's not really 'Day 5' but at least we're not speeding off to Brussels Airport in the middle of the night.  Our afternoon flight means that we've got some time to hang out before we head to Central Station to catch our train to the airport.

I spotted this on a wall just off the Grand Place: the first Belgian flag no less!

I previously mentioned the Grand Place at night, but that fabulous architecture makes it a stunning sight in the daytime too.

But we must leave Brussels behind, but just before I go, there's one thing I'll be glad to say goodbye to - Brussels' pavements, their own little version of the Paris-Roubaix!  Thank goodness for my super-duper new trainers which didn't let me down when confronted with this....

But it's time to go, so we take the train from Brussels Centra(a)l(e) (delete as appropriate!) to Brussels Airport, where we are faced with the nightmare of not only self-checking-in but also doing the whole weighing and labelling your baggage stuff.  The machines have indeed taken over! At least the airport has a Pizza Hut so that's lunch sorted.  And it's a very smooth security process for such a big airport, unlike the unspeakably horrible shambles which is the new security hall at Edinburgh Airport.....

Anyway I digress.  We had a great time in Brussels last month, and the experience turned out to have a more therapeutic effect on me than I could ever imagine.  I came home feeling as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and in the weeks to follow, all the situations which had troubled me in my daily life before the holiday, and which I felt could never be resolved, began to lift, one by one. So that's another reason why holidays matter.  On the surface it may just be a few days away: but the longer lasting effects can be unexpectedly life-changing, and the memories will last forever.