the stanhope in brussels.

oh yes, a whole post on my hotel in brussels... who's excited?! i just had to do this in a post before the brussels post got too long...

so... i easily made it to brussels. and even more so, i figured out how to navigate the metro system there! i followed the hotel's directions to find them - the only problem was once i popped up out of the metro, the directions got vague and i of course got confused. then lost. and my map of brussels? yeah, didn't have such a good one of those yet. but luckily after trying to figure it out, a nice lady who spoke english was able to tell me and luckily as the hotel said - they were just around the stupid corner from the metro (the stupid part may be my addition to the narrative).

and here it is! preeeeeeeetty! and luxurious... oh yes! my other hotels had been great so far, but this is one i was super excited for... brussels is a total business hub and not only does it empty out on the weekends, but it also empties in august. ding, ding... perfect timing for me wanting a deal! and deal i got!!!

seriously?! this is the lobby!? oh yesssss. yes it was. this was actually one of the mid-range places i stayed... if you can believe that!

this is the elevator in the hotel. i loved it. these are like real books that have been cut off at just before the spine to make a 'bookcase'. i started looking at the books closer and they cracked me up:

i don't know what a franc is worth since it doesn't exist, but i'll take it as a euro. how to live on 900e a day?! oh yesssss please! tell me how to do that!!!

and then i saw 'working to a budget' and cracked up since it was near my 'how to survive' book. hmmm, i may need this budget book before i get to the surviving on 900 francs...

and now for my room. i walked in and died! died! a couch, a curved staircase?! omg! a huge tall window?! i was on the second floor so the view wasn't fabulous, but it wasn't bad and omg, this room was heaven!

looking towards the door to the room. so cute! it was small, but perfect! i was kinda ready to move right on in!

the tv even welcomed my mom to the room... wait, what?! my mom wasn't there... but i was apparently mrs. harper!

and at the top of the stairs, my bedroom and a big lovely bathroom with l'occitane products. i loved the headboard and bedding and it was super comfy.

so after my day of navigating from bruges to ghent... around ghent (lost and frustrated)... and then to my hotel in brussels... i decided i needed some down time. to relax... do nothing... watch a movie on the tv maybe (or not - they were 15 bucks each! yikes, ummm, no). and order room service!! you'd expect the room service to be ridiculous in a place that wanted to charge me 25 bucks for b'fast (um, no thanks), but it wasn't... some might even say cheap! besides i was so filled up on waffles and chocolate that i just wanted a light dinner. so i ordered room service and readjusted my attitude towards the day's events and the past frustrations of feeling so lost... and decided that lost is so passe. lost is now: exploring! lost is now finding places i otherwise would or would not have seen, not necessarily on or off the beaten path... just roaming and exploring! and so, with my new attitude in place and a fuller belly of chocolate and room service i ascended the curved staircase to my adorable lofted bed and called it a day...