A 10 Star Trip Europe and The Maldives Via SQ New Regional J, Suites, EK 380F and New 777F

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After eating we retired to our centre suites to watch some movies and have a nap.

We did have to kick these two out who must have snuck in from a lower cabin.

 

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A couple of hours out of London and and many Krugs later the 2nd meal service began.






We were now thoroughly stuffed and almost pickled.

It was a fantastic SQ flight. The cabin staff were all warm and attentive they could not be faulted.

 

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We had booked a flat fee transfer through Blacklane with a discount code. We were picked up in a brand new black Mercedes.

Due to the delay we hit peak hour traffic so it was slow going but it was a comfortable trip.

We checked in quickly at Hilton Bankside. No upgrade was offered but they also were sold out according to the Hilton app.

The base King Rooms are a good size for London and the breakfast is still great with Diamonds offered anything off the ala carte menu as well as the full buffet.

The lounge breakfast is also an option but more limited.







Welcome amenity was a delicious chocolate hazelnut mousse cake.

 

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HiltonBankside Lounge

 

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We spent the next day wandering around and after Mrs SFC stocked up on some Primark basics we came across a Brew Dog pub right in time for lunch.









It was a beautiful day in London with a festival happening on the South Bank.



Unfortunately the weather wouldn't hold up for the next day.

 

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That night we had a booking at Ikoyi which is a small modern West African inspired restaraunt with 1 Michelin Star.

It operates a blind tasting menu with 7 or 9 courses, but you are consulted about any dietary requirements prior. Each course is then introduced and explained when it is served.

We had the 7 course menu and split a wine pairing between us as we had tickets to Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre just around the corner.

Malt bread with honey crust.

Beef Terrine with Calf Brain and TasmanianBlack Truffle


John Dory line caught that morning.


Unfortunately here my notes end, we were going to get a listing after the.meal but ran short of time.

Cucumber

Smoked Jollof Rice & Beef


Rhubarb and Meringue Dessert



The food was immaculate and service impeccable. I would highly recommend anyone who enjoys food and is even a little bit open to surprises to give it a go.

 

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Unfortunately this was about as close to cricket as we got.



So we made the most of the hospitality. We had a fun day but it was disappointing to not have any play.

 

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The next day we jumped on the Eurostar to Brussels.

We stayed at the Hilton Brussels Grand Place which is conveniently located next to Brussels Central Station.

We had a 2nd room booked as we had a friend joining us from Ireland for the weekend.

The Hilton upgraded both rooms to top floor Junior Suites and extended the Diamond benefits to both rooms.











We also received a bottle of Prosecco and 2 Smurfs with a nice hand written card explaining the Smurfs association with Belgium.

 

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The lounge is located on the ground floor and is quite compact.

They were directing anyone with lounge access to take breakfast in the restaraunt, but this may have been because it was a long weekend in Brussels.

I am not sure if it was a mistake but the beer fridge wasn't locked when I dropped by outside of coughtail hour.





There is still a decent view from the lounge


The food on offer in the evening was a pasta, soup and substantial salad. With wine, prosecco, beer and spirits on offer.

Late checkout was no problem so I had another beer before we jumped on the train to Brugge.

 

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We enjoyed our 2 days in Brussels, we did free walking tour to get our bearings and I did another beer and chocolate tour which was worth the money but a bit pricy at €80.

The ladies didn't care much for the beer part so elected to buy half a kilo of pralines and drink the prosecco in the room instead.

It was flowertime which means the town hall is open to the public and the city is dressed with fresh flowers.





Including Manekin Pis.



Though we elected to watch from a more civilised position with a nice fresh witbier.



Some good advice.



We had a good mix of traditional and modern Belgian beers and some delicious chocolates.







At our last stop the guide ordered in some frites from Georgette's which were fantastic.

 

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I had asked the guide at the start of the tour if he knew anywhere that I could get a bottle of Westvletern 12.

He said he would make a couple of calls and that we may be able to get one at the last stop.

It is regularly named as the best beer in the world, the only issue is the monks that brew it only brew enough to fund their monastic operations or repair the Abbey.

Unlike a lot of other trappist beers none is available for commercial sale unless you pick up a case direct which requires you to order in advance and nominate the car that will pick it up.

As a result there is some limited availability on the black market.

After the tour was concluded he confirmed that the owner of the bar would sell me one to take away. It was a cash only sale under with the table bottle in a paper bag, standard contraband transaction but I had my white whale.

 

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We stopped in at Brew Dog Brussels, it might not be Belgian but it was open late, serving food and conveniently located across the road from the hotel. It had good food and great beers.

 

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Next stop was Brugge, complicated slightly by a train strike. This meant only 50% of services would be running.

In the end we had no problems.

With no Hilton option we booked the Hotel Aragon using an Amex credit.

It was a nicely renovated boutique hotel in a good position near the main square.





Brugge is a compact but beautiful town with two operating breweries. The only real problem is it does get overwhelmed by tourists.

First stop was the Brewery Bourgogne des Flandres which is set on a canal.

 

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The next morning I went for a walk after breakfast and stopped by De Halve Mann Brewery arriving just in time for their first tour of the day.





You also get a great view from the roof of the Brewery, a much better option than paying to climb the tower on the main square as you also get a beer at the end.





To avoid congestion with getting trucks into the old town the brewery crowd funded a 3km pipeline to send the beer to a bottling facility on the edge of town. Repayments to investors are made in beer rather than interest.



Start of the pipeline.

 

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After a lovely couple of days in Brugge it was time to say goodbye to our Irish friend as she was to take the Ryanair flight back to Dublin.

We would take the train to Antwerp and pick up the Thalys high speed service to Amsterdam

Antwerp station had an interesting set of escalators with a flat section in the middle but they are still connected as one set.





We had a comfortable 1st class seat and after reaching a top speed of 252km/h we arrived in Amsterdam without incident.

 

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A short taxi ride and we were at the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam.

Traditionally it has been difficult to book with points at this hotel. This seems to be changing with more nights becoming available.

We were checked in by a lovely front desk agent Ellie from Melbourne. We had been pre upgraded to a Grand Deluxe Room with a View (category below a suite). The room had a view of the UNESCO heritage listed garden and we were given the option of a canal view room for €85 a night.

We preffered the garden view. Ellie gave us a short tour to orient us while taking us to the room and gave us a bit of history about the hotel.

The hotel was created from 6 houses, one of which used to be a bank, where the old vault is used to house a coughtail bar in the basement.

All the common areas of the hotel are stunning, with high ceilings and lots of natural light but the centrepiece has to be the main staircase.

 

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The gardens are apparently the largest private garden in Amsterdam.

 

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Room 51.

The service at the WA was exceptional. It is rivaling Rangali for our favorite ever Hilton stay.

Well worth the 95,000 points per night in our opinion.










We also had a chocolate cake arrive shortly after check in.



We received 2 complimentary apertifs during Aperitivo at Peacock Alley.



Diamonds also get an extra 30 mins complimentary treatment when booking at the spa.

 

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Breakfast had a nice mix of ala carte and a small buffet.

There were also extra items offerred at an additional charge.

 

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The WA also houses a 2 Michelin star restaurant in Spectrum Amsterdam.