Belgium

Spring break usually means escaping the cold and finding a warm beach somewhere at any costs even if you live near the beach you seek a warmer one. I suppose we all need to thaw out after a cold winter. In our case we did the opposite, we went searching for cold and found it. The warmness we sought was the company of old and newly made friends.

True, we spent most of our time in Flanders, but did venture to the French side for a couple of days to cautiously explore Belgium's other half. Maybe the former industrial town of Charleroi wasn't the best example, but it was an adventure and that is we seek out here at Camels and Tacos.

Need a quick fix of frites (fries) or fried shaped processed meats? There are plenty of establishments that will cater to your appetite.

How to clog the arteries 101.

James and Harry enjoying a pinch (normal beer).

Harry surprised us with this breakfast item. I didn't think I'd ever eat head cheese. Let this be a lesson in the never say never category.

Is it a bar or an antique shop? Enjoy your favorite beer and buy an old tube radio for 40 euros.

Another Bar/Antique shop that serves soup and quiche.

Museum of Industrial Archeology and Textile in Gent is a great way to spend a couple of hours. We weren't allowed to take photos of the exhibits, so a view of the city is all you get.

Canal shot.

Curtis (Joy Division tribute band) drummer Stephane finds the love of his life in a painting at Chantal's.

Hatched egg Easter cake (say that 5 times fast-bet you can't.)

Each bakery we passed sold their own handmade Chocolate bunnies.

Bunny patrol on the herb garden.

Why stop at head cheese...quail eggs and goose liver pâté was also on our menu...

...as was a sorbet made from cava.

Jab forks in a grilled mackerel and garnish with a side of baked tomatoes-let your dinner guests dig in.

End dinner with cheese, dates, nuts, chocolate eggs, or whatever you want.

Els aka 100% was responsible for our 8-hour Easter feast.

The funeral

Goedroen and Els making a mess.

I learned something new about digestives. After a heavy meal, an after meal sip of a little somethin'-somethin' will put your intestines back in order. Els dad makes a pear liqueur.

A wood stove in action.

House of  the artist.

A night stroll through Gent

Belgium's Angry Birds.

The 5 Euro Turkish pizza is always hearty.

James is a painter

He was commissioned to make a Botero-esque painting. A nod to Goya and Velázquez in the background.

Els textile interpretations of paintings by James. 

Then there was Charleroi, more importantly Shanty. We found Shanty on airbnb and by his photos we knew we had to stay at his place.

Shanty acquired his decor on his travels to India and the far east.

His office/kitchen

You're thinking restaurant, we were thinking restaurant. More importantly we were thinking Belgium-French nachos. Nope. Dance club. Charleroi has a lot of them.

Instead of nachos we tried something new. It was a cold day, so why not have a cold mystery meal for lunch. Unlike the Dutch side where some English is understood, an hour away no English is understood. We concluded the cold meal ended up being some sort of fish. Later we found out it was eel. Glad eel is off the bucket list.

Ana was more cautious and ordered les boulettes (meatballs in tomato sauce).

Around town

Exactly.

We did find our Mexican restaurant in Charleroi, it might have been called Chi Chi's. We also found a very wasted Mexican lady from Acapulco wanting to be Ana's best friend. She had the attention of the whole establishment. We did sit next to a nice lady and her kids...she asked why in the world would we came to Charleroi. The other table next to us had birthday party and the restaurant busted out the champagne and sombreros.

Shanty decided we should have a wig party at 10 in the morning. He brought out his box of wigs and fun was had by all.

I see a new hair style in the future.

Ana as a blonde.

Alkmaar The story of Cheese, Beer, and Nachos

Throw sausage into the title and we've covered all four food groups. Prior to our plane landing in Amsterdam I poked around the web looking for the perfect day trip outside the city and Alkmaar popped up. The phrase that continually caught my attention was "Friday morning cheese races (the summer's Cheese Market)" if this isn't a message from the almighty then I'm at a lost for what is. Ana and I tempted fate by catching the 630 am train from Gent hoping to beat the market's ending time. We dragged our suitcases through the wet streets and drizzle of old town Alkmaar dodging German tourists to the The Weighing House (the square of the Cheese Market). In retrospect I asked myself and the Magic Eight Ball if my life would have been incomplete missing the Cheese Market, "without a doubt."  

I bet your asking yourself if this is some sort of gay friendly Clockwork Orange remake with all the dudes in white suits and multi-colored hats gathered outside the Weighing House. It could be, but isn't. Thanks to the Alkmaar Kaasexpres (the bible of the Cheese Market 101) I now have a better understanding of hat colors, titles, and why cheese from Holland is made in round casings (wheels). Some of the participant titles include the Cheese Father (distinguished by the orange hat), The Inspector, The Executioner, Cheese Carriers, and so on. Don't show up in December hoping to catch the event. The season runs from the first Friday in April to the First Friday in September between the hours of 10 am to 12:30 pm.    

The official Cheese Ambassador of Holland, the fictional Frau Antje collecting money from sold cheese aka summer high school job.  

Traditionally men did manly activities like tending the fields and building things. Women were in charge of making cheese. In order for them to move the cheese more efficiently, they were made into wheels.

Windmill along a canal.

You know you're in the right town if you come across the De Boom National Beer Museum. Housed in a former brewery with a tasting room in the Cellar. The brochure states "Beer has been the most popular beverage in these parts for 1000's of years!"

The museum is filled with antique beer making equipment such as this bottle drying rack. 

There was no shortage of retro beers advertisements.

Say Cheese Say Alkmaar is the town's motto. A couple of Euros will buy you the city's walking guide that maps out some of the interesting sites in the city's center.   

Not really part of the guide, but this has to be one of the largest music boxes I've encountered. The man trolling in the front collects your unwanted Euros and feeds the revolving cylinder of plucked sheets containing the music (the combs and teeth produces the music).  

The sheet running through the cylinder belting out the tunes. Not pictured are the bells and snare drum keeping the rhythm. 

Good to know. Coming to a rave near you. 

Alkmaar has happy street art.

Stop #11 is the Mill of Piet...a 17th century copy.  You wouldn't want to reckon with a falling blade. 

One of the many picturesque ramparts. 

Just one of the buildings.

Stop #5 Remonstrant Church. The funny incident about finding this building is that it is hidden behind a wooden archway. We walked back and forth until a man doing some trim painting approached us and asked if we were looking for the secret church. The story is that the church was hidden from the street for protection...against who and what is a faded memory, maybe the invading Spanish armies. The floor is pinewood with a sprinkling of dune sand.   

Cheese carriers plaque outside The Weighing House. 

Stop #1 The Weighing House containing the Dutch Cheese Museum. Ok, so we did the walking tour backwards.  

Our trip to Alkmaar wouldn't have been nearly as interesting or exciting without our new friend Martine who we met through Couch Surfing. She was kind enough to let us crash at her pad outside of town. She turned me on to the local IPA as we were lucky enough to get the last two pours from the tap.

Meet Symen, Martine's partner and a driver of a cruise ship. Later in the evening he shared some of the pictures of his adventures from his travels around the world. This man truly goes where most people don't, be it glaciers in the South Pole or inside active volcanoes.

Nachos at Roses Cantina in Alkmaar should be avoided. For dinner we attempted to eat Mexican and ordered the large nachos as a starter. Those of you in California and elsewhere in the states have an idea and perhaps high standards of what a plate of large nachos entails. I can assure you that the concept of "nachos" and "large" is quite different in Holland. There were four of us and we each had 3 to 4 regular-sized tortilla chips with cheese...all this for 16 Euros (approx. $22 USD); quite a bargain for such a feast. When the server came to take our order, we politely declined and asked for the bill. "Was the food not ok?" For $22 I want to have a nacho heart attack with the obituary headline "death by nachos" and to add insult to injury was this mural on the wall. Any guess to what this might mean?

There may be history, culture, tradition, and hot air balloon ride in Alkmaar but the town isn't immune from Holland Guidos. Maybe MTV can cast the next season for Jersey Shore here.  

I'm sure the board of Libyan tourism is working on a new ad campaign to get the Dutch to North Africa. This ad for Tunisia at the bus stops seems to be doing wonders thus far.