Day 30 - A treasure iceburg

We finally made good on our promise of getting a phone today. We went to the city center where we picked up our (or more accurately Victor’s) phone and bought a new Belgian SIM card. We also took some time to see a few things that we had missed seeing on previous journeys like Mannequin Pis and a really awesome outdoor flea market that happens everyday in a large square. The flea market was really a proper flea market with a large amount of wares that, to anyone but a skilled treasure hunter, resembled junk, and were laid on rugs or simply left them in boxes to be rummaged through. We didn’t happen to have any cash which prohibited us from purchasing anything, so we just browsed a bit a left. Around 4:00 we returned to Sarah and Stephan’s place where we had promised to help Sarah take a bunch of clothes to a charity shop(thrift store). Until this point we had not had much luck with what the Europeans call charity shops. We’ve only encountered overpriced quasi-retro stores or small stores heaped with unsorted junk that’s been mixed with what can literally be called trash. Here, mixed into used household items, empty appliance boxes and bits of broken bric-a-brac are commonly displayed in these shams. Anyway, Sarah had an entire compact car’s worth of clothes to take to the charity shop which left very little room for it’s three passengers. Once we arrived we visited the retro shop first, a similar deal to Rag-o, and then went to the charity shop; both places being in the same block and part of the same organization. The clothes section was pretty mediocre in comparison to American thrift shops, but the rest was a three store deal that was crammed full of treasures. Unfortunately the place was closing, but we vowed to return the next day. That night we decided to make Mexican food for Sarah, Stephan, and some of their friends. They were very excited about the prospect of spicy food, and the burritos that we made turned out really well and were hailed by all as a success. The night was finished out with the left over beer from the night before and more great discussions about music, movies, and culture.