Alison Cornford-Matheson
You’re in Belgium. Now What? CheeseWeb.eu is here to help. We are a travel resource for expats in Belgium and abroad. We discover the little known attractions in Belgium and across Europe. We aim to make relocating more fun and exciting, and a little bit easier too.
CheeseWeb is full of inspiring photography of beautiful travel destinations. We have a warm and helpful community and new-comers are always welcome. We hope you enjoy it!
Who is behind CheeseWeb?
Alison Cornford-Matheson is a garden and travel lifestyle photographer, freelance travel writer and copy-editor, based in Brussels, Belgium.
A Canadian at heart, she grew up on the beautiful East Coast. She is married to Andrew (the computer geek!) and is ‘mom’ to two cats.
Alison’s obsession with travel was cultivated by her parents at an early age: her childhood summers were spent motor-homing across North America.
However, it wasn’t until she was married to Andrew that she first set foot on European soil.
Their first European adventure was a whirlwind 16-day bus tour of ‘European Highlights’. This quick taste of Europe lingered with them and they vowed to return as soon as they could.
Over the following years, Andrew’s company expanded to include an office in the Netherlands, resulting in numerous trips across the Atlantic.
Finally, in January 2004, Andrew and Alison were asked to relocate to Amsterdam for three months. With an ironic take on the (in)famous Cheese and Clogs, CheeseWeb, was born.
CheeseWeb was originally Alison’s way to communicate with friends and family back home and share her experiences, adventures, photos and observations. It also served as her personal journal to help her remember her first impressions.
She was surprised to learn people she didn’t even know were reading and enjoying her blog and it was still being visited long after she returned to Canada.
Alison had fallen in love with Amsterdam and the Netherlands and both she and Andrew soon started considering a more permanent move.
Fate, in her infinite wisdom, dealt them a slightly different card than what they had in mind. They were to be relocated to Belgium, a country they had only briefly visited and knew little about.
Taking the plunge anyway, in late June 2005, Alison fumbled through the first months in her new country and soon grew to love its eccentricities.
Since those early days, CheeseWeb has grown into a resource for expats in Belgium as well as a guide to interesting places to visit, eat and shop.
CheeseWeb around the Web
Alison has been published on and interviewed for many other expat websites. Here is a list of her work beyond CheeseWeb:
Recurring Work
- Alison is the Expat Living Editor at Wandering Educators.com
- Alison is an Expert Author on Ezine Articles
- Alison blogged for Expatica Belgium when she first arrived in the country.
- Alison is a correspondent for luxury travel website Jetsetter.
Guest Posts
- How Blogging Saved My Expat Life, on Almost Fearless
- Where to Eat in Brussels, on Isabelle’s Travel Guide
- 25 Beautiful Photos of Europe, on Off to Europe
- Alison’s advice for Expat Yourself
- Contributed to Belgium Travel Tips ‘n’ Tweets: What to do and see in Brussels
- Contributed to 1 Question, 15 Travel Bloggers, 15 Countries, 13 Answers on Hike Bike Travel
Interviews:
- Exploring Expat Life with CheeseWeb on Wandering Educators
- Interview on Expat Focus
- Expat Spotlight on Expatify
- Featured on the Creative Artist’s Blog
- Interview on Expat Interviews.com
- Interview on Expat Alley
- Featured on TVBrussel program, Brussels International