Muur van Geraardsbergen
Every year on the first weekend in April, the Ronde van Vlaanderen cycle race files through the lanes and villages of Flanders. If this sounds like a Sunday idyll to you, think about the heavy, freezing rain permeating your clothing whilst you’re buffeted by strong crosswinds from the North Sea. Then contemplate pulling your bike through 264 [...] More about Muur van Geraardsbergen
Cantillon Brewery
J’s sister came to stay and after trying the lambic and gueuze at À La Bécasse on Rue Tabora the previous week, she fancied a visit to the Cantillon Brewery near the Gare du Midi. Cantillon is the last active brewery in Brussels and it is still a family business, occupying the same building on Rue [...] More about Cantillon Brewery
Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels
I have waited several years to see this painting, on display at the Royal Fine Arts Museum in Antwerp. It depicts a resplendent, charged image that somehow escaped the censure of conservative times despite being, to modern eyes anyway, a deeply irreligious religious painting. Dominating the composition is the heavenly Virgin, whose allure is altogether earthly [...] More about Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels
Relocating to Brussels: the final haul
We had decided to stay in temporary accommodation during our first weeks in Belgium. Eventually we found an apartment of our own to our liking. So began a chain of events whose links were many. Temporary accommodation Renting by the month in the early period was a sensible option, though reasonably-priced temporary accommodation in Brussels is both [...] More about Relocating to Brussels: the final haul
Buying soap (and the accretion of experience)
Buying soap in Brussels on a Sunday is difficult. I hadn’t even brought my wallet but J had Visa. In default of one and finding none of the other open on a Sunday, the omens were black. You need to have cash or else a store big enough to accept Visa. This all started because - who’d [...] More about Buying soap (and the accretion of experience)
Maisons de maitre (and other buildings)
During my early wanderings around the city, I’ve been taking photos of maisons de maître, trying to capture the definitive style of these rather lovely houses. Many of the most distinctive examples can be found in the district of Schaerbeek, to the north west of Brussels city centre. Schaerbeek’s townhouses exhibit the classic Flemish style, whilst [...] More about Maisons de maitre (and other buildings)
Early days in Brussels
Brussels is now our new home. It’s also home to just over a million other folks and the capital of two unions, one of which is barely holding together as a nation these days. The old town is heart-shaped, girded by a ring road that roughly follows the line of the old city walls. Architecture inside the [...] More about Early days in Brussels
Leaving the UK
The things you own end up owning you - Tyler Durden, Fight Club Competition: where did we relocate to? Win a box of chocs When you’re upping sticks, there’s something unsettling about selling off your furniture on eBay. On the one hand, your imperative is to travel light whilst on the other you still catch yourself hoping [...] More about Leaving the UK
York
York has been around since Roman times, when it was one of the principal settlements in Britain. Constantine the Great was declared emperor there in 306, following the death of his father Constantius I during a visit to the city. With the Romans were gone, York was an obvious attraction for invaders and it became a [...] More about York
Córdoba
Containing some 500,00 inhabitants, tenth century Córdoba was home to Europe’s largest urban population. The Caliphate, a dynasty of Ummayad rulers exiled from their Syrian homelands, held sway over rich hinterlands that supported first the consolidation, then expansion of their influence across al-Andalus and the Maghreb. Córdoba Show as slideshow 1234…678► A legacy of learning Whilst its scientific and cultural exploits [...] More about Córdoba
