Travel
Luxembourg
First, the small stuff: Luxembourg is the 175th biggest country in the world, measuring 82km by 57km. It’s home to less than half a million people. Now for the big stuff: Luxembourg is …
- Originally published: 21 Sep 2009 in Europe
Grandes vacances 2009: South of France
Rather than face the nightmare of writing up a two-week trip on our return, I decided to keep a sort-of journal whilst on the road. This article shares with you some of the …
- Originally published: 5 Aug 2009 in Europe
Barcelona
Jaume I of Aragó was one of Barcelona’s many notable figures. Descended from French and Byzantine nobility, his exotic origins were matched by an illustrious childhood spent in the thick of the …
- Originally published: 14 Jul 2009 in Europe
Köln and Bonn
For my thirtieth birthday, J had organised a surprise trip. This time, unlike so many others, she managed to keep the details a perfect secret for three whole months. Köln (Cologne) When work started …
- Originally published: 30 Jun 2009 in Europe
Zuid Holland and Zeeland
A national holiday gave us the breathing space to disappear to the Netherlands for a couple of days. The temperature was high. So was the pollen count. Perfect conditions indeed for discovering the lush …
- Originally published: 5 Jun 2009 in Europe
French exchange
In the spring of 1992, I participated in an exchange between my school at the Lycée-Collège Gambetta in Arras in the Nord Pas de Calais. The Lycée-Collège today is shown in the …
- Originally published: 3 May 2009 in Europe
Invasion postponed due to fog
With promises and great expectations of widespread sunshine, J and I headed off to the northern coast of France. A withering, cold fog had descended on the region and it was scarcely …
- Originally published: 9 Apr 2009 in Europe
Berlin
Berlin is a city of strong contrasts and illogical progressions. Graffiti-covered artist squats to cool, glassy government buildings. Triumphant neo-classical architecture to empty plots of weedy wasteland. Enlightenment, growth, political extremism, the Wall, …
- Originally published: 30 Mar 2009 in Europe
Elsewhere on MikePadgett.com …
Babel
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu US/Mexico, 2006 I always look forward to a new instalment of the González / Arriaga filmmaking partnership. Babel is undoubtedly their grandest effort to date and it’s probably their weakest, …
- Originally published: 29 Jan 2007 in Film
Pajottenland
Calling itself “the pearl of the Pajottenland”, the little town of Gooik sports a civic shield of three hammers. When we arrived for a walk in the area, those hammers could have …
- Originally published: 29 Nov 2009 in Walking
Body Worlds in Brussels
The art of the Ancient Greeks and of the Renaissance shares a common concern for anatomical accuracy. It comes as no surprise, then, that these were also periods in which anatomy itself …
- Originally published: 5 Oct 2008 in Museums & Galleries
Celebrating bureaucracy?
Opponents of the European Union are fond of pointing out what they see as the three grand negatives: democratic deficit, lack of transparency and unwieldy bureaucracy. Brussels certainly doesn’t do itself any favours …
- Originally published: 5 Mar 2009 in Humour
Who is that guy?
Hello you. I'm Mike Padgett and I work in the technology sector as an Information Designer.
I also enjoy travel, concerts, films and walking.
I'm based in Brussels, Belgium. My current favourite Belgian beer is St Feuillien Brune.