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 …
Oh, we do like to be beside the lakeside
Sometimes, if you’re really sharp, you can make weekends feel like a full week’s holiday. That’s what J and I decided last night, back in the real world at Sheffield’s superlative Pasta …
- Originally published: 7 Aug 2006 in UK
Pepi, Luci, Bom
Director: Pedro Almodóvar Spain, 1981 This is where it all began, the first in a long line of zany, colourful and passionate tales whose collective carnival forms the prodigious output of Almodóvar. Pepi, Luci, Bom …
- Originally published: 21 Aug 2006 in Film
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 …
- Originally published: 30 Jul 2008 in Europe
Nature’s way
My mother has a name for this kind of weather. She calls it “germ weather”. The kind of weather, she says, that you catch colds in. Spare a thought for Gary then, one …
- Originally published: 24 Oct 2005 in Personalia
Beloeil
Beloeil is a commune in the Hainaut region to the west of Belgium. The famous château of the same name is still owned by the House of Ligne, the origins of whose …
- Originally published: 18 Oct 2009 in Walking
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.