Europe
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 …
Cairo and Giza
As our guide Abdul informed us, the City of Cairo now includes Giza, which some sources foolishly describe as a town. Giza was fashionable per se with colonials way back when in the …
- Originally published: 19 Oct 2006 in Middle East
If Van Gogh had Wheels
A rather belated entry, this, but we’ve been very busy lately with Fincaso’s first year-end! J and I decided to do something a bit different over August bank holiday So I booked some flights …
- Originally published: 8 Sep 2007 in Europe
Family portraits
Here’s a series of portraits of the members of my family taken in February 2007. Left to right: my brother, my father, my mother, my grandmother et moi-même. …
- Originally published: 21 Feb 2007 in Personalia
Salsa Celtica
I first heard of Scottish band Salsa Celtica back in 2004, courtesy of WFMU radio’s Doug Schulkind. I was just starting to get interested in latin and world music at the time and …
- Originally published: 28 Apr 2008 in Concerts
Malèna
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore Italy, 2000 It’s tempting to think of Malèna as a shrink-wrapped, ultra-compact, bitesize companion piece to Tornatore’s meandering, elegiac ode to movies Cinema Paradiso. But while both pictures feature protagonists still …
- Originally published: 29 May 2007 in Film
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.