Maisons de maître (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 maître (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. A legacy of learning Whilst its scientific and cultural exploits were renowned [...] More about Córdoba
Andalusia
Illuminated by the sunlight of southernmost Spain are the last traces of a great state whose grandeur and importance seem disproportionate to its lack of prominence in European history. Perhaps the footnote status of Al-Andalus is partly due to being sandwiched between Roman civilisation and the discovery of the “New” World. Still more likely is that [...] More about Andalusia
Katrina was here
In August 2005, New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Over 1,500 people lost their lives and over 700 are still missing today. Rough estimates suggest that damage to the states of Louisiana and Mississipi may exceed $150 billion dollars. New Orleans currently has something like 60% of its pre-Katrina population. The people of this resilient city [...] More about Katrina was here
All that jazz: New Year in New Orleans
After J and I left Florida behind, we headed over the Gulf of Mexico to Louisiana. We visited New Orleans for New Year, drawn by the nightlife, the restaurants and the art galleries. We also wondered how things were two years after Hurricane Katrina. More about All that jazz: New Year in New Orleans
At home with Papa: from Key West to Key Largo
Wounded WWI Red Cross ambulance driver, leading light in Paris’ “Lost Generation”, hunter in the Serengeti, radicalist sympathiser in the Spanish Civil War, Q-Boat captain combing the waters off Cuba, D-Day correspondent, Nobel Prize winner, friend and enemy of Fidel Castro. Ernest Hemingway was all of these things. More about At home with Papa: from Key West to Key Largo
Key West and the Conch Republic
The more observant of my readers will no doubt have noticed that the number of parts in this series has now grown to five articles. We’ve been busy since we returned from the States, so apologies for the tardiness in publishing these images. More about Key West and the Conch Republic
