Tag: france
Castles and vineyards
This is quite a tough route in and around the wine villages of Alsace. Not especially technical, but given the general topography there was a lot of climbing to be done.
The route is particularly representative of the region: castles (often ruins), vineyards and panoramic views.
Walking route: Châtenois – Wick – Haut-Kœnigsbourg – Orschwiller – Kintzheim …
Alsace
Squeezed between the Vosges and the Rhine the Alsace region stretches narrowly along France’s spine, flanked by Germany to the north and east and by Switzerland to the south.
To the west Alsace borders Lorraine, a region towards which it has traditionally held a superiority complex. Historically however, Alsace and Lorraine have often shared similar characteristics …
Gorges du Toulourenc
Location: Veaux, near Malaucène, Vaucluse
Length: 10km
Difficulty: scrambling, some deep water, some steep slopes
This walk formed part of our holiday Grandes vacances 2009: South of France
This day had long since transformed itself from a little wander up a sparkling streambed an increasingly technical assault on deep water and slippery rock walls.
We’d left the picnickers behind and …
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 nonsense I wrote, though I find to my embarassment that very little of it seems actually to be concerned with the places we …
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 pair of pictures below: pretty much the same but the trees have grown bigger!
I was, I think, twelve years old at the time …
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 to lift throughout the weekend.
Memories of the sort of reliably unreliable weather so typical of the British seaside began to seep through our …
The Templars
Piers Paul Read
Phoenix (2003 edition)
Piers Paul Read has written fiction, biography and journalism. He brought us the now-famous story of the Andes flight disaster of 1972, told from the perspective of the survivors in his book Alive. This work of popular history concerns the Knights Templar, an military-monastic Order whose precise history remains rather obscure.
The …
The Yellow Cross
René Weis
Penguin (first published 2001)
The Inquisition weighs heavily in our modern impressions of an era in which cruelty, intolerance and ignorance reigned supreme for several centuries. Yet a growing body of academic research into the Catholic suppression of the “heretical” Cathar faith now demonstrates with no small irony the sophistication of a highly developed subculture …
La Gloria para El Mejor
Such was the headline at the El Pais website this morning.
There can be little doubt that Spain was consistently the best team on the field in Euro 2008, playing their entertaining brand of fútbol total.
In a thrilling climax to a tournament full of surprises – exciting turns from Russia and Croatia, spectacular deadline management …
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 and wrote to some hotels and then spent three weeks planning a short driving holiday in the South of France.
Three days isn’t a …
Elsewhere on MikePadgett.com …
Enough already!
What did you expect? You pluck a porcine, no-hope loser out of some dump in Bermondsey. You take her out of her dental nurse job, you shove her into the dentist’s chair …
- Originally published: 21 Jan 2007 in Editorial
With these Rocher, you’re really spoiling us
Smooth and sophisticated, Belgian chocolate is among the finest in the world. But is it a bit much with a cup of tea? …
- Originally published: 29 Nov 2009 in Humour
Hunting the hunters
The old boys’ sport of hunting continues apace in Belgium, for reasons of wildlife management, sport and pleasure. The law requires hunt organisers to apply to the relevant Region for a permit. However, …
- Originally published: 12 Oct 2009 in Editorial
Matthew Herbert Big Band
After an awkward warm-up from studenty noodlers Wixel, who might be the Flemish answer to Sigur Rós, the stage of Brussels’ Ancienne Belgique was quickly cleared and rearranged for the main event …
- Originally published: 3 Oct 2008 in Concerts
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
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.