The Year of Pieter Bruegel
Pieter Bruegel produced unique works which are still easily recognised today. They reflect the reality of the 16th Century in northern Europe – and that...
Middachten Castle – It’s a Family Affair
Middachten Castle or Kasteel Middachten in Dutch, is a significant and beautiful manor house, located on the Middachten estate, De Steeg, Netherlands. The building we...
Loevestein Castle – Historic Netherlands
This is said to be the most famous castle in the Netherlands. That will come as a surprise to most tourists, who will likely not...
Lambic – the sweet taste of a sour beer
OK, I had not heard of Lambic and that’s mainly because I am not a big beer drinker, but this was something of a revelation...
Blandy’s Wine Lodge – Madeira
A guided tour of Blandy’s 17th century Wine Lodge and its associated Wine Museum, in the centre of Funchal, will reveal some of the art...
Kröller-Müller – The beginning of a New World
From 1 June to 29 September 2019 at The Kröller-Müller The summer exhibition The Beginning of a New World The development of modern sculpture is...
Gaasbeek Castle for a Feast of Fools: Bruegel Rediscovered
Gaasbeek Castle for a Feast of Fools: Bruegel Rediscovered 6 April 2019 – 28 July 2019 Gaasbeek Castle isn’t far from the thronging city of...
Madeira Quinta da Casa Branca Dining
Funchal in Madeira is one of my favourite cities and Quinta da Casa Branca has one of my favourite restaurants. That is surely a recipe...
Aegina – accessible Greek retreat
Aegina is perhaps the most accessible of Greek island idylls. It’s the playground of holidaymakers from Athens, but has also long been popular with European...
The Farm Brewery – Goossens
Goossens Farm with Malting Brewery Lambic Brewery Heritage Lambic beer is a typical wild yeast beer, brewed in the southwest region of Brussels (Pajottenland). It...
Madeira’s Still-living History
The 15th century saw the dawn of the Age of Discovery, a time when European powers began exploring the world to find new lands and...
Madeira wine – a sweet tour
For a small island in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean, Madeira has a big reputation for the sweeter things in life: its history includes...
Freewheeling along the Voie Bressane
A modern-day adventure in step with today’s tastes, cycling tourism is the latest thing in travel. In order to welcome an ever-growing number of enthusiasts,...
Madeira – a younger look
This beautiful and unique island has been a much-loved destination for European tourists, yet primarily for the slightly older generation. But this traveller wonders why,...
Mercado dos Lavradores, Madeira
It is perhaps one of the highlights of any vacation: a trip to an exotic and thoroughly Instagrammable market is hard to beat for local...
Chihuly, Groninger Museum, Groningen
Until 5 May 2019 ‘Chihuly’ will be an exhibition of sensational creations by world-renowned American glass artist Dale Chihuly. The exhibition is specially curated for...
Madeira’s Most Genteel Factory – Bordal Embroidery
Madeira is said to have been discovered by the Portuguese in 1419, though there are stories from intrepid sailors of much earlier times, that tell...
The Jewels of the High Jura
La Taillerie – the Gemstone Shop Although precious stones are not found naturally anywhere in the Jura mountains, the cutting and polishing of imported stones...
A Spectacular Museum in Jura
In the beautiful Jura mountains of Eastern France, in the small town of Morez, there is a big museum. It’s dedicated to a rarely-seen industry...
There’s no smoke without … a Saint-Claude pipe
You, dear reader, will be unusual to say the least if you own one; your father probably didn’t have one, either; more likely your grandfather...