Bonnet Jujurieux Silk Factory Museum
This is a charming museum, and it seems to encompass most of the original Bonnet silk factory in Jujurieux, a small town in the department...
Absinthe – Green Hills & Green Fairies of Jura
Originally produced in the Val-de-Travers region in Switzerland and in Pontarlier, France, Absinthe is a distilled anise-flavoured spirit made from herbs including the flowers and...
Rubenshuis in Antwerp – travel review
Antwerp is often overlooked, visitors to north-west Europe gravitating to its more celebrated cousins of Paris and Amsterdam. It is, however, a treasure-trove of history,...
Jan Steen Exhibition at Mauritshuis The Hague – review
The Mauritshuis is home to some of the most famous Dutch paintings of the Golden Age. The gallery is a perfectly formed and fitting contemporary...
Charmed lives in Greece: Ghika, Craxton, Leigh Fermor – travel review
From 8 March – 15 July 2018 – The influence of modern Greece on the lives and work of three influential artists is explored in...
Leeuwarden – Friesland Cultural Capital of Europe 2018 officially opened
The opening ceremony was performed by The King and Queen of The Netherlands in Leeuwarden-Friesland. Church bells rang out across the entire province of Friesland,...
Port, Wine and the Douro – travel review
Ah, beautiful Portugal! Striking architecture in iconic Lisbon. History and character in Porto …and then there is the Douro Valley, which is stunning and will...
Leeuwarden – European Capital of Culture 2018
1 January – 31 December 2018 The European Capital of Culture 2018 takes place in Leeuwarden, the capital of the Dutch province of Friesland. It...
In Nuenen with Vincent van Gogh – travel review
Vincent van Gogh’s Nuenen is documented in charming fashion at the Vincentre Who is this ‘Vincent’ and where is Nuenen? We are exploring the life...
Loving Vincent …and Tim – exhibition review
The ‘Loving Vincent’ Exhibition of the Animated Film The Loving Vincent Exhibition is now open at the Noord Brabant’s Museum in Den Bosch. This beautiful...
Port, Porto and culinary culture – travel review
You might have visited Porto in Portugal before but it’s worth another look, and perhaps with food and drink in mind this time. There has...
Three Chairs for The Netherlands – travel review
I am an unashamed supporter of The Netherlands. It’s next door, but unknown to many British. (That might be perceived as an advantage, at least...
Mallorca for the Arts – travel review
We might well think we know everything about Mallorca – possibly spelled Majorca and often pronounced with a hard ‘j’! It’s evidently a tapestry of...
Kröller-Müller Museum – gardens and galleries – travel review
This delightful museum is a triumph. Yes, it will be a draw for lovers of art but it has such broad appeal for those who...
Hotel Bon Sol – it’s a family affair – travel review
This deceptively large hotel couldn’t have a better location. Hotel Bon Sol Resort and Spa is in Illetas, which is only 8 km (5 miles)...
The Textile Museum, Tilburg – travel review
‘No, Mum, not a museum!’ Yes, many of us have heard that sad and somewhat panic-stricken refrain from youngsters who are dreading the prospect of...
Between Heaven and Earth: Atelier NL – art review
It seemed unlikely. A pottery in a church in Eindhoven. But here it was and it is indeed a divine space in which to sympathetically...
Mainz – arrive by River – travel review
This is a beautiful and cultured city and accessible from the river. One walks a few yards from the Rhine and the history of Mainz...
Het Noordbrabants Museum acquires van Gogh watercolour – until 19 March 2017
Het Noordbrabants Museum, Den Bosch, Holland has recently acquired from a private collection The Garden of the Vicarage at Nuenen by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)....
The Hague’s fashion souvenirs – travel review
We are going on a well-deserved city break, but what does the discerning and well-turned-out shopper bring back? Well, usually nothing apart from a bottle...