Un grand jour

I said "Well, it's not every day you move to Paris."

But that's just what he did.

A big day and a big city.

You know a city when you see one. Often by its skyscrapers.

Like Chicago

or Hong Kong

or New York.

But not Paris.

A huge metropolitan area with nearly no skyscrapers.

There's a reason for that. And it didn't happen by accident.

Way back in 1853, Napoleon III commissioned Baron Georges-Eugene Haussmann to modernize Paris and the urban planning began.

His design was initially criticized, but later praised by his peers. The look of Paris today with its wide tree-lined boulevards, cafes, shops and large open spaces is evidence of Haussmann's vision.

Tall buildings were relegated to the outskirts of the city and with the exception of the Eiffel Tower (at ~1000 ft), built in 1889, Haussmann's vision continued

. . . until 1972.

Clearly "a 70's mistake", the 210 meter (689 ft) Montparnasse Tower entered the landscape of Paris.

Some say it sticks out like a sore thumb. No argument from me.

Perhaps in response, in 1977, a City Code was adopted limiting building height to 37 meters (121 ft).

The city of Paris has a population of only 2 million while the metropolitan area has 12 million, simply because there is very little housing within the city and it's as expensive as it is elusive.

In an effort to reduce "urban sprawl" and accommodate more residents closer to the city, a new urban plan was adopted in Paris in 2010. Apartments may now rise to 50 meters (164 ft) and office towers to 180 meters (590 ft).

But Haussmann's urban plan and the unique look of Paris will remain intact as these "skyscrapers" are still relegated to the outskirts, but not too far out.

Bienvenue a la maison, Ross.

Marmots

First. Americans and Canadians. Happy Groundhog Day!

Did you know groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, are about the size of a house cat, can swim, climb trees and burrow where they hibernate from about October to March or April? I suppose that's why Punxsutawney Phil is dragged out of hibernation to predict whether he'll emerge permanently in March or in April.

I don't know if there will be six more weeks of winter in PA, but it is most certainly winter today in BE. The wind chill this morning is minus 21 degrees Celsius (-6 F = bitter cold by any standard). We are now keeping our ice cream on the patio.

The European groundhog is the marmot. Same as a groundhog/woodchuck/large squirrel. Those who know them best often refer to them as a nuisance.

As far as I know, there is no Marmot Day in Belgium nor a large squirrel weather forecaster.

Marmots usually dine on grass and insects. Agricultural crops are also a favorite when available. Smakelijk!

They will actually eat nearly anything and it doesn't necessarily have to be edible. Their menu often includes car insulation, radiator hoses and anti-freeze, poisonous to all except the marmot. Bon appetit!

I've heard they can wreak havoc under the hood of a VW, apparently more tasty than say, a GM or BMW. So take care to protect your auto should you find yourself in an area with groundhogs/woodchucks/marmots, weathermen or just large squirrels.

Even if you haven't seen this movie, it's still a good song :)

Village Cinema

We've gone to a movie the past three weekends. Prior to that, we hadn't gone to a movie in a theater in . . . too many years to count.

But we used to. Back in the late '70's we went nearly every weekend. Because that's what you did.

Movie tickets here are 9 euro (~$12) no matter what time of day you go. About $9 will get you into an evening movie in the States or $6 if you go to the matinee. We noted that movie tickets have always seemed expensive - even back in 1978 when it was less than $3!

I really go to the movie mostly for the popcorn. I love movie popcorn. On our first movie weekend here at the Euroscoop Genk, our first stop after ticket purchase was the concession for popcorn. You can imagine how dismayed I was when it turned out to be sweet. Who eats sweet popcorn at a movie?

On our next movie weekend we tried the Kinepolis Hasselt. Delightedly they had real movie popcorn. The kind with salt and butter. Like it should be. They also offered the sweet stuff for whoever eats sweet popcorn at a movie.

Back in the '70's, Ruston's movie theater was the Village Cinema. Right next to El Pollino's serving up excellent Mexican food. It was located on West California (behind Taco Bell). It's a vacant lot now, but Google Maps still reads "Village Plaza Shopping Center", but all that's pictured is grass and old concrete.

Village Cinema was run by one guy. I believe he sold tickets and ran the projector. He may have even sold popcorn. Real movie popcorn. The kind with salt and butter. Like it should be. Once the movie had run its course, he would take the movie posters down and if you went by and asked him, he'd give them to you. My bedroom was wall to wall movie posters and bulletin boards. Jim had his share of them too.

Together we had original posters like Star Wars, Grease, Saturday Night Fever and the first movie we went on a date to see - Heroes. I should watch that movie again. I don't remember anything about it.

Anyway, those posters stayed in the attic of my parents house for years. Who knows where they are now.

I think this movie (aka popcorn) thing might become a regular event. It has so far.

All to ourselves

After our beer run to Westvleteren, we decided to drive to the coast. We were only a few minutes away and decided on the closest coastal city - De Panne, Belgium.

It was terribly cold and windy, naturally, as it is January.

Winslow didn't seem to notice the cold. He had a big time!

De Panne is the western-most city in Belgium and borders France.

You can actually see Dunkirk, France in the distance in the photo above.

Much of the beach was covered in these broken shells. I dug a hole several inches deep and never reached sand - just more shells.

We definitely had the beach to ourselves. Well, except for this horse and buggy. I was so surprised when I saw it off in the distance. The following video will give you an idea of just how chilly it was!

After a numbing stroll on the beach, we drove around the center of town. Definitely nice enough to warrant another visit - in the spring or summer.

Forecast: Sun

January 27 marked the first day of sun in 2012 and boy, was I glad to see it.

I don't know if you ever notice the weather gadget over there on the right side of my blog?

It's not always accurate, often showing a picture of the sun. While there is sun, it's often behind complete cloud cover. I love how the BBC's U.K. forecast always says "white cloud" like somehow that sounds better than "overcast".

I guess maybe it does.

But today in Hasselt it's showing a grey cloud with snow falling and today it's accurate. It's been snowing all day and if that weather gadget is right, it shouldn't melt any time soon.

It won't get above freezing for at least the next 10 days with an average high of 21F and average low of 15F. Brrrr!

But at least it's going to be sunny :)

A walk in the park this morning with Winslow.