Ugly its good

New and improved postings with visual aides!

Last night when leaving the restaurant I noticed with my little eye, two things which are really great. One, there was a really nice looking dog under the table at the entrance of the restaurant that was not there when we arrived. It just stood there, completely relaxed, wagging his tail with his head in his mistress' lap. I like that you can do this here, but I am a fan of the dog.

The second thing that I saw here was this enormously ugly but awesome old Ford delivery van. Look at how the headlights end in the rear view mirror arms. Incredible what they used to do with metal. Metal folks, not plastic fiber glass panels, which hold no complex forms, but could if someone would design them. Trucks today are just ugly aggressive looking things with big headlights, bigger grilles, and nubbed wheels.

Just a word

or maybe more than that. I am posting so much as a response to the posts of a fellow Saint friend of mine who is participating in a challenge to post everyday during the month of November. I am really finding it a challenge to find at least slightly interesting things to post about. Also to that end, I left my phone at work which means that I am without a visual aide today. Sorry kids. Definitely tomorrow you'll have some cool picture.

Yesterday waspreparation for a big mucky mucky to visit. It isn't THE mucky mucky, just his right hand man. It should be fun; Mucky and I get along. Let's see if he is happy. I think he will be most concerned with areas outside of the store.

Interestingly enough it rained again all day yesterday, and today isn't looking too promising. I can't wait to make it back to the US. Everyone here is so intrigued with my excitement of Thanksgiving. They really just don't get it though. I do get to see the most wonderful people on earth all in one place and the food isn't so bad. Ahhhhhh yay. Almost there.

Football & Wine

Last night I went to see a football game after work at a little restaurant around the corner. I didn't know it was on, but one of the people that I went with had to watch it hence the reason that we went there, but also because he knows the owner and all of the staff, which makes for a fun time. The two girls who went with us weren't or aren't the biggest football fans ever.  I actually have no idea what is going on in the US with American football. It is crazy that I am so out of the loop. In general I typically have some sort of idea, but now no. I do know that Paris-St.Germain won last night against Marseille 2-1. Lets say the place freaked out. More than in the states. They have a song of course, and they sang it.
Wine with football is kind of amazing, strangely more civilized, and just look so strange to be paired with a match. Ah, well. It flows like water over here.

oh snap

So here, the saying holds up. When it rains, really, it pours. I have yet to see it not do that. Yesterday, I walked to work as per the norm and it just started to sprinkle. It then continued on and on and on and rained all the way through to the morning of today. It is wet, but I am hoping it has stopped and the clouds are going to be flame broiled by the sun and disappear into blue blue sky. The temperature has dropped about 10 degrees, and the forecast calls for more rain, but fingers are crossed regardless.  Maybe that is the snap.

Grey day

Fall has fallen

Though the last couple of days have been full of sunshine, warm days, but leaves have begun to turn. I am waiting for the day, as it is due any day now, and then winter will have fallen upon us.
Last night was not so fun as there were what sounded like two raves going on the opposite bank of the Seine, Rive Gauche. I was up till three until i figured out how to balance a pillow on my head without suffocating myself. Ah sleep, taken for granted until you don't get it when you want it.  Here's to not being overtired.

Fire & Ice

Grannie's still got it. Amazing! Jessica Biel is reprising her role. My Aunt in VA sent me a snapshot she took at CVS of a display and today I was looking at WWD and a little pop-up went of on the side menu sending me to the Revlon home page. I noticed it because it had this image:

Yippie! My grandmother was incredible and so dynamic. I love love love that she is getting so much press right now. I wonder what clicked with the world.

I surmise they reworked the color as I found it with my bestie in NY last year and the color, when worn, looks almost orange. I bet they did.

Chocolade & Other Olde Things

Welcome to Brugges, the land that time forgot. It used to be one of the most important shipping cities in Europe but with the advent of modernity, viola, it was forgotten. Rick Steve said it best that the city is "nicely pickled" and "ripe for tourists". It is truly a fantastic place. There is so much confusion in the architecture, gothic, medieval, and flemish. The poor little place doesn't know where it is. Belgium doesn't know which way it is going, with its Roman (yup its true) French, German and Flemish influences. It is officially a kingdom but was last ruled by a king in 1951 when king Leopold II abdicated. Back to Brugge, it is considered the Venice of the north, with its canals and picturesque scenery, architecture, and bell tower (see above). There is also a Michelangelo sculpture at the Church of Our Lady, yes another Notre Dame, which was given to the church in 1514 by Flemish merchants. It is one of a few outside of Rome. Um, I was too interested in the architecture and gravestones embedded in the floor, that I forgot to take a picture of it. Oh Michelangelo, I didn't mean to forget you.

 I want to live there, where the little red windows are. Too bad its not somewhere else.

 This is the interior of Our Lady. Michelangelo is to the right.

 Look at the joinery of this. Incredible, its lasted hundreds of years.

 The simplicity of this door handle is amazing. A bent rod with a couple small details to make it a serpent.

 Our Lady, under renovation seen from the brewery. Its the brick tower where the Mic-y lives.

 

Um, the chocolade vending machine was incredible. We waited briefly for the train, used all of our euro coins and had one.  Amazing, perhaps it was the cold, but it was a highlight of our trip. 

A funny story about our trip. We went to a store to find perfume, and the woman, which looked crazy with one off's of nearly everything that would be in an old lady's closet, but for sale, and tried ordering something to no avail. It was definitely a strange experience. I should've taken a picture.