http://www.sitebits.com/gromco/ Gromco en Copyright &copy; 1999-2009 Gromco, Inc. Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:32:56 EST Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:00:00 EDT info@sitebits.com info@sitebits.com Next week not one, but two of Madrid's most prominent symbols are going to disappear from its central square. One is the statue of a bear licking (or sniffing) a tree (el oso y el madroño) currently installed a few steps from the Puerta del Sol. The other one, which we wrote about last year, is the Tío Pepe sign perched atop one of the building surrounding the plaza. Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2009/new-puerta-del-sol-moving-63834499.html Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:00:00 EDT After two years of construction, Le Bristol, one of the swankiest hotels of Paris, will open a new wing with 26 rooms, 5 suites and a new restaurant. <br><br> This addition represents its first major expansion since the hotel's opening in 1925. Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2009/le-bristol-expands-90261386.html Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:00:00 EDT The LA Times reports and the NYPL confirms the opening of another Wi-Fi hot spot at the library's main building on Fifth Avenue. <br><br> Now, visitors with laptops can go online at the Edna Barnes Salomon Room (Room 316), in addition to the Bill Blass Catalog Room (315), the Rose Main Reading Room and the DeWitt Wallace Periodicals Room (108). <br><br> What makes this new addition so special? Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2009/more-wi-fi-hot-spots-nypl-00483123.html Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:15:00 EDT Starting this month, diners in Paris and, more generally, in continental France, will see the sales tax (TVA) on their meals lowered from 19.6% to 5.5%. This Brussels-endorsed measure is supposed to stave off restaurant closings in France which have been become rampant in recent years, and create new employment in the industry. And, obviously, make dining more affordable to both French citizens and tourists. <br><br> But things are never quite simple in France: the discount rate doesn't apply to everything and the restaurants are not obligated to lower the final price on every single item on the menu. Read on for details and examples... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2009/france-lowers-tva-restaurant-tax-66909362.html Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:15:00 EDT The moment has finally come! After many months in the making, the much-talked-about Montreal public bike rental system, Bixi, has launched. Over the past few weeks the city has installed a number of automated bike rental stations and launched a web site allowing users to see availabilities in real time (both the number of available bikes and available docking slots). <br><br> Although the system is geared mainly towards residents of the city, tourists can take advantage of it as well, with monthly and even daily tariffs available. Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2009/bixi-launched-84405046.html Wed, 20 May 2009 19:00:00 EDT The mayor of Lisbon announced the beginning of a 700 million euro renovation of the historic neighborhood of Baixa. The central Lisbon neighborhood, built after the 1755 earthquake, consists mostly of 4-to-5-story neo-classical walk-up buildings. <br><br> Once considered one of Europe's most elegant districts, Baixa has been on the decline for decades. Over half of its residents have left since the 1950's. Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2009/baixa-to-be-renovated.html Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:00:00 EST A host of Italian politicians and businessmen became on Saturday the first passengers of the newly launched high-speed Milan-Bologna line dubbed Frecciarossa (red arrow). The inaugural crowd (which consisted, as would be expected, almost entirely of middle-aged men in suits) talked cheerfully to journalists and didn't even try to contain their excitement. "The country's longest subway line" was just one hyperbole coined during that amicable chatter. <br><br> One can easily understand the reasons for their enthusiasm. After 99 months of work and almost 7 billion euros of investments, the high-speed Milan-Bologna line is operational and they are probably going to be its most loyal customers. The new line promises to radically improve travel times between Italy's industrial centers.. Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/milan-to-bologna-in-one-hour-high-speed-9688716.html Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:20:00 EST Any architecturally curious visitor to Downtown Manhattan would probably remember three buff-colored high-rise towers occupying the southern fringes of Central Greenwich Village, just above Houston Street. They are University Village (also known as Silver Towers) - a residential complex designed by James Ingo Freed (I.M.Pei & Associates) and owned by New York University. And they've just been landmarked, protecting them from future alterations or modifications... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/impei-designed-apartment-buildings-landmarked.html Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:45:00 EST After more than two years of reconstruction, a former funeral parlor in the 19th arrondissement of Paris reopened in its new incarnation as the city's newest modern arts center christened "104" (Centquatre)... <br><br> Co-directed by Robert Cantarella and Frédéric Fisbach, the center, at 104 rue d'Aubervilliers was green-lighted by Paris mayor <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/people/bertrand_delanoe.html">Bertrand Delanoë</a> in 2005. More than two years and 100M euros later, Centquatre opened to the public in October. Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/104_new_modern_art_center-1295730.html Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:20:00 EST Affordable design and even 'affordable luxury' is not an oxymoron. Well, not exactly, anyway... In fact, it's a trend that's been sweeping the hotel industry in recent years. Using modern construction methods in combination with innovative cost-cutting techniques and choosing slightly off-prime locations, a handful of hoteliers have attempted to reshape the industry by providing low-cost designer hotel experience for the younger, tech-savvy crowd. <br><br> Mama Shelter is the latest example of the trend. (De)signed by Philippe Starck, this modern hotel on Rue Bagnolet in the 20th arrondissement of Paris opened just a couple of weeks ago.... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/mama-shelter-affordable-design-hotel-3976264.html Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:05:00 EDT Although the construction of the new passenger port in St.Petersburg is far from finished (in fact, it won't be finished until at least 2011), the first cruise liner, the 292-meter long Costa Mediterranea, docked at a recently completed terminal on September 10th... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/first-cruise-liner-docks-in-st-petersburg-1812155.html Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:30:00 EDT Starting this week, RENFE, the Spanish railroad company, is increasing the frequency of its high-speed train service (AVE) between Barcelona and Madrid by one third. Instead of the previous 19-20 scheduled trains, there will be up to 26 daily departures in each direction. Two of the newly added trains will be direct, making no stops, the others - local, extending the existing Madrid - Zaragoza line service... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/more-ave-trains-madrid-barcelona-0979419.html Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:40:00 EDT Back in June, Parisian decorator Pascale Benhamou finished her project for Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris's 8th arrondissement. The lobby restaurant, La Galerie des Gobelins (named after Manufacture des Gobelins - a former factory, now a museum, which supplied furniture to French monarchs) got new carpet, furniture and redesigned lighting. <br/><br/> But actually, what caught our attention was not so much the decorative changes of the space as the restaurant's updated menu, which features desserts by world famous pastry chef Christophe Michalak, the winner of the 2005 "Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie"... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/la-galerie-des-gobelins-new-look.html Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:30:00 EDT On September 3rd, the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) opened a new terminal, 2G. The terminal will mostly serve flights within France (30%) and more broadly, within the Schengen zone (70%). Air France will be the principal carrier using it, along with three "partner" airlines (Régional, Brit Air, CityJet) who are all, in fact, subsidiaries of Air France. <br/><br/> With the addition of 2G, airport Charles de Gaulle aims to improve transfer options between regional flights, strengthening its role as a European "hub" of Air France... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/2g_opens_cdg.html Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:05:00 EDT If you're the type who just can't leave their work behind, even on vacation, Valencia may be the right place for you. Since July, the municipal government is running WiFi access points on two of the city's beaches - El Cabanyal and La Malvarrosa... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/valencia_beaches_going_wireless.html Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:30:00 EDT A few weeks ago, a round of renovations was completed at the de Liceu metro station (línea 3) in the Rambla, reported local transportation authority, TMB. All in all, four halls and two platforms were given a complete make-over at a total cost of 2.5 million euro. This phase of renovations took one year... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/de_liceu_renovated.html Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:10:00 EDT A few weeks ago, l'EPAD - the government body responsible for developing Paris' La Défense district - announced the completion of an international tender for the construction of a new high-rise tower (La Tour Signal). The project went to Ateliers <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/people/jean_nouvel.html">Jean Nouvel</a>. <br/><br/> The revered French architect (who is the <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/2008/jean-nouvel-pritzker-prize-2008.html">winner of this year's Pritzker Prize</a> in architecture) beat several well-known colleagues including Jacques Ferrier Architectures, Foster+Partners, Studio Libeskind, and Wilmotte et Associés... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/jean_nouvel_la_tour_signal.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:40:00 EDT Many tourists (not to mention the residents) find the lack of direct transport links between <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/canada/montreal/districts/downtown-montreal.html">Downtown</a> and <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/canada/montreal/districts/old-montreal.html">Old Montreal</a> inconvenient. Sure, the métro is there, but because of the U-shaped configuration of its lines, a traveler who wants to go from centrally located Peel Street to no less central <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/canada/montreal/districts/old-montreal.html">Old Montreal</a> would have to travel a few stops west (or east) on the green line, switch to the orange line, then essentially come back to the geographic center of the city albeit 10-15 blocks south. Annoying. <br/><br/> Fortunately, the city is aware of that - in fact, many recent proposals for building a tramway line cited this very inconvenience as the major reason for building it. Well, the tramway, if it's ever built, is still years away, but something much more feasible is already coming, the Gazette reported: <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/canada/montreal/districts/old-montreal.html">Old Montreal</a> and <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/canada/montreal/districts/downtown-montreal.html">Downtown Montreal</a> are to be linked by a new bus route... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/new_bus_route_downtown_old_port.html Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:06:00 EDT You may remember the tragic accident at Paris Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle Airport's Terminal 2E four years ago. A large part of its glass roof collapsed killing four people and injuring several others. <br/><br/> Well, it only took four years and about 150M&euro; for engineers to fix the damn roof, but they finally did it. A couple of weeks ago first scheduled flights started using the terminal... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/roissy-2e-reopens.html Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:05:00 EDT French architect <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/people/jean_nouvel.html">Jean Nouvel</a>, 62, received the 2008 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the most prestigious award in architecture (which is often compared to the Nobel prize in science in the degree of honor it affords)... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/jean-nouvel-pritzker-prize-2008.html Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EDT Located on busy Ronda de Valencia, La Casa is actually a hidden oasis of calm. Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2007/rooftop_la_casa_encendida.html Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:40:00 EDT <img alt="Ice House" class="leftill" src="http://www.sitebits.com/images/2006/ice-house-tile.jpg"> What do you do if you're a Russian architect wishing to please your tsar? Why, you build an ice palace in the Palace Square, of course! This architectural technique has been used, to varying degrees of success, at least twice in the past three hunred years. We're happy to report that the most recent application did not yet result in any decapitations or torn out tongues (the first one did). Yet for some of us, waiting outside for 2 hours with the Russian winter in full swing may be the modern day equivalent of these severe punishments. <br><br> Puzzled? Read the explanations and see more pictures of the Ice Palace in the article. Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2006/ice_house_st_petersburg.html Wed, 22 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST