On Course: Opening: Chicago

Ice art in Millennium Park A colored ice wall and an ice painting that you can skate on will be installed in Chicago's Millennium Park as part of a new winter celebration. The "Museum of Modern Ice" installation will be on view Feb. 1-29. Both works will be created by Canadian artist Gordon Halloran. The ice wall, composed of brightly colored vertical sheets of ice, will be 95 feet long and nearly 12 feet tall and will be located on Chase Promenade behind the "Cloud Gate" sculpture. Halloran will embed an abstract ice painting in the park's ice rink. Free weekend activities will be offered in the park, including art projects for kids and dancing. The Chicago Cultural Center across from Millennium Park will offer weekend cooking demonstrations, craft activities, concerts and films (www. millenniumpark.org).

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Eiffel Tower serves dinner Alain Ducasse has taken haute cuisine to great heights. But opening a restaurant in the Eiffel Tower comes with its own challenges. Although only 410 feet up, there's no gas cooking because of safety concerns. All the decor had to be light so as not to weigh on the 118-year-old iron structure. And because space is tight, food is washed and prepared in an underground kitchen. The celebrity chef's new endeavor -- called the Jules Verne, like the restaurant it replaced -- opened for its first dinner in December. Ducasse, who has 16 Michelin stars and more than 20 restaurants around the world, says the menu price is "accessible to everyone": about $108 for lunch and $216 for dinner, without wine.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

No fitness center? Try the Y If your hotel charges for use of its fitness center, ask the hotel or check the phone book for a local YMCA or community center, which typically offers day passes for a small fee. If you prefer to exercise outdoors, contact the local runners' club for safe route suggestions.

WASHINGTON POST

N.Y.'s 'Twin Double' is back For nearly two years, the 2nd Ave Deli has sat high atop the pastrami lovers' consciousness as devotees of the steamed beef waited anxiously for news about its revival. The Manhattan deli -- founded by the late Abe Lebewohl in 1954 -- shut down in January 2006 thanks to skyrocketing rents, an uncertain lease, and high renovation costs at its old location in the trendy East Village. But the long wait for foodies finally ended Dec. 17 as the deli's owners literally cut the salami and officially welcomed hungry patrons and 2nd Ave Deli fans to its new address -- on 33rd Street near 3rd Avenue. While the location is different, plenty remains the same, including the savory smells; most of the menu has been preserved. The $20 "Twin Double" consisting of heaping portions of corned beef and pastrami, along with the $21.75 "Instant Heart Attack," survived the move. The latter arrives in the form of two large potato pancakes with a choice of formidable meat.

Cityscape effects of 'oil shock' "1973: Sorry Out of Gas" is at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal through April 20. With energy prices at record levels, the oil crisis of 1973 doesn't seem so distant in time. This exhibition, the first of its kind, examines the architectural consequences of the economic, social, and political upheaval caused by skyrocketing fuel prices in the first "oil shock." Included are more than 350 items: architectural drawings, books and pamphlets, archival television footage, and various other artifacts (cca.qc.ca).

BOSTON GLOBE

'Must see before' ... you know "1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die" (Universe, $36.95) at first blush seems an insurmountable task. In the introduction, general editor Mark Irving explains the selection as "a mixture of rational consensus, personal whim, and, in some cases, individual obsession." The significance of each building is described in about 300 words. What's here? A mind-boggling and inspiring list reaching back to antiquity that includes pyramids, palaces and castles, churches and mosques, offices and schools, libraries and hotels, museums and concert halls, prisons and banks and even residential homes (such as the octagonal "Chemosphere" hovering like a spaceship above West Hollywood). A large part of the book's appeal is the surprises that lurk within its nearly 1,000 pages.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

If you can't make the trip If you've always wondered about that little village in Ireland or Germany that your great-grandma came from, but you can't make the trip yourself, James Derheim will go there for you. Derheim travels around Europe, photographing ancestral villages for those interested in their family history. He has been offering his unusual service for 17 years through his company, www.europeanfocus.com. Customers receive a portfolio (both on a CD and color prints) of 30 pictures, including landscapes, buildings, churches and any other places that might be relevant to their family. Starting rates range from $450 to $1,000 depending on the country.