Best Western Hotel Crystal Nancy

This is an incredible place...but I don't have any pictures... when I got there my camera stopped working :( But I really think it was a blessing because I just saw everything and didn't worry about getting pictures of everything for later, I just saw and took it all in. It was a much needed get-away and it really blew me away, especially the Cathedral! Mass there was unbelievable...and I have a new-found love of French...and their pastries :)

We left Germany this morning with fuzzy heads after 4 pints of strong German Lager the evening before. We let Pete and Tim know our proposed route and set off in search of some sun!<br><br>It was not long before we heard from the lads who said they were still in the mountains probably having fun so we plodded along the motorway heading towards Metz.<br><br>Nothing much to report apart from the consumption of BK number two, two in two days. No we are not doing a ...

We got up fairly late and I went with Ben on my parent's grave ... hard to stand there and not feeling emotional. Anyway had to get some flowers as we were invited for lunch "again" at an old friend place have known Phil since as far as I can remember we used to live on the same floor of the housing commission building so we go way back . It was ...

... signs for 10km laughing about what it could be ... probably nothing more than a pile of rubbles. To our amazement after a pleasant drive, there they were... an amphitheatre and its dependences. We went back to Pont-Saint Vincent at the end of the afternoon for a pleasant dinner with my family.

... the other half and it was HUGE. I loved the fact that you could still walk around the ruins and get a feel for the enormity of the place.<br><br><br><br>Day 3Today we visited the WW1 museum in Verdun. It displayed<br><br>artefacts and battlefield recreations. My favourite part was the trench art.<br><br>The soldiers had made rings out of melted bullets, vases out of gun shells and<br><br>lighters made out of belt buckles and crucifix made out of bullets.The was ...

... have a shower when my wife of 16 years remembered that today was my 45th birthday. We went to place Stanislas had a great time and we opted for a light lunch at "l'arrosoir" nice little place close to place carrier. I drove back Marg and the kids back to the Hotel for a rest and I went shopping for the goodies needed for my birthday dinner. Andouillettes, horse Berliner, rabbit pate, and 6 different kinds of cheeses.... not a veggie in sight, this should be a great dinner.

... different dishware, etc... We also went into a store completely littered with jewelry. It covered the walls, there were shelves and shelves of jewelry, and then revolving things with jewelry too. I've never seen so much jewelry in one place. And then, of course, there are the French bakeries and chocolate shops to drool over. It was a great excursion and Liz and I both wished we would have had more time to spend in Nancy. By the ...

... but we were all full to bursting anyway! I'd arrived at 7.30pm and left at 2.30am the next morning - we were all just sat around the table eating drinking and talking - it felt really nice. Half the people were driving so it wasn't a boozy night thank goodness although we had a small glass of champagne and some panache (shandy) as well as the soft drinks. I followed her friend out to find my way to the motorway and it was a very straightforward journey home, taking just 50 minutes.

... headed for Charleville le Messier. We arrived neatly in the week right on schedule.<br><br><br><br>We had a fabulous time with a bunch of great people, and all built up some confidence in running and owning a barge. Now we have our own we will see how much we remember!<br><br>note we have a new blog at <br>www.barginghewitts.webs.com<br><br> <br>