Hotel Jean Jaures 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!

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.

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.

... br>


Day 6There is absolutely no point in me telling you about day 4 and day 5 because I had to suffer the long and boring family lunches and dinners and I do not want you to suffer the same misfortune of having a family of boose-hounds and and nut jobs. I will give you a small insight into my crazy french family. My second uncle (Patrice) lit a bunga the size of a dynamite stick in the middle of a street and run about 2 meters away and yelled ...

... 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.

... shopping. The new part of the city is like shopping HEAVEN! For you Iowa folks, it's like the equivalency of Cedar Rapids downtown, but PACKED with shopping. It's more or less a giant outdoor mall. Some of the stores are familiar (There were two H&M's on one block, Foot Lockers, The Body Shop, etc...), but the real fun is enjoying the stores we don't have in America. We went into a really neat shop that sold handmade porcelain ...

... all the maps of the towns and directions from the hotels' websites. Again, after a 4 hour nap, we headed back to the Stanislas Place to enjoy the area in the evening. It is so beautiful here - seems to be a recurring theme. Finally found a bar that serves proper Stella Artois, so we spent the last few hours throwing back a few. Tomorrow is Versailles and back to Paris :)

... headed for Charleville le Messier. We arrived neatly in the week right on schedule.



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!

note we have a new blog at
www.barginghewitts.webs.com

... consumed - beaucoup Max speed - 53km/h Battlefields seen: Verdun, Somme, Vauquois, Albert, Arras Bombs by side of road = 1 (really) farmer had dredged it up Bomb craters by side of road = millions Most unusual food seen = snail pie Scariest sights = WW2 Blokhaus V2 launching bunker, and WW1 cemetries Wildlife ...