Inter Hotel Albert 1st-Astoria 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 ...

... nice to see him and his family again. Fantastic lunch and same goes for the company. As all good things have to end we parted around 4 pm to go back to my brother's place for ... you guessed it another reunion with a childhood friend, Agnes what can I say... she will never change. Love her to bits even though she is a little mad (in a nice way)

... 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 Flight, well what can I say 24 hours sitting next to my 11 year old brother while my parents are in business class and I am in economy. The 1 and a half hour break in Singapore was welcomed but it was not long enough to keep me from killing my brother.<br><br><br><br>Day 1 <br><br><br><br>We are staying in a town called Nancy. We travelled to place Stanislas. The history of place Stanislas dates back to the early 1700's. Stanislas was the King of poland up ...

Got up around 7 am and got to the restaurant for breakfast. Typical French fare with "croissants plain and chocolate, bread, butter and jam" and the great taste of coffee with the addition of chicory to take off the bitterness. After "mon petit dejeuner" I took some goodies (unfortunately I will have to repeat this over the next few days) to Margaret and the kids so we could all a bite to eat together. After about an hour we decided on the program of the day and were going ...

... duke, and needed a new one. King Henry the 14th wanted this province, and he also had a father-in-law who was a bum living off of the streets, which was an embarrassment to him. To solve both problems, he succeeded in making his father-in-law the duke of Lorraine (the man now on the statue in the center of the plaza), and was able to convince Lorraine that the province would become French territory when Stanislas died. Stanislas was ...

... but also Daum and Baccarat, the one known for its great glass pieces and the other, of course, for its extremely expensive crystal pieces. The cheapest piece was a, dare I say it, rather tacky looking little butterly piece selling for about 130 Euros (more than 200$ Canadian) and not much to show for it. Matter of taste I guess! Other things to mention: the fantastic art-nouveau architecture which dots the city, more dog poo ...

... discussed. Kim or one of the others translated when I needed help! It was nice to here some insights into France too and with a wide variety of occupations ranging from logistics, nursing, local government, chef, opticians, and railway signals- it was a great experience and refreshing to talk to 'normal' people outside of tax and audit! The food was amazing too - everyone had brought something they had made- we had apéritif of saucisson aux noix, cherry tomatoes, gherkins, and ...

... 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>