Le Relais Des Empereurs Hotel Epinal

After hitchhiking our way across the plains of northern France, we arrived in Epinal at midnight. We waited in the cold for a while as Marion's Mum had fallen asleep when she realised she still had 20 mins before she had to pick us up. I was happy for the wait as I was well-rugged up and Marion was complaining about the cold.. It made me feel really tough and I even stole her scarf and threw water on her to complete my triumph. We spent a week catching our breath; Marion from ...

The day after the night before.. I was a bit heavy headed but it was well worth it and I was well looked after. Today we were heading to Marion's hometown of Epinal for a week at home. To get there via train it would cost an arm and a leg (they are quite traditional still, i think the exchange rate called for a forearm and two ankles.. anything?), so we decided to think outside the oblong and utilise the most powerful ...

... told us that our €6 wasn't enough to utilise the chairs and umbrellas. Defeated, I complied (curious about what I actually paid for) and headed for a grassed area that was populated by all the fat old chicks from Mennagio and surrounding villages. I was desperate to go for a swim but after the initial temp test, I got scared and decided on more sun; it was set resemble a swim in Mount Franklin, fresh, clean and ice cold. I finally plucked up the courage and braved the cold ...

... the hills, and he ever present majestic Sapin Tree, a beautiful tall pine. Some of the tiny roads up the top of the hills are rather hairy when you meet a car coming the other way. Great for a game of chicken! Roses seem to grow wild and flower prolifically, none better than the one in Gisele's driveway a highly perfumed fuchsia coloured tree rather than a bush. And the birds are everywhere, and singing at the top of their voices. H was ...

They make crystal in Baccarat but we didn't have long enough at the museum for me to understand how it works, much to my disappointment. We stayed with our Muslim cousin, and then his Christian children came over for Christmas, so it was very multicultural/secular. When we arrived, at about 11:30 in the evening, the table ...

... indoors anywhere in France is the number of people smoking in there. I swear at least half the people in there were smoking. BUT, after talking with some girls, they told us that France passed a law that bans smoking indoors starting in 2008! By the way, a small jack and coke cost me 5 euros... so roughly 6.75. It's about LA prices, except this is in a tiny country town! Hate to find out how much it'll cost in Paris...

So we took a little day trip to the town Gerardmer which is about 45km away. It's situated around a lake up in the hills so it's a 'pretty' place to visit. There's paddle boats, kayaks, and canoes that you can rent and there's also little beach areas to hang out. It seems to be pretty popular with the locals. There was a little camping/RV lot where tons of ...

... us how to use the soy sauce and wasabi for sushi.... it they only gave a tiny little clump of wasabi. The second time I went in, the girl instructed me how to use soy sauce and wasabi again... Uh, I guess French people don't know? There's a kebab place that I like to go to, called Snack Attak, or something close to that. It's pretty good and it's cheap. Tons of other places to check out... I guess I have another 2.5 months to do it!

So... the company has us put up in the Kyriad Hotel which is a 2-star hotel, whatever that means. It has a really narrow entry-way into the really small garage. Driving the Peugeot in there requires a few three point turns. My room is pretty nice; it's a little suite. The front room has a foldout couch which takes up the entire room when it is folded out, then there's the hallway with the ...

... It was great. On the way home, we got to Germany ok, but then on the A6, we couldn't get off art our exit, because the exits were closed off for construction. So, after a 10K detour, we were back in Landstuhl. Quotes from the weekend: 1. "I've got money to blow." -- Bonnie M. regarding her leaving *sniff* to go back to the US on Tuesday 2. "I see a half moon rising over there." regarding the "Say no to crack" campaign we saw at the Cathedral...dude, pull your pants up!