Mercure Nancy Centre Thiers

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 :)

... King version of Super Size Me!<br><br>We arrived at our hotel in Metz and spokilly enough Rick has been here before. we booked in and then we were confronted with the tasteful decor in the room. I was worried for a nano second that this had been planned and Rick was going to tell me something but thankfully this did not happen.<br><br>It was then that we carried on with tradition and headed off to the bar for a beer on the terrace.<br><br>Regards<br><br>Baz

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.

... s not enough time, it's to late!" and decided to just lay on the ground. Michele (the guy who is married to my second Auntie) lit a bunga and just held it in his hand. Patrice aimed a screaming mimi at Michele and lit the firework you can guess what happend next. <br><br>Day 8We suffered a long and boring 6 hour drive on day 7 to Berlin. When we got there it was 7:00pm so we had dinner and went to sleep. The next day we hoped on a bus and went to the city were ...

... 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&amp;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 ...

... 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 ...

... 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>

Went for another meal and a few drinks with Katie last night. Had a really nice steak and a fair few cocktails. The bars and restaurants are impressive here in Nancy, food is really good and cheap and the bars all have loads of character (although quite small). I'm about to wander into ...