March 24:

Whew… a lonnnnngggggg drive today from Grenoble to Nancy. We woke up and set off shortly after 6am and didn’t settle in Nancy until 5 pm. The first part was still small roads through pretty little towns and countryside, but the last 2 to 3 hours was boring motorway.

Nancy proved to be a very pleasant surprise, which was gratifying after such a long drive.

There was a very pleasant “parking” alongside the marina on the canal. Just a parking lot really, but there was an official attendant, toilets (closed 6 pm til 8:30 am, so careful planning and ice-cream bucket needed), electricity which was nice because it was darned cold.

We unloaded our bikes and rode through all of the amazing old town sites in just an hour or so.

First along the canal for a kilometre of so, then inland to the huge Parc de la Pepinieres warming with families on a Saturday afternoon. Through the Parc to the Basilica St Epreves in a beautiful little old town square, and then around the corner into the Place de la Carriere which was a long boulevard leading into the famous Place Stanislas. It was mostly mid 19th Century architecture, very opulent and spectacular. Place Stanislas in particular was surrounded by palatial buildings with gold highlighted wrought iron sculptures and trimming. The late afternoon light was perfect for the sight.

In the evening we walked in again, expecting to find it just as bustling, but were surprised to find it quite quiet, though the indoor cafes and brasseries were still buzzing.

Spot the VW campervan....

March 25:

Biked into Nancy for one last does of the atmosphere. It was cold! A fair number of people out and about, probably on the way to or from Palm Sunday mass. We ventured into the Vielle Ville (Old town) which we had missed last evening. Pretty little cobbled roads, small antiques shops, and a small Sunday market of fresh veggies, cheese and meat products.

We set off north by mid morning, with Luxembourg as our goal. We were stopped halfway by the beautiful city of Metz… another unexpected delight! We parked near the centre and bicycled in to the tourist office where we picked up a walking map. There were many beautiful views of the old town, 200-300 year old churches and markets. The Cathedral in Metz is one of the most spectacular in all of Europe! It’s nave is the tallest. We are getting a bit jaded by so many spectacular cathedrals, but this one still stole the breath. It had a nice little marked tour inside, in English, which was a bonus. A huge variety of different era stained glass windows,but the most fascinating were a couple of windows by Marc Chagall.

From Metz we made our way a couple of hours north to Luxembourg, with plans to find a campground nearby then tour the city. No luck! the ones we tried were not yet open… so we had a frustrating hour driving from one closed campground to another. And Luxembourg does not do the “parkings” that France does.

We finally found a nice quiet little campground about 20 kms north of Luxembourg, enroute to Liege, so did not get a chance to see much of the city.