Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Alsace & Lorraine: NANCY

Gates at Place Stanislas in Nancy, France

June 23: We reluctantly left our little home in Obernai and took the autoroute to Nancy, a UN World Heritage site. We were unaware that there was a tunnel--a very long tunnel--near St. Marie des Mines in the Vosges Mountains. OMG, I was dying! I'm not claustrophobic, but this dark enclosed space went on for miles. What if there's an earthquake...or a fire? I was really glad to get out, even though there was an unexpected eight Euro toll at the end. OMG, now I see I wasn't being crazy, there was a fire in the tunnel last April! I knew it!! If only I had read the map legend, I would have known that broken lines mean T=U=N=N=E=L.

Place Stanislas

We finally made it to Nancy and found a place to park near town. The center of Nancy is Place Stanislas, an impressive square built in the 18th century by a Polish prince who became the Duke of Lorraine. The square is absolutely breathtaking, surrounded by grand buildings and incredible gates. It would be a centerpiece of any city on earth.

Place Stanislas

We found a little restaurant behind the central market. We both ordered pizzas and shared a salad. Richard ordered a Monaco from the list of beers and was dismayed when it arrived, because it was pink! He though Monaco was a brand, but it is evidently beer with lemonade and grenadine. It wasn't terrible, but it was a bit embarrassing to be drinking a pink beer. I tried not to laugh.

Nancy was a center of art deco

Cathedral of Nancy

We only stayed in Nancy for a few hours, because we wanted to drive to Puxe where we were spending the next three nights. We ducked into the cathedral and looked around, and when we exited it was raining and really chilly.

I had an impression that Lorraine was a grittier province than Alsace. Alsace was all colorful buildings and vineyards, but Lorraine was shades of gray and brown. Both provinces were beautiful in their own way.

Nancy, France

We arrived at the Chateau de Puxe about 4:00 p.m. It was just as it appeared on their website. Our room was lovely with big windows on two sides overlooking the chateau's grounds. Since we had eaten a big lunch, we were not hungry. We did take a bottle of wine into the park behind the chateau and enjoyed the immense quiet and beauty of Lorraine. Then early to bed.