We walked and walked and walked today, exploring Metz. The proprietor of the hotel told us we must see the train station as it is beautiful so that is where we began. We managed to get a tad turned around getting there...we had no trouble finding the parking lots...but finally discovered it around a curve. There were so many beautiful buildings we kept thinking we were there. In some ways Metz reminded us of a mini Vienna, with more water.
Our hotel, which is right in the heart of the old town.
From the train station we headed to the Centre Pompidou Metz. It is a branch of the arts centre in Paris, but we were much more interested in the architecture of the building than the current exhibit so we only saw the lobby (huge and soaring) and the gift shop. The current exhibit is very avant garde. There are no permanent exhibits. The next exhibit will be japonais. Enjoying my fractured french?
The building is just stunning. Two of the three galleries were closed as they were getting ready for the Japanese exhibit. The other didn't really interest us so we gave it a pass.
Then it was back through the atmospheric streets to the cathedral. It is one of the more stunning cathedrals we have seen from the exterior. We loved the gargoyles and the flying buttresses. It is famous for having the most stained glass in the world and one of the highest naves in the world. The interior was huge, and the stained glass quite something but I liked the imposing facade the best.
We had some lunch...we have taken to eating inside rather than on the terraces to avoid all the cigarette smoke. It drives us both crazy. I hate seeing all these gorgeous young people sucking on cigarettes. We headed out again and were immediately experiencing the unexpected and unusual category! It is the first week of university here and guess who were parading through the streets? The engineering students. They were having so much fun.
This was the unexpected sight of the day. These kids were having a blast. They were chanting, dancing and generally being boisterous. So much fun to watch. Most were wearing white berets.
The police had come to check things out I presume, but couldn't see anything but good natured fun and were off on their bikes to enjoy a quieter part of the city. What a great way for police officers to travel.
We did more walking. Metz has two rivers, the Moselle and the Seille. As a result there are many bridges and canals. We wandered some more and then found some great dinner options to take back to the room. Keith needed to do some route and accommodation planning and I wanted to get a head start on the blog. Besides, we were hungry and the french don't start thinking about dinner until about 7 PM. Tonight we go back out for a special event "Constellations de Metz" which starts at 9:30. That's past our bedtime!
"I am that beautiful duck on the right. So beautiful that I have caused accidents I have been told. Yesterday while floating down the Moselle on a fairly windy day with my Mrs.and our little ones I decided to climb the river bank and take care of some business. After just a couple of minutes I noticed two cyclists approaching at a pretty good pace one directly behind the other. They startled me a bit and just as I started to scuttle off down the bank I looked up as the lead cyclist suddenly hit his brakes ... obviously to admire my beautiful plumage. The rear cyclist drafting closely behind ran into the lead cyclist losing control and with a thud ended in a heap on the soft shoulder of the path. She lay there entangled with her bike for a minute or so then slowly got up with some assistance. After a few quiet words between them they jumped on their bikes and disappeared down the path. She was lucky on two accounts. Firstly she crashed on a very soft shoulder. Things surely would had ended differently had she hit the pavement. Secondly she narrowly missed an electric fence running along the path. I am certain they must have learned a lesson here and that is ... Never underestimate the power of a beautiful duck."
The result. Keith asked me if I wanted him to take a photo. At this point I was confident that I was 100% and I truly was...but I am staring down the electric fence. We were very careful how we extricated both me and the bike to avoid an even more shocking experience. Keith explained that the duck was soooo beautiful he forgot I was drafting, forgot to signal and just stopped short to take a photo. The lesson: NO MORE DRAFTING. It was a heart stopping moment for us both.
