As the first to wake up this morning, it was my task to go into town and pick up breakfast items and perhaps some lunch sandwiches. The square was a bit more active in the daylight hours, with delivery trucks and folks on their way to work. Suzanne texted at 10:30 that she was on her way so we closed up the apartment and made our way down to the cycle path, bound for Metz.
Once again, the weather was cloudy and chilly. It was to be a day of intermittent rain and sun, with many stops to don/doff rain gear. I was feeling a bit lazy, and soon fell quite a bit behind Suzanne and Kathleen. However, I was caught by Lars, a Swede on his way home from Marseille, and we enjoyed several miles riding together and sharing stories. A former mountain bike competitor, his pace was a bit higher than mine had been and we soon caught Suzanne and Kathleen. I went back to my lazy ways after Lars took off, stopping for pictures and again falling behind until I rejoined the team at “our” bakery in Novéant-sur-Moselle.
Our spacious apartment on the Moselle River in Pont-à-Mousson
Lars, my cycling companion for a few miles along the Moselle. It turns out that he grew up about 70 miles from where my grandmother lived near Göteborg, Sweden
The remaining miles to Metz were uneventful, a reverse of the ride Kathleen and I had taken a few days ago on the way to Hattonchâtel. The route was largely tree-lined as it wound along the small islands and waterways in this section of the Moselle. The sun kept playing hide and seek with the rain clouds and most stops were for weather adjustments rather than for photos. It was a little past two when we pulled into our hotel in Metz and Janos joined us for a final group photo. Though the tour hadn’t developed as we’d initially planned, it turned out to be a wonderful week on the bike shared with good friends. And I really can’t ask for more than that.
For dinner we opted for an Italian restaurant near Place Saint-Louis, San Lorenzo. It was a nice change of pace and the homemade pasta drew repeated raves from Kathleen. Afterwards we bade a fond farewell to Kathleen, who was staying at a hotel near the train station. It had been a real joy to spend the week with her - she always had a big smile and plenty of enthusiasm and definitely lived up to her high school “class clown” moniker.
Suzanne, Janos and I slowly made our way back to our hotel, stopping at Place d'Armes for more photos. We especially enjoyed the sculptures on the tympanum over the west portal of the Cathedral, the Portal of Christ, which depicts the Last Judgement and figures on their way to heaven or hell. It was similar to one I’d seen at the Amiens Cathedral a couple of years ago, and in fact a little research on my part revealed that the tympanum in Metz was inspired by that of the Amiens Cathedral. Then, as now, I was with cycling friends I first met through CycleBlaze - Rachael and Scott. My circle of CB friends keeps expanding and I am richer for it.
A view of the western facade of the Metz Cathedral
The tympanum over the west portal of the Metz Cathedral depicts the Last Judgement. In the lower panel, those on the left being led into heaven while the less fortunate souls on the right are destined for hell
Today's ride: 22 miles (35 km) Total: 1,218 miles (1,960 km)
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Gregory GarceauI've loved my written interactions with Kathleen for quite a few years-- across several websites--including Cycleblaze. I did not know she was voted "class clown" by her schoolmates, but I can't say I'm surprised. Ha! Reply to this comment 5 months ago
