|
Indytravel's Alsatian Adventure in France - March 2005
<b> Getting to France </b> Having booked my cheapest airfare ever to France from the Midwest back in November I headed to the Cincinnati airport in Kentucky on March 10th. Though not my favorite direct flight to CDG it was worth the low airfare. It was a code share with segments on Delta and Air France. Due to Air Traffic Control in Frankfurt, I missed my connecting AF flight to Paris. I wasn't alone at least another 20 people on my flight missed it too. I went to the Delta counter along with lots of other people. I just missed the last seat on the 13:00 Lufthansa to Paris. I had to settle for the 15:40. I was beginning to rue not paying extra for the direct flight. Landing at CDG T1 at 17:00 I quickly cleared passport control and customs while getting dizzy. Round and round one goes in that terminal. Outside customs I was solicited twice by men offering a taxi ride. I never mess with independent cabbies especially when I'm taking the RER. I caught the shuttle bus to the T1 RER station. I found a huge line of people waiting to buy a ticket into Paris. Seeing a blue automatic ticket machine I was denied use with my chip-less US credit card. Having exercised my usual change accumulating habit in Frankfurt I counted my coins to determine I had 7.70, 15 centimes short. Looking around for a trash can to get an empty cup for panhandling I saw a Brioche Doree. I decided I would get my change must faster and get to enjoy a delicious croissant if I bought one. So I did. I purchased my ticket, went through the turnstile and boarded an RER for Paris. It was almost empty. I stood with my suitcase since I was tired of all the sitting while flying. As this was a local and it was around 17:30 on a Friday the train got crowded around Parc Exposition until the Gare du Nord stop. From there I walked to Gare de l'Est. I purchased a one-way ticket to Reims. I was quite taken aback. The ticket agent complimented my French. That is the first time in Paris that has ever happened. I decided to take it at face value rather then think that he'd dealt with so many non-French speaking tourists that I was a refreshing change no matter how poor my skills. A 19:19 departure with a 21:00 arrival time was my ticket. Enough time to sip a celebratory kir or two and watch the people in the train station. I watched a gentleman order a draft beer and soda water mixed 50/50. I thought a rather unusual combination. By the way the "composter" ticket machines have changed since December. They're now curvy, taller and a bright yellow instead of the old boxy orange ones. Think "La Poste" yellow. At Gare de l'Est they were placed as a spaced phalanx so much easier to notice. It always seemed to me the orange composters were off to the sides making it easier to forget to use them. You have to put the ticket in with the magnetic strip down. There's a loud dot matrix printer sound then you pull it out. I found the stamp to be much more legible. I could read the location, date and time. When I had a round trip I purposefully tried to re-compost the same end. It wouldn't take it. I had to insert the other end in for a fresh compost mark. The new composters are being phased in. Paris, Nancy, Reims and Metz had them. Little Pont-a-Mousson still had the old orange ones. It was an uneventful train ride to Reims for me. Two people around me had trauma. A man ended up buying an on-the-spot ticket after arguing with the conductor for several minutes. A woman only had enough train ticket for part of the trip she was taking. She had to buy the rest right there too. On the walk to the Hotel Azur I stopped at Le Foch restaurant to get a reservation. Recommend here and reading their online menu it looked lovely. I was disappointed. They had no table available for Saturday dinner or Sunday lunch, the only two meals they were open when I was in Reims. C'est dommage. Next time I'll reserve a week in advance online which is what I should have done. Jet-lagged at the end of a very long travel adventure I plopped down into the Maitre Kanter for something familiar. That's when I discovered foie gras was not on their menu! A first time for that, next time I'll make sure I check the menu before I sit down rather than assume. I consoled myself with the thought I was really too tired to appreciate foie gras. I ordered the terrine de la maison pate. It was a pate filled with capers and peppers. The flamenkuchen with cheese, lardons and onions was as excellent as always with its crispy blackened edges. I had a 50cl pichet of Cote du Rhone. My total was 18.80euro. <b> Weather </b> I was very lucky. The first Saturday morning it rained and was close to freezing. It cleared off that afternoon. Each day it became progressively warmer and less cloudy until it peaked on Wednesday in Nancy with clear skies and 75F/23C. It cooled off a bit with more clouds Thursday & Friday. Saturday morning had dense fog that cleared by the time I reached Paris. Overall ideal spring weather especially since people kept telling me the few weeks prior had been cold, dreary and wet. ** all prices listed in euros. <b> Reims </b> Oddly enough pronounced like the US version of the word "France" without the "F". Hotel Azur. I wasn't surprised to see my room decorated in shades of blue. The end of the room had a partition that went most of the way to the ceiling. This created the bathroom. It had a full tub with shower that was enclosed with glass and a shower curtain, a sink and a toilet. It had the tiniest trash can I've ever seen. It was the only one in the room too. Where do they find these miniscule trash cans, the Barbie Dreamhouse Accessory store? The bathroom floor had a tatami-like woven carpet that I didn't care for. Bathrooms shouldn't have permanent carpeting. I lifted the lid of the toilet to see a huge warning sticker in 4 languages, English being the most prominent. "Toilet contains electric shredder. Do not put hard objects, plastic, wool or cotton into toilet bowl." "Electric shredder??" I thought I was on vacation. Little did I know once a day I would have my own episode of "Fear Factor" as I dangled over an "electric shredder" praying nothing would go awry. :-) I decided it was the "Hotel of Rules." No eating in the room, needed to be out of the room from 10:00 to 12:00 for cleaning, no hard objects in the toilet, needed to leave your room key but remember to take the front door key with you... It was a decent enough little two star without an elevator. My room in the back was quiet from outside noise but the walls were a little thin. I'd shop around for a different 2 star next time, but wouldn't mind if the Azur was the only hotel that worked out. <u> Saturday </u> After a night interrupted by 3 hours of jetlagged wakefulness in the wee hours I was startled awake at 6:00 by the sound of rain driven into the window by wind gusts. Ugh. I really had to give myself a pep talk. I was tired. The weather was ugly. I could have stayed in bed all morning. What a waste that would be. I risked the electric shredder. Cleaned up I headed to the covered market at 7:00am. The old covered market looks like a condemned half of a concrete 55 gallon drum. Next to it is the new market that is a metal and cloth circus tent affair. I watched merchants set up their displays. I saw beautiful flowers, incredibly ugly fish, fresh produce, warm breads, stinky cheeses and all the things that make a market wonderful. Next I walked to the cathedral knowing it would be open early. Though some pretty stained glass especially the Chagall's it's not a particularly interesting cathedral for its features. It's the idea that hundreds of years' worth of French kings were crowned there that is a special feeling. I went to the Galleries Lafayette which opened at 9:00 for some cheap bottles of water and my pain au chocolate for breakfast. By now it was nearing 10:00 so I went to the Tourist Office. I bought the visitors pass for 12.00. It included a champagne house tour, an all day bus pass, entrance to the four city musuems: Remi, Reddition, Jesuit's College and Vergeur, entrance to the planetarium, entrance to the Foujita Chapel and a coupon for a bag of Mrs. Fossier's Pink Champagne Biscuits. Even with the former Jesuit's College closed for renovation and the Foujita Chapel closed for the season it was still a deal. Heck most of the champagne tours start at 10 euro. The bus pass worked well for a Saturday when the Citadine Lines 1 & 2 run. They circle almost all the tourist sites, one clockwise the other counterclockwise. They don't run on Sunday. I walked to the nearest Citadine bus stop, validated my day pass and rode to the Martel Champagne house. I used my tourist office coupon to tour their cellar. It was in French only so I didn't get a lot out of it. Not surprisingly they used lots of technical champagne terms that I really wouldn't know the English word for either. I saw a lot of their old equipment in their cellar. Looking at racks of bottles I was surprised to see them all capped with flimsy metal bottle caps. It made it look like cheap racks of screw top wine. I'd expected rows and rows of pretty champagne corks. I guess that doesn't happen until the end. Another ideal blasted out of existence by reality. Back up to ground level for a tasting of 3 champagnes. I had their normal, a vintage and a grand cru. Their tasting room was beautiful even the tassels decorating the ties holding back the curtains were in the shape of grape bunches. Ready for lunch I bussed back towards my hotel. While waiting for the bus a few icy chips fell from the sky. The Bistro Boulingrin is where I had lunch. I was even able to sit in a non-smoking section. There were art nouveau touches with a zinc bar, some brass and neon were scattered about. Finally I had my first foie gras of the trip. For the touch of sweetness that foie balances so lovely with, there were pineapple slices and an apple & hazelnut compote. The crunch of the hazelnut blended wonderfully in my mouth with the buttery smoothness of the foie gras. My mutton chop was more towards medium then rare but no doubt fine. It came with a grilled tomato half and hot, hot frites the kind that come out of the deep fat fryer just for you. All of this was with a pool of brown mutton gravy better then ketchup with fries any day. By now it had stopped raining and dropping ice chips. The sun was out and the sky was blue though it was still near freezing with the temperature. Being close to my hotel I purchased a paper and spent a few minutes stuffing my shoes to dry them out. Fresh dry socks and I was ready to take on Reims again. I took the bus back out to the St Remi Basilica. First I visited the St Remi museum. Lots of stone carvings, some paintings, photos before & after WWII of the damage, and a set of 10 beautiful tapestries of St Remi's life were in the collection. I thought it funny the code for the bathroom across the courtyard was 1492. I was starting to drag so I stopped for a cafe at a cafe. Being champagne country a man walked in and had a glass of champagne as many would have a glass of wine at 16:30. It sounds nice but I'm not sure I would like my local grape juice to be champagne. It would take away the special feeling of it for me if I sipped champagne regularly. I skipped the St Remi Basilica for the moment to tour Piper-Heidseick as it was closing soon. I felt like I was on a Disney ride as my electric powered car with canned English commentary glided me through their cellars. P-H had marketed heavily to the Hollywood crowd so there were photos of celebrities and even a mock-up of the bar from the movie "Casablanca." I'd purchased a tasting of 3 champagnes in their very retro & red tasting room. I did not care for the blood red, glass chandeliers. It smacked too much of a bordello for me. For 13.50 for my tour I received a glass of brut, a rose sauvage and their '96 vintage. I liked the '96 best. The brut was too try and the sauvage too citrus-y. This was my second tour and I still didn't get a one of Mrs. Fossier's dang Pink Champagne Biscuits. I walked back to the St Remi Basilica. The sun was setting and the western rose window shone with all its glory. By now it was getting on towards 18:00. Being very tired I stopped by the Monoprix. I picked up some fresh bread baked with Swiss cheese, a slab of chicken liver pate, a slice of hard Italian parmesan cheese and a Sprite to mix with my VO. I finally was able to try a Mrs. Fossier's Pink Champagne Biscuit as I'd picked them up with my coupon earlier. Pink, sweet, crunchy with a white meringue coating on top I like them. They do explode with crumbs though. Cheap meal at 6.87 with VO brought from home. |
Excellent report, indy. Outrageously funny comment about the toilet! Keep it coming!
|
Hi David-
Welcome back! It sounds like you really lucked out on the weather. Any trip including foie gras and champagne sounds wonderful- -Mmmm. I think I could get used to sipping champagne on a regular basis. ;;) As usual, your report makes me long for my next trip to France- which luckily is three weeks from today- hooray! More, more!! |
Welcome home David !
I am loving this, more please! ((F)) Scarlett |
David, why am I always hungry and thirsty when I read your trip reports? :)
|
Thank you for another superb report. Now I know how to pronounce Reims properly. I will be heading that way, but further, to a small city, Charleville-Mezieres for a weekend at the end of April. I am looking forward for more trip report from you.
|
Electric shredder!? Glad you survived intact. Waiting for the rest of the report so we can calculate the foie gras/alcohol cost as a percentage of total expenditures. You have set the bar high.
|
Such fun reading your report - as always! I love your sense of humour. Looking forward to the rest.
|
The electrical toilets are used when the pipes are smaller than standard to avoid plumbing problems. They are common in garrets that have been converted into pieds-à-terre which did not have waste lines originally.
|
Great report, Indy. Your travelling style is very similar to ours. I love your descriptions...bring on the rest!!!
|
Super report, Indy. So sorry that you couldn't get a reservation at Le Foch - hopefully next time.
|
Hi Marcy,
I hope you have a ball. I love France that time of year with the chestnuts, lilac and wisteria in bloom. Will you be caught in the first of May French holiday whirlwind? Hey Nikki, I was so embarrassed after last trip's foie gras & alcohol cost ratio I've been too afraid to calculate this one. Maybe this time ignorance truly is bliss. :-) Thanks MaisonMetz! I used a couple of your restaurant suggestions through out my trip and enjoyed the food in a major way. Michael thanks for the explanation. Only once before have I had a shredder toilet in Tours. There the plumbing was more exposed and I thought the pipes looked small. wren, Sue4, georgiegirl, kopp, Scarlett and cigalechanta thanks for the encouragement. I'm working on my next installment now. I need to get some pictures scanned in too. |
David,
Your latest trip report is as fun as always. However, your pas de deux with the shredding toilet has me laughing... the mind reels! Did you happen to take a picture of the beast ? ( The toilet.. I AM talking about the toilet ;-) ) Judy |
David,
Yes, we'll be in Paris on May 1- any helpful hints or suggestions? We were in Madrid last year on May 1, and it was a pain in the neck- most things were closed, and it was cold and rainy, so all my ideas of spending our time strolling through the parks didn't work out. |
Indy, great report. So sorry about the disappointing trash can. You know, ever since I learned of your trash can rating system, I can't resist checking the number and size of trash cans in every hotel I stay at and thinking of you. (Therefore, you should know that both Le Merdidien and the Sofitel in Vienna supply two trash cans of decent size in their rooms.)
Looking forward to the next chapter! |
Am enjoying this report immensely--entertaining and informative. |
No Judy, I didn't take a picture. I meant too but it didn't happen. It did run rather scary though. I'd always close the lid before I pushed the button. I'd hear water run for a minute then it sounded just like a garbage disposal running for another minute.
Marcy I've only been in Paris on the May 8th holiday. Last year for May 1 I was in Lyon and the entire transportation system shutdown, buses, trams and subways. I hope Paris at least runs a holiday schedule. For nice weather which I hope you have it's pretty easy, parks, cemeteries maybe a Paris Walks as they run a few on May 1. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homep...ing/future.htm For bad weather I'd think some of the churches would be open, maybe the Basilica at St Denis to see the tombs of French royalty. I've always wanted to see a movie in a huge French cinema with a balcony. I still haven't done that. The Grand Rex in the 2nd looks like it has tours starting at 10:00am on May 1st. The English is pretty limited on the website but it's a good chance to practice. :-) www.legrandrex.com Another big theater is the Max Linder which seats 700 in the 9th. www.maxlinder.com/cine.asp |
Indy - Funny that you wrote about Le Grand Rex and its tours. We took the guided visit in French this morning. It lasts a bit longer than an hour, and was well worth it for film buffs or anyone who likes historic buildings and Art Deco architecture.
You also get the "Les Etoiles" tour - somewhat akin to a Universal City tour (though it's been a long, long time since we've done that so things may have well changed.) The "Les Etoiles" tour is available in difference languages and would be great for children of all ages - including us <g>. |
MM that is a coincidence! I've never asked about the Grand Rex tour here so really didn't know much about it. Nice to know it has a good endorsement. I'll have to try harder the next time I'm in Paris.
That's too funny BTilke. I don't know why I fixated on trash cans several years ago but those Barbie doll sized ones bug the heck out of me. Is a teensy trash can really that much cheaper then a decently sized one? Do they think the tiny trash can will make the bathroom look bigger? :-) Thanks elle. I appreciate your compliment. |
<u> Sunday </u> I awoke fairly early. I decided to hit the Mumm Champagne House as it opened at 9:30 one of the earliest of Reims' sites open on a Sunday morning. To while away a few minutes I walked through the North Cemetery. I saw several famous names on tombs: Heidsieck, Martel, Pommeray and even Fossier of champagne biscuit fame. When I arrived at Mumm the next English tour was at 10:00, cash only 18euros. With a few minutes to kill I sat in the courtyard and watched 20 various antique cars arrive: a Rolls, a 65 Mustang, an old Porsche among them. One couple was British. They were on a road rally and had driven from England to Reims the day before. Today they'd tour the champagne house and drive back. This was the swankiest of the 3 tours I took. Everything was color coordinated with the famous Mumm cordon rouge. Want to be a Mumm champagne tour dude? It's easy. Be tall, thin and good looking. Speak at least 3 languages. When you get up on Monday to go to work wear the black suit, black shoes, white shirt and pick the red tie. On Tuesday wear the black suit, black shoes, palest blue shirt and pick the red tie. On Wednesday wear the black suit, black shoes, white shirt and pick the, you guessed it, red tie. Want to be a Mumm champagne tour babe? It's easy too. Be tall, thin and beautiful. Speak at least 3 languages. On Monday wear the black skirt, black boots, black blouse and red scarf. On Tuesday wear the black slacks, black pointy shoes, black turtleneck and red earrings. On Wednesday wear the black slacks, black sandals, black blouse and red pendant necklace. As always the babes get way more clothing choices then the dudes. :-) Luckily for me my tour guide was Julia, a Mumm babe. She was German and spoke French and English working on her Spanish. Her husband was a pilot for the Mumm corporate jet fleet. I guess Mumm was a family thing with them. There were only two others on my tour a couple from New England. The tour was very color coordinated too. You followed a red stripe painted on the floor. The cordon rouge slash of red was everywhere. Heck even their cellar master, the youngest of the major champagne houses, has red hair. It was interesting to look down their longest cellar row of 400 meters. They had some very old bottles too. One rack was a 1920's vintage that she said was dead. She kept describing the "riddling process" of turning the champagne bottles. She would refer to someone doing it as "the riddler." Thank goodness I hadn't had my champagne yet or I'd have giggled out loud. Every time she said "riddler" I kept expecting Frank Gorman to step from behind a stack of champagne bottles wearing his dark green tights covered with question marks. :-) By 11:00 I was sitting with the other couple in the very red accented & chic tasting room sipping my champagne samples. Julia apologized to us as she had a large group coming so we were given a brief explanation. As she apologized she completely topped off my 3 glasses instead of pouring a taste. 15 minutes and 3 full glasses of champagne later I was glad I hadn't driven. 8-} Chatting with the other couple they were in Reims for 8 weeks on business. They'd said the weather had been bad for their first two weeks and hadn't seen much. They didn't even have a weekend trip planned. I made some recommendations. I gently admonished them saying that it's easy to think you have all the time in the world with 8 weeks but you can look up and it'll be gone. At 18 euros cash I originally thought it expensive. But I did get to try some very nice champagne for 6 euro a glass average. Champagne I wouldn't be able to buy by the glass almost anywhere and certainly not for 6euro. Like their Grand Cru made only from the best vineyards. I was able to taste their delicate Mumm de Cramant made from 100% chardonnay grapes. I liked the Grand Cru best. It had a broader, fuller taste. I thought the Cramant was too light and fruity. The popular cordon rouge was too dry for me. I knew that brut champagne is dry and that sect is sweet. This is odd because in French "sect" means "dry." I did not know that "demi-sect" is sweeter then "sect." It was my "learning something new every day" tidbit from the tour. By now it was 11:30 so I'd shot seeing a museum in the morning as they all closed at noon for lunch. I walked to the Brasserie Flo for lunch. It's part of the Flo Group of which Bofinger in Paris is a member. The amusée bouche was toast crisps served with cervelle de canut or "brains of the weaver." At least it tasted like the onion and chive potato chip dip-like cervelle I've had in Lyon. It doesn't look or taste like brains. I think it was named that because the weavers in Lyon ate it so much every day that their brains turned into the stuff. I had a kir with my amusée. At this time an older French couple sat at the table next to me. They had a tiny Yorkie in the tiniest leather bomber jacket with a designer label. There I sat in mere Eddie Bauer. Once again out fashioned by a lap dog, sigh. At some point during the meal Casey (his name was embroidered on his bomber jacket) must have become warm as it was removed. Momentarily unleashed he stealthily worked his way over to hook up with a new-found furry friend who wasn't as outgoing. A little startled barking ensued. A waitress quickly shooed each contestant back to his corner and peace was restored. Flo's slice of foie gras came with a fig & onion compote and fig jam. I had the rumsteck main with potatoes dauphin and a grilled tomato garnish. The Roquefort sauce with the steak was everything it needed to be: smooth and creamy with a touch of the bleu cheese tang. The potatoes were finely shredded like hash-browns, mixed with cheese and worked wonderfully with the sauce. The 1/2 bottle of Côte Provence rosé was pleasurably drinkable with my two courses. The menu was 22.40 for a starter, main and 1/2 bottle of wine. It seemed like an odd amount until I looked at my café which was 2.60. That rounded it out to an even 25. 5 more for my kir made a total of 30euros for lunch. I walked to the Hotel de Vergeur museum. I was the only one on the tour. The lady spoke excellent English so I used the opportunity to ask several off beat questions. Like the French name of the crocus flowers blooming in the garden. It's "crocus" only pronounced differently. We discussed the low beech tree. It was one of the dwarf mutations that only exist in that part of France. There was an explanation of it in my guidebook so I let her have that page as she'd never seen an English explanation of it. This ended up being my favorite museum that I saw in Reims. Incredibly eclectic with pottery, a few paintings including a huge portrait of M. Fossier, globes, architectural facades in the garden, stained glass, a 1920's kitchen, Louis 14th furniture, ivory carvings etc. There were over 40 Albrecht Durer original prints from his wood carvings including his series of the Revelation to St. Peter. I walked the short distance to the Palais du Tau. Now a museum it used to be where the king-to-be feasted before his coronation in the attached cathedral. It contained lots of architectural elements from the cathedral from the WWII damage and photos of the damage too. It's funny to see how huge the carvings of people are up close. They look so small high on the cathedral but standing next to one they're at least 2 times life-size. It had a blue & ermine cape from Charles X's coronation that would make Liberace swoon. Gold treasures and empty reliquaries were in cases. I managed to ask and be understood in French if it were possible to climb the cathedral tower. Unfortunately I was a week too early. Fresh off my success of being understood in French I stopped at a café and ordered a kir. Lipton hot tea showed up. Dang. Back to the drawing board for me. Reims is not a Sunday shopping town. Many cafés, eateries, boulangeries, tourist shops and the like were closed. I imagine more is open if you're there during high season rather than the middle of March. Next was the Fine Arts Museum. With a courtyard filled with large wooden balls and timbers charred black it did not bode well. Thankfully the inside improved immensely. Lots of 14th & 15 century tapestries, interesting sheets of cloth that had been painted to simulate a tapestry, older secular paintings, more than 20 paintings by Corot, a Delacroix, a couple of Monets, a gorgeous Pisarro, a Gaughin and a couple of Ziem's. The ground floor had some modern art. A nice Matisse scattered among some really ugly paintings. There was a painting by Foujita who'd done the art inside the Foujita Chapel that wasn't open yet for the season. By now it was 17:00. I decided if I hustled I could make it to see the Museum of Surrender (Reddition.) I'm glad I did. There was an informative 15 minute video presentation in English to start. Upstairs was a collection of war relics and photos. Then you went into the untouched war room where the surrender was signed. The maps on the walls, the names of the people on the chairs, the list of casualties, the table where it happened, it was just as it was over 50 years ago. Around 19:30 I stopped for a quick pizza for dinner after my huge lunch. It was a little place on the pedestrian Place Erlon. They were very interested in practicing their English with me so I gave in. I spoke with at least 4 different servers. They had probably 50 pizzas including an asparagus pizza and one with chicken gizzards & cottage cheese. Cottage cheese? I eventually looked at their French menu. Ricotta had been translated as cottage cheese. Quite a difference actually and drove home the fact that my restaurant French is good enough I really prefer the French menu. Dinner was a pizza reine with ham and mushroom. A hand-tossed crust that was beautifully baked to perfection with a couple of charred spots for the great taste it provides. A pizza and 50cl pichet of red wine was 13.35 I'm glad I had 2 full days in Reims. I could have used a 3rd. I missed at least 2 or 3 churches. I didn't see the automobile museum either. I'll have to return at a time when the Foujita Chapel is open, I can climb the cathedral and the Jesuit College is done being refurbished. Though the champagne tours all gave pretty much the same info I liked being able to try their better vintages by the glass. I could tour a couple of more. I'd especially like to tour a very small champagne house to taste their product perhaps one that needs reservations. |
>><i>Every time she said "riddler" I kept expecting Frank Gorman to step from behind a stack of champagne bottles wearing his dark green tights covered with question marks.</i>
Bwahahah! Loved the tale of Casey in his bomber jacket and your kir/thé too. |
David, it sounds like your French is getting better with every trip. Keep this up and they won't even answer you in English. (I'm not there yet, but it would be nice.)
Marcy, Paris again! I'm still eager to hear how the last trip went. |
I did manage to get my better Reims photos scanned in:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-9h4p7h Nikki, I actually owe my improvement this time to bookchick. At the Boston GTG she was telling me that a normal French speaker will say around 300 syllables per minute. The average English speaker is around 180. So I took a deep breathe and really made an effort to speak more quickly though I'd much rather concentrate and speak more slowly. It did make a noticeable difference. Except for that kir/Lipton tea thing. :-) Thanks BC! |
Great report. Your reports always make me hungry! I'd have wanted to take a picture of that dog in his jacket!
|
Thanks for the report. It's both delicious and hilarious. Sounds like you have such a great time when you travel. Welcome home! |
David, you are as funny in person as you are in the trip report. Wonderful!
|
Great report! We really need to have another KY/IND GTG. I'd love to hear this from you in person.
|
Could I talk some of you into coming up to Indianapolis for a GTG this time?
I think we'd have at least a handful of people from Indianapolis who'd come, and maybe even a couple of people who might come down from points further north. |
Marcy,
A GTG in Indianapolis is a distinct possibility for me. It would be great to see all the folks who attended last year's GTG in Louisville and to meet others. Why don't you propose this on its own post and see who else responds? Judy |
I'm in. Well, if I'm in the country. :-)
|
Shoot, David, that rules out about half the time!! ;;)
|
David - My friend would have ordered the cottage cheese pizza. She always orders baked potatoes with cottage cheese. Asparagus pizza sounds yummy to me.
Did you bring back any champagne? Marcy - Count me in for Indianapolis or Louisville or wherever. I talked to Rex about another Louisville GTG last month but that's as far as we got with any planning. Are you going to the NJ/NYC GTG in May? |
Lara,
I haven't ruled it out. Are you going? What's the date? Let's think about an Indy GTG this summer. maybe June? |
I'm going and so is David. It's May 21. I leave for Spain May 22 out of Boston. Late June would work better for me although I'm not sure of my summer plans yet. That will give me time to get caught up at work.
|
OK, I'll work on late June. Trying to think of the perfect spot.
David, I apologize for high-jacking your thread. And I <i><b>am</b></i> enjoying your report very much. Your descriptions really make me feel like I've been there! More, please!((f)) |
For a GTG? Hijack away Marcy! Especially one that I'll get to attend! :-)
No champagne for me Lara. It's too heavy. I did bring back a 1.5 liter of Suze for a friend since it's dirt cheap in France. 11.50euros for the big bottle. I regretted that as I lugged my burdened suitcase for a few days. |
<b> Nancy </b>
<u> Monday </u> I caught the 8:20 train to Nancy. I find it fascinating to watch the smokers on the platform put out their cigarettes and climb into the non-smoking cars. Even smokers don't like the stench from their habit. From the train in the nature department I saw a pair of partridges, deer, a brown colored hawk and herons. A group of eight soldiers in full camouflage gear were hiking along. I crossed the construction of the new TGV Est line that will run from Strasbourg to Paris. It's supposed to open next year. Around Bar-le-Duc the terrain became good sized rolling hills. We ran along a canal for a while and a river. In the shade in a few places I saw old, dirty snow on the ground. I arrived in Nancy just before noon. The first thing I noticed was that Nancy belongs to that class of French cities that has a bizarrely out-of-place modern tower near the city center as does Paris (Montparnasse,) Lyon (Crédit Lyonnais,) and Nantes (Tour de Bretagne.) It was at least 30 stories high, boxy, modern and right in front of the train station. I walked out the east end of the train station, turned left on ave. Foch and walked the 1/2 block to my hotel named Hotel Foch. My room was available early. I was on the 5th floor. My room in the back was quiet except for some elevator noise. Another hotel room with a single, small trash can. A tub with no shower curtain so I had to be careful showering. A very nice couple ran the place. One morning I didn't know if the hot water hadn't reached my floor yet or if it had all been used. Like the Azur in Reims this was a "take it or leave it" hotel. Nothing special but nothing bad. My first destination was the tourist office located in the Hotel de Ville on Place Stanislas. Along the way I passed the beautiful Brasserie Excelsior and Nancy's Chamber of Commerce which has blue wrought iron curving around windows of stained glass. Place Stanislas is still having its makeover for the 250 year anniversary special. I knew that beforehand so it wasn't a problem. Nothing at the tourist office really turned me on. They had a package with a reduced price to 2 museums, a 1/2 day bike rental, an audio guide tour and that was about it. Heck I have problems navigating the traffic on foot there's no way I wanted to rent a bike so I passed on the package. I was surprised there wasn't a tourist or day pass for public transportation. It was all by single use ticket, carnet or a monthly pass. I guess they don't get enough tourists to generate the need for it. I dropped into nearby La Mignondaise and made a reservation for dinner that night. I walked out to the Lorrain Historical Museum. It was still a little early. I went on to see the Porte Craffe, then the Weisberger house in an excellent Art Nouveau style. Sauntering along Place Luxembourg I made it over towards St Epvre Church. It was closed and undergoing major renovations. Knowing dinner would be big, I grabbed a ham and butter baguette for lunch. I finally made it into the Historical Museum. It's actually two parts, the art museum section in one old mansion. Next door is the Lorrain Folk Museum with an attached decommissioned church. There was a special exhibit of the man Stanislas. It was very crowded so I went briskly through it. Interesting enough but with hoards of people it made it difficult to see or read much. I went into the much less crowded regular museum section with its very nice paintings, copper engravings and such. I started to smell smoke at one point. Looking about a little worried I noticed some guards looking out the window. Across the street was a 5 story building with flames shooting out the top. The sapeur-pompiers arrived and proceeded to do their thing. In the next day's paper they still hadn't determined the actual cause of the fire. There were even fewer people in the folk museum. Lots of everyday objects like kitchen set-ups and furnishings. Blacksmith items like horse shoes and anvils and cheese-making gear. I went into the decommissioned church. I was very surprised to see a reliquary complete with bones. Interestingly enough just the ends of the bones had gauze wrapped around them. I've never seen sacred artifacts in a decommissioned church before. There were also several tombs in the sacristy. I had a little time so I wandered through the Pepiniere Park. Very pretty with a small zoo and flower beds starting to be placed. I watched some construction around the edge of Place Stanislas then headed over to the aquarium. Ready for an afternoon kir I stopped into the Aquarium Bar across the street from the aquarium. Sipping my kir in the almost empty bar I was writing in my journal when a young man rushed up and started yammering at me in French. I didn't like his tone, his approach or anything else. I said very slowly "I don't speak French" in English as I wanted nothing to do with him. "No France?" he said, then lifted up his coat to reveal two bottles of cognac stuffed into the top of his pants. Quite bizarrely the fly on his blue jeans was unzipped too. I said a loud "No" and waved him off. He dashed out of the building going goodness knows where with his two bottles of cognac. The small aquarium was interesting. Being there around 5:30 it was feeding time. I saw masses of slugs and worms dumped into some of the tanks. Lots of local fresh water fish that were interesting. I wondered how many of their cousins I'd eaten and was glad that glass was keeping them from getting at me. Dinner at La Mignardise was exceptional. The chef/owner had taken my reservation at lunch and seated me when I arrived. After a few minutes with the menu he came over and asked in French if I needed any explanation of the menu or help choosing. I smiled and responded that I wanted everything. I should know better then to joke with my limited French. I was given a very gracious explanation of how "le menu" works with picking one item from each category. Sigh. I finally ordered the gourmande menu that included 3 glasses of wine matched with 3 of the 4 courses. This was 55euro. An amusée bouche appeared of puff pastry piping hot from the oven and sprinkled with poppy seeds. Incredibly simple and incredibly delicious. There's just something about pastry that's good. While sipping my kir royale I could have munched puff pastry for an hour and called it a meal. My first glass of wine was from the Loire as it was explained and poured. Appropriately a sweet wine, it was served to accompany my starter of (you guessed it) foie gras. Dots of fig reduction sauce streaked across my glass-ribbed plate. Tart segments of orange stacked with greenery sat off to the side. A mold of agar had been made with pine nuts and herbs cast in it. Though agar is usually just an odd texture to me this was quite good with its crunchy nuts. Hot, crispy toast and two slices of the buttery-est foie I'd had yet this trip completed the ensemble. Alternating the combinations of fig, orange, toast and foie with sips of wine I was starting to get caught in the perfection of the moment. Alas it finally ended as I used the last of the toast to capture the tiny smears of fig sauce on my plate. A white wine from the Toul region was explained as it was served. This was to accompany my fish course. With the smallest of flourishes the dome was removed from the plate as it was settled in front of me. Substantial pieces of lobster sat upon a perfectly grilled filet of turbot. A passion fruit and peppercorn sauce surrounded the beautiful creation. The combination of sweet passion fruit with fiery peppercorns burst with flavor in my mouth. The lobster and turbot were almost a step-child to the sauce, but not quite. I broke off warm chunks of crusty baguette to make sure this plate was as clean as the last. The third wine was a glass of Louis Jardot red. The plate un-domed for me held a perfectly medium-rare beef filet. It was in the center of a triangle of cauliflower, carrots & raisins in a cardamom cream sauce and kale & onions. The red wine demi-glaze reduction was amazing. I guess I was a little crazy with the bread and sopping of the sauces. The cutest table hokey was employed to sweep up my breadcrumbs that seemed to be almost everywhere. I was given a brief interlude with an ice cream that was made of a sweet wine from the south of France and nuts. It was a harder more crystalline ice cream that was a refreshing change from the over-the-top creamy ice creams that are so common. It tasted like mom's homemade from summer days of my childhood. Well, mom didn't put nuts in her ice cream. And I don't think she ever used alcohol, let alone one from the south of France. I seem to recall a lot of vanilla. :-) Dessert was served in jiggers. There was a little jigger-sized pot of crème brulée, a jigger of searing hot deeply dark chocolate soufflé, a dollop of melt-in-your-mouth chocolate mousse, a one inch square of tiramisu with whiskey sauce and a one inch square of strawberry tiramisu. The plate was sprinkled with cocoa and sugar while bits of assorted citrus fruits were scattered as an accent. Overall this meal had some of the best portion control of my trip. Nothing was overly large so I was able to eat my way to the end. Clocking in at just over 2 hours this was my most expensive and most enjoyable meal. 55 for the menu, 6.90 for a kir royale, 61.90euro total plus a tip I left. After this all I could do was crash at my hotel. <b> Pont-a-Mousson Day Trip </b> <u> Tuesday </u> Nancy seems to be a fermé mardi (closed Tuesday) kinda museum place rather than the more normal Monday. I packed up my backpack and headed to the train station for Pont-a-Mousson. A quick 25 minute train ride it was a short walk from the rail station to the main plaza and tourist office. I picked up a city map and chatted with the lady. As I knew the city museum was closed on Tuesday but the Abbaye de Prémontré was not. I walked around the triangularly shaped main plaza that was lined with arcades. I took several photos. The tall monument with dry fountain in the middle made a nice accent. I found the Fourneau d'Alain restaurant and made a reservation for lunch at 13:00. As I made a complete circuit of the plaza I renamed it the Place d'Amour Practique. I found no less than 4 condom dispensing machines mounted under the arcades. I walked on the bridge over the Moselle and saw a couple of barges. There was a flock of at least 20 swans that were so gracefully paddling about. As it was spring time a few pairs were making the advances where they bend their necks down and put their faces together. As they stared dreamily into each others' eyes their slender, graceful necks made the shape of a St Valentine's Day heart. I stopped at a tabac/café for an espresso. A couple of the middle aged Frenchmen standing around the bar were wearing sweats and sneakers. On the counter were fresh chicken eggs. Maybe they were to be used for a croque madame? I knew they were fresh because they looked like the eggs I'd gather from under my mom's chickens in the 70's. I must say we always washed the eggs before we used them. I looked up to realize I would not be hiking to the top of the substantial hill to see the chateau ruins. The "hill" was much too high for my level of ambition. Instead I stopped at the cemetery up the hill slightly. At the entrance was a map with an index of local famous people and their graves. I didn't recognize any names. Most of the graves were very well tended. Tons of flowers and pretty ceramic pieces were on the stones. I decided to see if the Fontaine Rouge was not too much farther up the hill. It wasn't. Though a bit swampy from the spring rains I made it. I expected a fountain of red stone. Instead it's La Fontaine d'Eau Rouge. I saw a fountain of white limestone that had the reddest water from iron oxide trickling from it. I took a couple of nice photos and headed down the hill. I finally found a Pont-a-Mousson manhole cover in full sun for a photo. They're made in the town's steel mill. You can find them all over France. As I re-crossed the Moselle I watched a couple of boys 14 maybe 15 years old down by the river's edge. I'd like to think they were splitting a big bottle of Coke, but then why would they need the brown paper bag? It looked much more like the glass neck of a 40oz mega-beer. I stopped to pound the mud out of my shoes. Walking around the Place Duroc I tried the Banque Populaire to refresh my supply of euros. I didn't feel so "populaire" as it turned me down. Down the way was a BNP Paribis where I was popular. It gave me the money I wanted. It gave it to me in 10's & 20's. I hate when the ATM thuds out 50's or worse 100's. Nobody wants those stupid things. All right I'd take one or two if you gave them to me. Lunch at Le Fourneau d'Alain was excellent. I was seated near the back in the middle of the room. I thought it was a little weird as I was dining alone and there were seats by the window. They knew what they were doing. I had the view of almost all the people in the restaurant and out the three huge windows looking across the plaza. Being a work day there were lots of suits about. I had the menu for 28euro. Waiting for round one the amusée bouche was pieces of smoked salmon in puff pastry. Once again my starter was a huge slab of foie gras with a golden layer of fat along one side. Finely diced tomatoes and agar bits came along for the ride. The hot toast points were standing as if marching across the bread plate. With a decent selection of 1/2 bottles I ordered one of chablis. It went decently with my foie gras and excellently with my mixed fish main. A huge scallop, a piece of salmon, a portion of skate and filet of lot white fish, each one was done to perfection. A tuile made from a crêpe held upright cuts of lightly cooked turnip, zucchini and carrot. The sauce with chives had such the faintest hint of fennel I had to taste several times to make sure it was really there. I've never had the taste of licorice, which I don't care for, so subtly and deliciously done. The chef stopped by the table. I raved as best I could in French. The dessert of apple tart was encircled by a raspberry sauce. Rather then the usual pie crust pastry this one was closer to a puff pastry. The razor thin slices of apple that were just ever so sweetened supported a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. My espresso was served with a mini langue-de-femme cookie, a meringue and a butter cookie. 28 for the menu, 15 for the 1/2 bottle of chablis, 2euro for the café. This was the most enjoyable lunch meal of my trip. Wait a minute. It seems like all the meals are the "most enjoyable." :-) Waiting to pay I glanced over my left shoulder to realize I'd missed part of the floor show. Amongst a group of five ladies as they departed I saw a particularly interesting one. At least 50 years old she had dark brown hair with thick locks of blond highlights trying to escape her head like Medusa's snakes. Blue eye shadow streaked across her eyelids refusing to stop as it went all the way into the hairline at her temples. Silver metallic nail polish with the nail length measured in inches, her musical note printed mini-skirt went up to "there." To make sure a statement was made she wore sparkling, ruby red ankle boots with four inch stiletto heels. Wow. After lunch I walked back over the river to the old Abbaye Prémontré. Some of their space is used for special exhibitions. One had just finished so I was watching them break it down. One process was fascinating. A man was crating a marble bust. He would take a rectangle of one inch thick hard foam rubber and carve it with a saw to fit the bust. He would stack these slices of foam rubber to completely encase the bust. The Abbaye is famed for its spiral staircases, one square, one round and the last oval. I saw all three. I walked the grounds along the water admiring the views of the small city. The day continued to become more gorgeous. Bright blue skies and temperatures just over 70F/21C made it a great day for walking. Back across the river I was working my way around the main plaza when I started hearing strains of LeAnn Rime's "Can't Fight the Moonlight," the disco version. A blue truck came into the plaza with circus animals painted on it. It looked like a promotion for a traveling circus in town. As it went past me the one side was open and I could see a sign "Danger de Mort" with 3 lions in the truck. A large sign was advertising that "Le Grand Cirque de Paris" would indeed be starting the following day. I couldn't help but wonder if the lions might have preferred LeAnn Rime's original ballad-like version of "Can't Fight the Moonlight" rather than the thumping disco rendition. The rest of the afternoon the truck continued to circle the town. Never varying its tune the music would fade in and out as it drove to and fro. I toured the church just north of Place Duroc on my way to the train station. I must be getting old. I'm still not used to toddler girls having their ears pierced. On the train back to Nancy there was a toddler boy with his ears pierced. Either that or the lady dressed her daughter oddly. Back in Nancy I shopped for music at the FNAC. I explored St Sebastien church. I entered as mass was ending. I dropped in a nearby bar for a kir with a Johnny Hallyday look-alike bartender who was sipping a whiskey and soda with lots of ice. I guess when you're the bartender you get all the ice you want. Being a pleasant evening people were out in droves. I bought a grilled panini sandwich for my dinner and went to bed rather early. <b> Nancy </b> <u> Wednesday </u> My first stop was the train station to purchase my ticket to Metz for the next day. There was a change machine to break bills with a stern warning that it was to be used only to get change to purchase train tickets. It had worked fine the day before. Today it ate my 20euro bill. Afraid to leave my 20 in the machine I glanced around and noticed a lady at a welcome desk. She signaled she'd called someone. A man came and managed to retrieve my 20 and re-enter it. I yelled, "jackpot!" and collected my coins. Today was to be Art Nouveau day. Though the swirls in the pool of vomit I passed exiting the train station were not exactly the Art Nouveau curves I'd imagined, I took it as a positive omen and started my way south. As the museum didn't open until 10:30 I strolled past a city pool and stopped for a café. A man at a table next to me was finishing his Jupiler beer as his two young sons were finishing their bottles of juice. A very friendly Boston terrier seemed to be a fixture in the café. The Musée d'Ecole de Nancy is gorgeous. The finest collection of Art Nouveau I've ever seen. Paintings, frames for the paintings, stair cases, glass art, light fixtures, lots of furniture, all in beautiful, curvaceous Art Nouveau styles. 15 or so rooms stuffed to the gills with beauty. Parched from drooling over the museum pieces I stopped at a café and picked up a squeaky toy on my way in. It belonged to the resident pooch. He was sitting on the counter behind the bar watching the few patrons. Being careful as the floor had been freshly mopped I took a seat and ordered a beer. Suddenly another little dog lifted his head from his bar stool to look over the counter at the first dog. As they seemed agreeable the owners each set their pooch on the floor and the two started to roughhouse from one end of the room to the other. The instant the bartender set his pooch down he completely cleaned the entire area where the two dogs had been. After the dogs were done playing he mopped the floor again. As I was finishing my beer he mopped the floor for the third time. All of this cleaning was done in less than 30 minutes. On my way to the loo I noticed a clipping of the dog from the local paper. They'd taken a picture of him in his little hammock in the window. I guess he had already had his fifteen minutes of fame. Rambling along the street I headed back towards the center of town. French poodle poo be damned I kept looking up at all the wrought iron. It was everywhere. I stopped for another refreshment and a pit stop. Speaking of pits I ran into my only Turkish toilet of the trip. I stumbled upon a tram stop and purchased two tickets. I boarded the next north bound tram and watched Nancy go by. I went over a canal, over a kayak course and over the Meurthe River. I saw some big yachts and houseboats. At the very end of the tram line it completely circled a McDonalds. I rode back down into the city and exited at the cathedral stop. At this point I didn't notice a low bench on the platform. This oversight brought about my decision to remove my kneecap from my left leg. Babies aren't born with kneecaps, why would I ever need one as an adult? Thinking, "that'll leave a mark," I watched where I was going and limped into the cathedral. A beautiful sunny, 70F/21C day outside but those big old blocky cathedrals hold their temperature. I was freezing inside. I swear I could see my breath. It had some nifty reliquaries and the almost complete skulls of 3 people. You don't see a skull relic every day of the week. Usually it's just part of a femur or a tibia or maybe a finger bone. I walked down the street to the Telephone Museum. It's very interesting if you like technology as I do. Examples of early undersea cables, 100 year old manual phone switching devices, more recent mechanical ones, old telephones, toy telephones, a couple of minitel terminals and more. Upstairs was a classroom where older people were being taught the wonders of the internet. The lady had just reached the point of explaining how you type in www.google.fr when I walked by. Being such a gorgeous afternoon I delayed the Fine Arts Museum. Instead I went back to the Pepiniere Park. I saw peacocks, peahens, deer, guinea pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits and a nursery with several baby animals and their mothers. Signs said you could feed non-sugared popcorn to the beasts. I didn't. Kids were riding the merry-go-round, adults were exercising and playing sports, people were everywhere. I wondered if anyone had any work to do at 14:00 on a Wednesday. I watched a little more of the Place Stanislas construction. It's that "Bob the Builder" thing. It's interesting to see how they do it. One small crane had a motor and suction pad hanging from its arm. The suction pad would sit on a smooth stone then the motor would pull a vacuum so the heavy block could be lifted without scratching it. The Fine Art Museum is very good: a Monet, a Reubens, a Tinteretto, a Manet, a Picasso painted near the end of his life, a Brueghel and a Delacroix. There was a huge Prouvee in the biggest Art Nouveau picture frame I've ever seen. The basement was filled with Daum glass and I saw a Dali piece. This was all displayed around old city walls that were discovered during an expansion project. I stopped at an Irish pub to ask about St Patty's day. I figured if a pub in Nancy was celebrating it there would be one in Metz the next day. The sign said the St. Patty Party started at 4:00 in the morning. Yikes! I'm hardcore especially on vacation but not up to that level. While there a couple of 18 year olds came in and shared a 1.5 liter glass boot of beer. I assume it was the most economical purchase though I almost always have my own beverage. Dinner ended up at the Brasserie Excelsior. Another member of the Flo Group I wanted to eat in their practically untouched Art Nouveau space. Just dang pretty it is with tiled floors, zinc bar and curving light fixtures. Without a reservation I was seated in gentlemen's row. There were 4 of us all next to each other at our tables for two. We were seated to see the main entry path and bar areas so there was plenty of people watching. My kir royale apertif was served with olives and peanuts. The French gentleman next to me ordered his whiskey apertif with extra ice. It came with a few cubes that quickly melted. He had the waiter bring him more ice. I guess even the French have a hard time getting enough ice in their drinks. I ordered the Menu Brasserie. My nine raw oysters arrived on a platter of shaved ice with rye bread, butter, a vinegar sauce with green onions, a lemon half and a wetnap. Quite the production and delicious too. The waiter was impressed when I ordered my steak rare as he'd offered well done. Served with a perfect peppercorn sauce the steak was nicely room temperature inside not icy as rare sometimes is. Potatoes dauphin and rough country bread made the main dish. For my dessert I had the cheese plate: bleu, camembert and masterre. At least I think he said "masterre" when I asked, but I can't find it on the internet. I was trying to order a digestif and somehow ended up with a mirabelle dessert tray. Darn the luck. :-) I had wanted to try the mirabelle as it's a local treat. I really wasn't expecting a frozen mirabelle mousse with mirabelle sauce, a slice of cake soaked in mirabelle liqueur, a mini-mirabelle crème brulée, an almond tuile cupping a scoop of mirabelle sorbet and mirabelle hard candies. Several of the treats were glued to the plate with freshly whipped cream. Precariously balanced in the middle of all this was my digestif, a snifter of mirabelle liqueur. 8 for the kir royale, 31.40 for the menu, 9.50 for the dessert and 2.60 for the café. A total of 51.50. Once again the espresso rounds out the menu for an even amount. |
Dang David...you do travel beautifully! And, obviously, you get around!! You certainly do justice to writing about your meals. Of course, its 3:16 and I had a small cup of chicken noodle soup... coz Dang I wintered (and ate) well and summer is around the corner!
I've got to go find some foie gras and fig sauce... lobsters... Chablis... ohmyohmy.. THank you for this report...its just "loverly" And I'm gonna go find other travel logs you've written. |
Hey, is just me, or do some of you also skip all the stuff about the museums and tours and go straight to the meals?!
|
Oh David, now I wish I hadn't been sick in Paris so we could have gone out to eat. I am positively drooling at my desk.
|
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:09 AM. |