Nancy: 2 days here

Sunday 23 June

We departed Zell early by taxi (6.50 a.m.) with Rich and PC - and were driven at Formula 1 speeds to Wittlich where we comfortably (!) had time to catch our train to Trier. 

We had a transfer time of over an hour so had a coffee and chat until our departure at just before 10 a.m. for Thionville which is across the border in France (the others had a changeover at Metz). Another wait and just before midday we took our final train for the day to Nancy.

We will be here 2 days. And what a town! Located in the north-east of France, Nancy was founded in the 11th century by Lorraine Duke, Gerard 1st. Nancy then became the capital of Lorraine in the 16th century. In 1738, Louis XV's father-in-law, Stanislas Leszczynski, was given the Duchy of Lorraine and he set about turning Nancy into a glorious rococo showpiece.

After unpacking in our small but comfortable hotel, we walked into the main square - Place Stanislas. My goodness. What a sight! Dripping with gold highlights and massive in size - what can you say! It is breathtakingly beautiful. No wonder it is regarded as the most beautiful royal square in Europe. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage list as a magnificent example of Classical French architecture.

We just walked around and around snapping photos. We bumped into Rich and PC and went sight-seeing some more. Being a Sunday, there were lots of people out especially in the Parc de la Pépinière where there seemed to be a festival of sorts going on.

Another of the UNESCO-listed 18th century monuments in Nancy is the Place de la Carriere; this square was originally laid out in the 16th century when it was used for jousting and tournaments, hence its name Carrière.

In the Old Town we visited Nancy's version of the Arc de Triomphe, the Craffe Gate, the Duke's Palace & Saint-Èpvre’s Basilica where there was also a market in full swing in the adjacent square. Our cameras snapped busily.

We had dinner in the square - a very simple meal, watched the world go by & had an early night.

Monday 24 June

Woke up to rain.

But we weren't worried as we had a lovely sleep-in and a late 'brekky' from our supplies of fruit and muesli. 

Left the hotel about 10.30 and walked again into the Place Stanislas. 

We decided on the exhibition at the Musée des Beaux Arts housed in one of the striking 18th century buildings in the square. On display are works representing every European school of art, spanning a period from the 14th to the 21st century. The museum’s impressive painting collections include a series of works by Pérugin, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, Rubens, Delacroix, Monet, Modigliani, Dufy, Picasso, etc. — as well as one of Rubens's earliest works (“The Transfiguration,” 1605) and one of Caravaggio's last (“The Annunciation,” 1609).

The museum visit took us about 2 hours and was amazing. By the time we left, we were exhausted and sought somewhere for lunch. 

We happened upon a terrific little brasserie up a narrow cobble-stoned side street and enjoyed a plat du jour with a terrific red wine and coffee (we seem to have arrived in a land where you can get a decent coffee!). 

We ate inside as it was a bit wet and cool outside even under the awning. We were well looked after and the maitre d' seemed very keen that we be pleased. We sat with mainly locals and had a great time.

Lunch required some walking off and indeed we bumped into Rich and PC so we completed the sight-seeing that we'd started yesterday - we returned to the Porte de la Craffe/Porte Notre-Dame (a double gate of sorts) and continued through to the Porte de la Citadelle.

We then wandered around an area where there are a number of 18th century mansions: Hôtel d'Haussonville, Hôtel des Loups, Hôtel Ferraris.

We separated again as we had not yet seen the Place de l'Alliance & the Cathédral (the others had already). We then wandered back to our hotel for a rest - via the main shopping precinct which was very busy.

We all had dinner at L'Excelsior, a century-old brasserie - a complete 1911 period piece: creamy molded ceilings, russet-coloured stained-glass windows, polished brass chandeliers (all with a fern or flower motif); it has regional-contemporary food, oysters in season, amazing desserts, a Majorelle piano and, as we were leaving, the lights went out and the entire staff - chefs included! - came out in a procession with a lit birthday cake singing in French in sonorously slow voices the birthday song for an adjacent table: just fabulous!

In the morning we pack (uggh!) and leave on the TGV (fast train) for 2 nights in Paris.