Wandering - Monday 5/14/2007

Pears on the communal breakfast table at the B&B. Our last morning there. Sigh. There was also yummy yogurt, bread, butter, jam, and orange juice on a big lazy Susan in the middle, along with coffee and tea.

We'd sat with Meredith and a young couple with a child on Sunday morning, listening to her tell tales of the B&B trade. The couple had just bought a place and were going to turn it into a B&B. It was interesting because although Meredith paused to summarize for us in English, I found I could understand enough of her French to have an idea of what she was talking about. Cool!

This morning, we had Meredith and Bill to ourselves for a while. Bill and I talked about photography...basically I picked his brain after looking through portofolios on the coffee table in the other room. Most of our travels over the past couple of days were on Meredith's recommendation and we were so glad. She said enough to pique our interest without telling us too much about what to expect, so we felt that rush of discovery.

We took off intending to stay somewhere between Nancy and Strassbourg.




Needed a shot of this window cleaning station at a French fuel station. Aw! They even give you little disposable plastic gloves to wear! A little disconcerting to see the word "raclette," here describing what we'd call a squeegee. Remember that yummy raclette dinner the first night? ;)

Each and every time we fueled up it was difficult. The first time, we had to figure out what kind of fuel to put in it... Okay, diesel, but which one? Oh. It was written on the inside of the gas cap. Clever rental company! Then figuring out where to pay. Huh! Seemed a little different each time.
Inside the station. They have some really different expectations of their potato chips over here!

We followed a sign that said "Fraises - 800m" off the two-lane highway and bought a kilo of fresh strawberries from a lady in a little caravan by the road. Fabulous: large and sweet.



Went to Domremy, the birthplace of Joan d'Arc. They weren't too nice to her when she was alive, but they are sure proud of her now. You see "Joan was here" all over the place! This is the door into the house where she was born round about 1412. Explored the house and the chapel right next door.

We thought we'd stay there in a place mom and my niece stayed ten years ago, but oddly, all the hotels were closed! Huh!


An example from a small town along the way (St. Dizier?) of how much room you have to walk in along some roads. These villages weren't built for two way auto traffic!

Stayed in the dodgiest hotel of the trip this night, in Neufchateau. Just didn't have the energy to keep looking after a cold and windy day. Bought a bottle of Gewurtztraminer and some cookies at a discount market and ate those with the strawberries from St. Dizier and the last of the cheese from the street market in Dormans.