Metz!

I know that I am way overdue in posting about Metz! I meant to do it right away (and I should have, too), but planning for London occupied my thoughts!

Upon leaving Domrémy-la-Pucelle, I realized that our detour had cost us in gas, and we needed to fill up. (Oh, the constraints of money and fuel! If not for those, I would constantly be traipsing all over Europe!) I stopped at the first gas station we could find, which was still out in a small town. Which meant that there were few that spoke English. It's to be expected, really, and while I'm not COMPLETELY ignorant of the language (I did take 2 years in high school and a semester in college, after all...), I still dislike that I don't know it as well as I could, or even should! My card wouldn't work at the station, and so I had to communicate with the lady at the pay booth. She spoke no English, and I am certain that my French came across to her as very poor and broken, but I was ecstatic over the fact that I was able to communicate enough to her (with minimal gesturing) the problem and understood her when she explained to me the solution. (The first three pumps were cash only, the last three pumps were card only.) I'm talking giddy giggling and dancing in the driver's seat ecstatic. lol Oh, the things that amuse me...

Metz was a beautiful city (though Misha and I both agreed that it was more pleasant to be in the countryside and smaller towns), though I had forgotten about the fact that it's common across Europe for everything to shut down in the middle of the day. We were soooooooooo hungry, and missed the restaurants closing by less than half an hour (they closed at 2pm) and had to wait until they re-opened for dinner (which varied between restaurants, at about 6 or 7pm). The deliciousness of the quiche and eclair were so long before that...lol But we survived. And we took many pictures! I think that my favorite building was Temple Neuf. Sadly, though, it was closed and we could only see the outside. I wish we could have gone in! I bet it was as beautiful inside as it was out!

TEMPLE NEUF

LOOKING UP AT THE BACK SIDE OF TEMPLE NEUF

 

We did find a couple of other cathedrals, however, and even got to hear a part of the mass going on in one of them (the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Metz)!

THE STAIRS LEADING UP FROM THE STREET TO CATHÉDRALE SAINT-ÉTIENNE DE METZ

CLOSE-UP VIEW OF CATHÉDRALE SAINT-ÉTIENNE DE METZ

ONE OF THE MANY GORGEOUS STAINED GLASS WINDOWS INSIDE CATHÉDRALE SAINT-ÉTIENNE DE METZ

A SMALL CLIP OF MASS (IN FRENCH!)

And the only public bathroom we found reminded me of a phone booth...but for a toilet! LOL

MISHA INSIDE THE "PHONE BOOTH" PUBLIC TOILET

You would deposit your money, the sliding door would unlock and let you in, and then when you were done and the door shut behind you, it would spray a disinfectant inside, from top to bottom. (At first we didn't know that, and thought the wet floor meant urine everywhere! LOL) There is even a notice that there is a 15 minute time limit. It is now a personal goal of Misha's to try that time limit out, and see if the door opens on it's own after the allotted time or not! LOL (And you can read her recounting of the Metz portion of our trip here as well as see more of her amazing photography skills.)

RANDOM FRENCHWOMAN ACCORDION STREET PERFORMER

SUNSET IN METZ

It was an experience like no other, and I am SO GLAD that we went! I hope to go back to France soon...and as it's not so far away, it is extremely unlikely that I won't get to!