...and there isn't any name that I can't rhyme. By the way if you haven't been watching American Horror Story on AMC, you're missing out!
I'll 'splain you how we watch American TV in a later post ;-)
So we dusted off the latest coating of snow for a road trip south into the Lorraine region of France. Though cold and gray, we were still able to wander through the old "Coeur de Ville" in Nancy, France. The old town is truly beautiful, and I wish I could say more about the scenery on the drive down...the motorway down goes through some rather industrial parts of France. That said, I can only imagine how much more amazing the Place Stanislas becomes once the warm spring wind beckons everyone out onto the square.
Place Stanislas - though not on water, it is surprisingly reminiscent of St Marks in Venice
This one's a bit smaller than the one in Paris
Nancy's main plaza is a gilded homage to the extravagance of pre-revolution France. It is now surrounded by cafes, shops and hotels. The Place Stanislas is flanked by two Arcs de Triumph and two rather impressive fountains (currently being renovated and under tarpaulins). In fact the entire "Heart of the City" is being restored, cleaned and refurbished.
The indoor Market in Nancy
Without any map or a guidebook, we stumbled onto one amazing piece of architecture after another. We began our journey in the parking garage behind the St Sebastian Mall...not a momentous start. The one benefit of the car-park was the fact that we had a rather decent view of the city. We scanned the skyline for church spires and headed in that direction. After passing through their market - on par with Seattle's Pike Place Market - we rounded the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Annonciation de Nancy and entered Place Stanislas.
One of the gilded gates at Place Stanislas with the Cathedral in the background.
Other notable edifices in the area are the Palais Ducal, Basilique St Epvre, La Place de la Carrière, and the Porte de la Craffe. The renovations to all of these structures are quite impressive and have apparently been part of a ten year initiative started in 2005. They are nearly complete, and the results are absolutely breathtaking!
Ducal Palace of Lorraine
...with 15th Century Gothic Facades
St Eprve Basilica
The final renovation phase is to the very right in this photo - notice the darker stone behind the Angelic Cow.
...and the Winged Bovine!
Place de la Carrière
The old gates to the city!
After a quick lunch we went in search of some other unique Nancy treats. Bergamotes are hard candies flavored with bergamot (a native orange flavored fruit) oil. Unfortunately we weren't able to find a confectioner open when we were looking...Nancy evidently has a French version of Siesta...not many stores are open between 12pm and 2pm. We did, however, find an open Patisserie!
The legend is that two Benedictine Sisters escaping the Revolution made the first Macarons here in Nancy. There are other claims to the origin story of the macaroon, but we'll go with the local version for now. Macarons come in all colors of the rainbow and in endless flavor varieties as well. I must admit these were quite tasty and really beautiful. There are many other local specialties we didn't get to enjoy...don't worry, I'm sure we'll be back to share more of this fascinating city!
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