Metz

Ben and I overslept this morning, so we ended up missing the train that went to the vineyard. It's ok though because we spent the day exploring downtown Metz. We went to "Le Jeep" for lunch. I had the Capri Pizza (mushrooms, ham, and cheese) and Ben ordered the "cheeseburger" which ended up being a beef patty with eggs on top? Who knows--it's France.

Then, we went to the train station to buy my tickets for Nancy and Strasbourg. They had another really cute jewelry/accessory store in the station where I got some nice earrings and a purse :)

Afterwards, we walked through the streets of Metz to Cathedrale St-Etienne. The cathedral was beautiful. It had very intricate sculptures on the exterior and beautiful stained glass windows inside. While we were walking from the cathedral, Ben saw a bike rental shop, and we decided to tour the rest of Metz on bike. It was a little scary at first (and difficult because I decided to wear a long dress that day--brilliant, I know), but we then found a scenic little path along the river. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. We saw the oldest theatre in France, some churches, and some old military towers. Metz also has all of these cute wooden bridges with flowers on them all down the river--very pretty. Although Metz is a lot smaller than Paris, it still has substantial French charm. I love the architecture--the little iron-wrought terraces with flower pots on every building, the cobblestone streets, and the outdoor cafes. The suburbs of Metz remind me a little bit of South Africa. The houses all have their own, unique style--some modern, some traditional. All in all--not a bad place to live/study for a couple of months.