On the Road Again!

Christmas nativity in Metz. December 2013.

Last year we had a really nice couple of days in Metz for the Christmas Market. With a total of 11 days off again this year I have started to look at going away again. It looks like France again and I found that Strasbourg has one of the oldest markets in Europe each year from early Decenber to the 31st. I had a quick look on booking.com for a hotel and they are a bit on the pricey side, but have found a decent looking, and highly rated, three star close to the city centre by the railway station. Now just a quick check to see if we can get the cat looked after and about the channel crossing. Update: Plans were put on hold as soon after publishing this post the cat took a turn for the worst and we had to take her to the vet's and she was put to sleep.  She was nearly 21yo and had a tumour that was inoperable and she was unable to eat or drink. Although some people said that we were too rushed we had been thinking about a dog once we were cat-free and so that...

My birthday!! Up early again to open my cards that Claire has brought with her, then breakfast By 0920 we were on the road heading north along the same route as on the way down. Again we dropped into a Luxembourg fuel station and I squeezed €12 in the tank. Topping right up the pipe to enjoy as much of the cheap fuel as possible. The plan was to stop off in Bastogne. On the 21st December 1944 the town was encircled by German troops and the US 101st Airborne under General  McAuliffe held the town until relieved some seven days later by elements of Patten's 3rd Army and 10th and 11th Armored Division. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Bastogne The Airborne museum was closed today, I expect it was open on Saturday as it was the anniversary! http://www.101airbornemuseumbastogne.com We dropped in the tourist office and picked up a leaflet on the new museum opening in March to commemorate the Battle of the Bulge and the Sie...

Cathedral We were up a little late for breakfast arriving when everyone else was there. Although the hotel was pretty quiet overnight there were lots others in the small restaurant. Our walk took us ended by the Wheel a different way via ancient arch, the Porte Serpenoise. Destroyed in the 16th century and then rebuilt three hundred years later. We went around to the Cathedral and down to the old town where there are bridges across some narrower sections of the Moselle. It was drizzling most of the time. Time for lunch. Back to Place 1 to get a bratwurst and a beer! After some shopping we ended up back at the hotel for a siesta. Looking out of the window I saw a group of about ten scooters with their riders dressed as Santa. Before we could get down their they started to ride off and so I had to get a few shots from the hotel window!! We were up and ...

We were up about 0530 on Saturday and checked in at the Shuttle less than an hour later. It was alternating between drizzle and proper cold rain. The temp gauge in the CC showed about 8°C! We were lucky for once and were loaded onto the back of the earlier train and at 0721 set off for France. The route options provided by TomTom were a dogleg south and east in France via Reims or a more straight line route through Belgium and Luxembourg. I chose the second as it meant avoiding France's toll motorways. "Plucky" Belgium has free motorways. TomTom said both were a similar time and distance. By the time we had arrived at the A25 to Lille it had dried up and we didn't see any rain again that day. Luxembourg has the cheapest petrol in western Europe at €1.28 a litre, and that is rip-off motorway prices. Hence the long queues at all the pumps. In both France and Belgium it was more like €1.55 and up for 95 unleaded. No sign of the creeping poison that is E1...

Sadly the proposed trip to Rudesheim for the Christmas Market has been knocked firmly on the head. Why? In 2010 the Germans introduced a law that says in "wintry conditions" you need winter tyres. Bugger.  In England we have relatively mild winters, with little snow, so we never bother with winter tyres. So, instead I had to hunt about for a Christmas Market elsewhere.  In France. So. Metz it is! I tried for Strasbourg but that would have been nice but at this late stage no hotels this side of the Waldorf Astoria price range are available.  Metz though had a few rooms.  So I booked one. City Centre, walking distance of the market and the sites. Now to get the TomTom re-jigged.... More info.