Ville-sur-Illon, Fontenoy-il-Chateau, and Besançon, France

We've been framed.

Our friends Jon and Cherolyn arrived for a visit.

We made them suffer through champagne and appetizers.

The next day a very jet-lagged Rocky showed up.  We picked her up at the train station.

An abandoned building Tom and I found on a walk.

Rabelo is just cruising along.

The nice thing about barging are the beautiful walks we get to take.  Jon with the ladies.

 The area we were cruising in Lorraine had beautiful scenery but not much in the way of other sights to see.  We read that there was a war memorial worth visiting in Ville-sur-Illon.  We found it.

War memorial in Ville-sur-Illon

Like kids, we had to climb up on the tank to pose for a picture.

 After looking at the tank, we wandered around the little town but there wasn't much else to see.  We walked up a country road to get some exercise.

We found friendly cows.

Nice scenery on our walk 

We had nice meals in various towns.

Enjoying a night out with our friends.

We also did some cooking while on board Rabelo.

Rocky got her turn at the helm of Rabelo.  Do we now call her Captain Rocky?

 Fontenoy-il-Chateau had some ruins for us to explore and then remains of an old fort.

This artillery tower is the last remaining edifice of the military defenses that were built during the 14th century to protect the town.

 I had been waiting for the opportunity to revisit Besançon, the capital of Franche-Comte.   There was so much I had missed the first time and I wanted Tom to see the Citadel.  Taking Rocky, Jon and Cherolyn provided the perfect excuse. It has a graceful 18th century old town and France's first public museum.  The Citadel de Besançon is a UNESCO World Heritage site and offers sweeping views of the River Doubs and the city's rooftops.  The Citadel has three museums, an insectarium, an aquarium, noctarium and zoo.  It is a remarkable example of the military architecture of the 17th century.

 The citadel is large and we climbed all the stairs up to all the viewing stations.

One of the views of the River Doubs from on top of the Citadel.

Showing one part of the fort of the Citadel.

 There are various museums and exhibits inside the citadel.

There was a building filled with bugs.  Some were creepy and others were colorful and beautiful.

Giant tarantula

Colorful bugs.  They would make beautiful pins, yes?

It's the season for cabbage.  I've never seen them this large!

Carrefour European du Patchwork (Tom is a good sport) and then Toul.

Tom admired this quilt at the Carrefour European de Patchwork Show.

  Tom was an amazingly good sport.  Going to a quilt show probably rates up there with getting a root canal.  I had my heart set on attending the Carrefour European de Patchwork Show!  It was going to be a two hour drive.  It was pouring rain and I was nervous about driving that distance in terrible weather, in a country where I don't speak the language, and I'm not familiar with the area.  He drove me!  Not only did he drive me, but stayed with me through three of the four villages that hosted the show.  We skipped the last village.  He didn't complain and actually enjoyed and appreciated  the art we saw.  It was an excellent show and well attended in spite of the inclement weather.  People came by the busload.  The exhibits were spread out over the four villages in churches, and any large building available.  Tents were erected for food and venders.  I've attended many quilt shows over the years but I have never seen a show visited by so many couples.  22,000 people attend this annual show.  My guess is that a quarter of the attendees at the very least were men.

The towns hosting the patchwork show are in the Vosges Mountains occupying a V-shaped valley of the Liepvrette River.  These towns were famous for their mining industry.

Between rain squalls the clouds cleared long enough for us to admire Sainte-Maine-Aux-Mines and the area around the town.

Fiber artist Jane Gaskins transfers photographs to fabric and stitches extensively over the photograph.  Filling is added under the picture as well to add depth.

Here is a detail of her quilt.

Artist Ian Berry uses layers and shades of denim jeans to create his masterpieces.  Even looking up close it's hard to believe what he has created using only denim.

Another denim piece by Ian Berry.  There is no stitching, he glues the fabric down.

The towns hosting the Patchwork show are in a beautiful setting.  Another picture of Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines

The main streets of these towns are lovely and extremely well maintained.  This was on a side street.

Saint-Croix-aux-Mines is another village we saw while attending the Patchwork show.  There was considerable wealth at one time in these towns.

This was a 25 foot deep lock!  You can see Philippe carrying our line as he climbs back down the ladder.

We go under some low bridges!  Tom's head is just poking out.  Note the solar panels which cover the entire pilot house.

We share the rivers with some giant barges.  This one is 360 feet long.  Check out the two cars on the back.

Our next stop was Toul.   We tied up by some old ramparts.  The old walls were improved upon regularly and Toul was considered one of the best defended strongholds in Europe on the eve of WWI.

View from the ramparts looking down at Rabelo and some of the old walls.

Under an old bridge.

Note the date 1846

Storage rooms under the ramparts of Toul

Cathedral Saint-Etienne was built between 1221 and around 1500.  The west front built between 1460 and 1496 was constructed  in a flamboyant gothic style

All the statues adorning the front of the cathedral were destroyed during the revolution.

Inside the cathedral is the altar of the relics (16th century).  In gothic flamboyant style, this chapel contains a reliquary with the following skulls:  Saint Aprone who was the sister of Saint Evre, the 7th bishop of Toul.  She is famous for killing a dragon with her distaff, Saint Gerard, the 33rd bishop of Toul, who started construction of the first cathedral built in stone, and the skull of one of 11,000 virgin companion of Saint Ursula, the holy Martyr of Cologne.

The side wall of the Cathedral isn't as flamboyant.

I made this clafoutis with little plums.

The Beautiful Town of Nancy, France: Part Two

We continue to dine at new restaurants.

Our meal at Le V-Four was delightful.

Nancy is the former capital of the dukes of Lorraine.  It is an elegant 18th Century town that was well planned with aristocratic architecture and beautiful vistas, including the famous place Stanislas, a World Heritage site.

One of the pleasures of cruising is searching out new towns and villages to explore and new restaurants to eat at.  In Nancy we found a small but delicious place to dine one night.  Le V-Four seems to be another husband/wife owned restaurant.  The service was impeccable and the food worthy of showing you.

Dessert

More desserts

After dinner we walked over to see the laser show in Stanislas Square.  The lasers bring the buildings to life as picture after picture captivates the audience.

A forest grows on the building.

The sun comes out.

The lights and designs are brilliant.  

 The Basilique Saint-Epvre was built in the 19th Century in a Neolithic style.  The Rose windows are dramatic.

Rose Window

Rose Window

 Across from the entrance to the basilica is a delightful square filled with tables where people enjoy their coffee, a pastry, lunch and people watching.  A book exchange graces one corner where people drop off books they have read and borrow a new book.

Book exchange.

Nancy has various Portes

Street leading off of Stanislas square with beautiful shops on each side.

Side of Basilique Saint-Epvre

Street art in an alley.  Where's a dentist when you need one?

We wandered into the Ducal Palace which is part of the History Museum of Lorraine.  The museum is spread over several buildings in the heart of the Old City.  The collection of history shown is quite eclectic.  There was an excellent display of paintings by George de la Tour.  We learned how France perfected the art of moving large quantities of wood from the high forests down to the canals and rivers where the logs were then floated to areas where they were cut and milled.

Tom is standing by a sled that was used to move wood down the mountains.

This drawing shows how the sleds were used to bring the logs down from the forests.  The sleds were placed on tracks.

Rose window in the Ducal Palace

Rose window from the outside.

 Once in a while we need to take a break.  After walking past this pub a few times I had to go in and check out their wares.  I couldn't believe how many different types of beer they had on tap.  If only we had more time...

My beer was delicious! 

This pastry shop had many beautiful and unique pastries.  It was a shame we didn't need dessert that evening.