Nancy, April 29 to May 4

Our friends Tim and Christine were going to be joining us May 2 after their visits to Italy and Lyon. Scheduling around the train workers strike was kind of a pain. We planned to spend at least one full day in the city after their arrival so we could take in some of Nancy’s specialty, Art Nouveau, particularly the Daum art glass showroom and the Musèe de L’Ecole de Nancy.

But first, I realized I never posted pictures of the Son et Lumière from our stay in Nancy in September. Last year we took in the shows in Amien, Toul and, on it’s last night, Nancy. The huge Place Stanislaus was lit up in the most spectacular fashion.

So, Sunday.

We tied up just a little after noon and made sure the lines were good and secure. Thunderstorms were in the forecast and we wanted to be ready. Sure enough, shortly after dark the lightning started to flash and the thunder rumbled. Torrential downpours followed, along with a good amount of hail, luckily not big enough to damage the solar panels but the pounding on the metal roof made quite a racket. Then the wind picked up and the temperature dropped. Monday was not a pleasant day. We ventured out for a little stroll around town but, being Monday, most of the stores were closed and staying inside seemed the better option. We even lit the wood stove for the first time this year.

Tuesday was May 1, May Day, and we knew it was a national holiday in France but we we’ve never spent the day in a big city and it was a little eerie. Everything was closed (except for one boulangerie that we found) and there was nobody on the streets except the Communists, who were having a march down one of the main streets. There was a pretty major police presence there so we kept our distance. We did make it to the big city park, however. The spring flowers were in bloom.

By Tuesday, the weather had moderated a bit and we met Tim and Christine at the train station about 2 pm. We had a little wander about town but decided to leave the city tour and museum visiting until Wednesday. It would be Art Nouveau Day.

Tuesday’s highlight, along with trying to decipher the three maps necessary to use the tourist office walking tour’s audio guide, was a visit to the Musèe de L’Ecole de Nancy. The collection is gathered in the house of Eugène Corbin, a major patron of the movement. The collection includes works by Emile Gallè, Eugène Vallin and others. We thought if we could ship it home, this bed would look great on Laurel St.

And despite the troubles with the tourist office maps, we got a look at some great Nouveau architecture, including this bank windowed ceiling

and these typical butterfly windows.

Friday morning we made a trip to the nearby grocery store to reprovision and about 11 am headed back toward the Moselle River. We were northbound for Metz.