Verdun

Today I arrived in Verdun. Since planning my trip through France I have been wanting to visit Verdun especially because of it's role in WWI history. I'm not a WWI or WWII history buff by any stretch of the imagination, but I have always been very interested in it, and love visiting anything that has to do with it.

The first place I visited in Verdun was the Verdun Cathedral. It seems like there's a fantastic cathedral to visit in almost every town in Europe, and I don't like to miss them. The Verdun Cathedral site dates back to 330 but of course went through many changes throughout time. During WWI, between 1916 and 1917 the cathedral was severely damaged. It was restored to it's current condition between 1920 and 1936. During the restoration a number of Romanesque features were discovered along with a crypt. The facade of the cathedral is embellished by an elegant portico with a composite Romanesque and Gothic style. The apses are polygonal and quite charming. I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful cathedral and glad I didn't skip it.

Next I headed over to the La Citadelle, which was built in the 17th century. It was used during WWI to house population but they were soon evacuated and from then on it was only occupied by troops. To this day it is still under military control, but there are several tunnels that can be visited by the public. The circuit of tunnels reconstructs environments and modes of everyday life during the war, with animated scenes and virtual images. Even though the "car" that takes you around the tunnel is kind of hokey the overall experience was fascinating, and haunting.

My next stop is to the Verdun Battlefield. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed even trying to write about it now. There is so much to take in. The surrounding area was never rebult and still bares the scares of devestation today. The land is pock marked from the bombing. Small buildings/forts and trenches are still visible. There are markers and monuments to showing where villages used to be.

Here's a pictures of a trench.


This photo of Verdun is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Pock-marked land...

This photo of Verdun is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Next it was on to Fort Douaumont and the nearby Douaumont Ossuary. The fort was even more haunting than the first one I visited. It has a dark and bloody history. It's truly chilling.


This photo of Verdun is courtesy of TripAdvisor

There is so much more to see here in Verdun, but it was still a long day of sightseeing so I had to go grab something to eat. I stopped at a little restaurant had a Tourte a la Lorraine (pork pie, veal and eggs). And for dessert some yummy macaroons.

Well, now that I'm full both physically and mentally, I'm headed for a good night sleep in an quaint, no frills, but nice and clean hotel, the Hotel Montaulbain.

This photo of Hotel Montaulbain is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Metz, France

Today I arrived in beautiful Metz, France. Prior to planning my trip here, I'd never heard of this place. Boy would I have missed out!

I started my day in Metz with a visit to the Cathedral of Saint-Etienne, a beautiful gothic style cathedral. All I have to say about it is "Wow!" The Cathedrale St. Etienne is quite the site indeed. It is a Gothic masterpiece. I was in awe of all the gargoyles, angels, demons, cherubs and devilish-looking creatures carved into its Jaumont stone structure. There are some fascinating carved depictions from the Bible; Heaven and Hell being the main theme…very cool to see. The cathedral also has the 3^rd highest nave in France, which adds to its grandeur. There are also a ton of stained glass windows. They are absolutely incredible to look at. Out of my travels, this is definitely the most impressive and unique cathedral I have visited.

After the cathedral, headed over to the Musee de la Cour d'Or. It is a museum with valuable collections of Roman and Medieval art. I was really impressed with the carved funerary steles. They were incredible. I also thought it was neat to see the ancient baths and various objects of daily use and tombs of the Merovingian kings. Of course the paintings were amazing too. Some of the paintings were by some painters of the "The Metz School," which was an art movement in Metz and its region gathering around Laurent-Charles Marechal between 1834 and 1870.

After the museum, we decided to go see the Jardin Botanique. Its not something I would normally take the time to do while sightseeing, but something about it's description made me want to see it. It has over 80 different varieties of roses, herbs, flowers of every hue, and fragrance, in addition to palms, and high trees such as the 140 years old sequoia tree. I have to say that we were very glad we went. It was very beautiful and a nice end to our sightseeing for the day. It was interesting to compare to our own botanical gardens. I haven't been to our local botanical gardens for a while, but in comparison this one is much bigger, and has a lot more to look at. It was gorgeous.

After the gardens it was time for dinner at Restaurant Thierry. The style was mostly a fusion of French, North African and Asian cooking. Just a few meters away from the cathedral, we thought it'd be a great place to eat, even though it wasn't local cuisine per se. I decided to try something I had never had, so I ordered the Roasted black pudding with lemon mashed potatoes. The potatoes were good. Let's leave it at that. ;)

Finally it was time for us to head in for the night and get some sleep. We headed to the Hotel de la Cathedrale. It's a wonderful hotel, in perfect location, facing the cathedral. A perfect place to call it a night.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metz,_France

http://www.francethisway.com/places/metz.php

http://www.hotelcathedrale-metz.fr/en.php

http://musee.metzmetropole.fr/site/index.php

http://www.metz.fr/metz2/decouvrir/jardin/botanique.php