21st July
Today we stayed in Charleville to do a bit more exploring and generally have a relaxing day soaking up the sites and sounds. We ventured into the town and admired the architecture. Some of it was quite amazing, others not so. Charleville was built in the 17th Century and there are many grandiose buildings which reflect that time. For example there is the Place Ducale which is a replica of the Place des Vosges in Paris. Rachel, having been to Paris, even commented that the buildings were very familiar, before we found this out!
The other part of Charleville-Mezieres is the 10th Century town of Mezieres. We were told that this was the medieval part of the town, however we could not identify much architecture from this period apart from a historical monument and the Basilique Notre Dame. This was an imposing gothic-looking building and we got to have a look from the outside, but it was closed by the time we got there. Still, I'm hoping to get inside tomorrow as the stained-glass windows are apparently well worth a look.
The Nailz effect
Having Nailz with us is a real help. Wherever we go we are approached by folks wanting to say hi to him. After a few false starts we are quickly getting into dog-french and finally I'm able to use my basic french skills - "Il s'appelle Nailz" I say confidently, "quoi?" is the usual reply, "errr, 'ammeur and Nailz" I reply hopefully... Still dogs are great in which ever language you make a fool of yourself in and it always ends in a smile and a wave "Au revoir".
Local tipples
We weren't going to miss this, a 10% lager for me and a 8% cherry lager for Rachel. I can't remember the name of either of them, or what happened after that to be honest but I remember thinking they were great. Something Rouge was the cherry one... Someting about Trappiste monks...
Today we stayed in Charleville to do a bit more exploring and generally have a relaxing day soaking up the sites and sounds. We ventured into the town and admired the architecture. Some of it was quite amazing, others not so. Charleville was built in the 17th Century and there are many grandiose buildings which reflect that time. For example there is the Place Ducale which is a replica of the Place des Vosges in Paris. Rachel, having been to Paris, even commented that the buildings were very familiar, before we found this out!
The other part of Charleville-Mezieres is the 10th Century town of Mezieres. We were told that this was the medieval part of the town, however we could not identify much architecture from this period apart from a historical monument and the Basilique Notre Dame. This was an imposing gothic-looking building and we got to have a look from the outside, but it was closed by the time we got there. Still, I'm hoping to get inside tomorrow as the stained-glass windows are apparently well worth a look.
The Nailz effect
Having Nailz with us is a real help. Wherever we go we are approached by folks wanting to say hi to him. After a few false starts we are quickly getting into dog-french and finally I'm able to use my basic french skills - "Il s'appelle Nailz" I say confidently, "quoi?" is the usual reply, "errr, 'ammeur and Nailz" I reply hopefully... Still dogs are great in which ever language you make a fool of yourself in and it always ends in a smile and a wave "Au revoir".
Local tipples
We weren't going to miss this, a 10% lager for me and a 8% cherry lager for Rachel. I can't remember the name of either of them, or what happened after that to be honest but I remember thinking they were great. Something Rouge was the cherry one... Someting about Trappiste monks...
Nice to see you are on the road at last mate, have fun
ReplyDeleteI'd like to say how keen I am to follow your movements mate but that might sound a bit wrong!
ReplyDeleteHow about some pics? (not of you Matt!) x
ReplyDeleteThe french for nailz is clous pronounced kloo.
ReplyDelete