MODERN ARCHITECTURE

Metz has the whole range of architectural styles from Roman to the present day. Being moored right in the centre it gave a great opportunity to explore. One of our first outings was to visit the Centre Pompidou Metz. Built a few years ago to a design by a Japanese architect it is certainly a popular destination. Like these various outposts of the big museums/galleries they have a constant rotation of exhibits from the parent museum/gallery in this case the Pompidou Centre in Paris. We felt mixed about the content at the moment but the building was exciting if not very wasteful of exhibition space. How many staircases and foyers/landings do you need?

Exterior of Centre Pompidou Metz.

Margaret perusing a sonic exhibit where the hanging disks reflect sound.

Another interesting modernist building is the Eglise Sainte-Thérèse, a contemporary church of Cathederal proportions which I thought was worth a visit. It was. All the tourists go to the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Metz which is impressive with 6500 square metres of stained glass but not as impressive as other Cathederals such as Reims. It is a loss to people's experience that no one seems to visit Eglise Sainte-Thérèse.

Quite Zeppelin hanger like from the outside.

The spire. Yes it is that tall.

The stained glass above the altar.

I loved the building, far more interesting than the cathedral. I was the only person there. I'm not sure what this says but we do seem to have a rejection to modernist architecture. I hope not. I feel tour companies, Office de Tourisme etc. play safe and go with the old. What a shame!

MESSING AROUND ON THE RIVER, OR NOT.

In many of the larger towns there are boat clubs and boats for rent. These come in all shapes and sizes, canoes, kayaks, sculls, 2's, 4's, 8's, electric boats and pedalos. It's great to see people enjoying themselves and taking in the views and ambiance of being on the water. Lots of families, especially at the weekends. Some could definitely do with driving lessons.

Enjoying the ambiance!

I saw these two set off, both totally engrossed in their smartphones immediately on leaving the boat hire. I watched them go up the river, heads down. On arriving back they were still both texting, or equivalent, not even looking at each other, never mind the views. I really wondered why they bothered. They should have stayed at home. We often see people engrossed in taking selfies but this was extreme Facebook or texting.

LA FÊTE DES MÈRES

It's that time of year in France, Mother's Day, with all sorts of crazy things as presents for mothers. The queue in the Boulangerie/Patisserie this morning for cakes, pastries etc. was enormous. How many cakes can you buy? Judging by the amount of cake boxes that were leaving the premises, a lot. Not to mention the queue at the florist. Spotted this cheese in Les Halles.

Chèvre au Coulis de Fruits Rouges, Goats cheese with a red fruit syrup.

This cheese is made specifically for Mother's Day. If nothing else it's a new one for the cheese aficionados who read the blog. Personally I thinks it sounds awful, but as the saying goes.... Everyone to their own.

LOST DREAMS

What a shame. A good barge that has lost it's owner. Basically a sound boat but needs the owner back. We see this on the waterways where there was a dream but for whatever reason the desire and enthusiasm is gone.

Someone did spend time on the calligraphy.

It looks like the barge has not been attended to in a long time. Certainly needs a complete paint, varnish job and the rest. Yet the barge is moored in the port and connected to shore power so they are paying mooring fees.

Lost the enthusiasm. Don't fancy restoring that coach deck, needs more than a scrape.

A WALK IN THE CITY

While Margaret has been away I've been revarnishing the pigeon boxes (raised windows on the coach deck) for the salon and bedroom. Great fun scraping off all the old varnish, sanding, resanding and then 7 or 8 coats of varnish. The good news is that when you get to the varnish stage you can only do one coat a day. So it's time for a bimble around Metz. Almost opposite Soraya's mooring is a white water facility. It is an old water course that connects 2 courses of the Moselle river. As there are locks, barrages etc there is a substantial level difference between the 2 courses. When required they drop part of the barrage and the torrent flows. Very popular and right in the city centre, 200m from the cathedral. 

A few of the dozens of skilled fun seekers.

Obviously there are many sights in the city many are touristy. The cathedral, the Musée de la Cour d'Or, the various 'Places', Imperial District etc. Sometimes it is the little things that amuse. In a back street I came across this takeaway. Perhaps the owner is suffering from 'delusions of grandeur'.

'Palace of the Sun'. I don't think so.

If the photograph of the frankfurter is his main attraction I don't think he will be seeing any of my custom.

SUNRISE IN METZ AND NOISES

I thought it was time for a pretty photograph. This was taken at 5.15am this morning. 

View of the Quai de Regates and Cathédrale de Metz. All looks very still!

Why was I up at 5 in the morning you may ask. Noises! Every morning early at 5-7am there is a lot of 'noise' in the water around Soraya. I have discussed this with other residents of the port. They have equally heard sounds. River Monsters!? Whatever it is it's active and big. It seems to produce a lot of bubbles, splashes and knocks into boats. Last year in Montereau-Fault-Yonne there was a lot of activity on the quayside, then the police arrived. It had been reported that there was a body in the water! Lot's of activity, 'Excusez-moi, pouvons-nous venir sur votre bateau? Nous cherchons un corps non identifié dans la rivière.' 'Oui certainement.' The search continued. The body was found under a pontoon. After a lot of prodding with poles the body came out. It proved to be a dead catfish but of human proportions, slightly decomposed. If it was the Wels Catfish they can, apparently grow up to 5m and 300kg, normally 2m and 80kg. It was dragged up a slipway. Later the Maire arrived. Two employees had been given the job to pick it up and remove! Must have been short straws. Going back to this morning and previous days I think we have a similar 'monster' in the lake that the port resides, an offshoot from La Moselle. That aside the sun rise was worth a photograph and I did not see any movement or noises whilst I was out on deck. Pleased I didn't!

CÉLÉBRITÉ LOCALE

People sometimes ask what we do on Soraya, well inbetween the usual navigation, checking out local culture, restaurants, bars and routine maintenance there is always the TV appearances.

Filming my interview for French TV Channel 3.

A knock on the wheelhouse door and Monsieur Le Capitaine was at the door with two guys who were obviously TV crew. The camera gear and microphone were a giveaway. The Capitaine introduced me and made a hasty retreat. The crew explained the port had just been awarded a 'Blue Flag' for the quality of the port and environmental considerations. They were doing a short piece on the news this evening regarding the port and would like to interview me as a non local as to why we had chosen Metz to stay. Fortunately I wasn't in my painting outfit. The interview started without delay. Allegedly it will go out at 7pm in the Lorraine coverage area this evening and afterwards on the Internet. Who knows?

MORNING COFFEE

When in Rome sorry Metz start the day right. A run, a trip to the Marché Couvert and the boulangerie for a few essentials and a stop on the way back to Soraya at Pop White for a coffee +.

Good presentation.

Pop White is not only a great place for coffee, people watching etc. it's also a 'concept store'. I'm not sure what the concept is, judging by the contents. I think it's real market is expensive nice things that you don't need or ever even knew existed. Did I mention their 'bottled cakes'? Maybe they are essential. Perhaps not, maybe later.

MARCHÉ COUVERT

Another city, another Marché. Or have I said that before. Metz does not disappoint on the Saturday market. It's big both inside and especially outside all around the cathedral and surrounding streets.

Orange cake, Colormbey cake plus others.

There is a meat stall in the covered market. Well when I say a stall I say that as it is in the market but it's huge and is more of an industry selling meat to the public and obviously supplying meat to Metz's many restaurants. It is jam packed with customers and whilst it's hard to count as the stall is so big and busy I counted 40+ staff! They must get through a lot of meat.

Fresh garlic.

Quiche and Tart Lorraine plus Torteau Fromage.

A new cheese!! Bouyguette. A goats cheese.

I thought we needed a new cheese on the blog, we haven't had one for a while. Which reminds me of a quote by Charles de Gaulle: "How can you expect to govern a country that has two hundred and forty six kinds of cheese".

METZ

Metz. What a great city and a fantastic mooring right in the city centre a few minutes walk from most areas of the historic centre and most areas of interest. I'll be doing plenty of bimbling and exploring as Margaret is on R&R in the UK for a week. The mooring is certainly one of the best, the views, the proximity to the centre, the price/facilities and off the main navigable channel hence away from heavy river traffic. Metz itself is a maze of small pedestrian streets with lots of cafés, bars and restaurants. Very much a 'café society'.

View of the river and La Cathédrale at night.

Only small problem, went out on Scoots to a larger supermarket on the outskirts of the town, so far so good. Couldn't get back! Well I did eventually. With the combination of the centre being pedestrianised, lots of one way streets, about four waterways dissecting Metz, it's almost impossible. SatNav got me 'close' to Soraya but not there. After lots of U turns and dead ends I made it.

View from the back deck. Well, after all that driving a refresher was called for.

It isn't all wine and reading, I aim to accomplish quite a bit of revarnishing while Margaret is away. Oh good, she says, it'll all be done when I get back!

THE FLASHING GNOMES AND ANOTHER SORAYA

Many of the locks have lock gardens which are well looked after and garden gnomes often play a large part. There were several gnomes in this garden together with animals, large birds, wheelbarrows, planters etc. I was particularly amused by this pair showing off to each other, or perhaps to anyone going by.

The flashing gnomes

We were moored up in another lock and a gentleman came up to us and said he had a boat which was also called Soraya moored about 5 km up the canal. Sure enough a while later we passed Soraya, very different from ours.

Soraya the Second

PAPIER-MÂCHÉ AND BEACH VOLLEYBALL

We are currently in a small town we have not heard of before, Pont-à-Mousson on La Moselle towards Metz and the Luxembourg/German boarder. We stopped as it had good moorings and was the right time of day. What a surprise, it's lovely. So much so we stayed for a couple of days. Whilst taking in the usual architecture, a coffee or two and sampling a couple of beers we saw advertised 'Musée de Papier'. Just off the town square, well it's a triangle, and into the museum. All very up to date and only been open for a few years. We reckon we were the first customers that day/week? As soon as we arrived the first movement of the receptionist was to flick on all the fuses in the very conveniently placed fuse box to turn on all the lighting for the exhibits. The museum does what it says, all about paper, in particular a lot about papier-mâché work and lacquered work. I don't know why this museum in mid northern France should have the set of furniture below, yes all made from papier-mâché. 

Furniture that used to dress the 'Salon de la Reine Victoria' from Osborne House.

Being a weekend and the town trying to project itself as a get up and go place the town square (triangle) was given over to Beach Volleyball. We had to laugh as the event was sponsored by a local company that extracted sand from the Moselle valley. You can imagine the conversation in the board room. 'So how do we advertise ourselves more?' I know lets cover the square in sand and have Beach Volleyball! Lots of sand (virtually free), lots of young people running around, lots of placards advertising the company. Where can it go wrong? It didn't, it was great fun.

 

Beach Volleyball in full swing, 5 courts, a BBQ and of course a bar.

FIRST CROP OF THE YEAR

Our vegetable garden isn't extensive but we grow lettuces, herbs and a few flowers.

The first lettuce of the year......for lunch

It couldn't be fresher, garden to plate 30 seconds. It doesn't need washing and no slugs!

A TUNNEL, A TOW AND AN AQUEDUCT

We are motoring at the moment. It makes a change and on our way to Metz. The exciting thing, for us, is that we have moved from the Seine Basin to the Rhine Basin. No more up hill it's all down hill from now on. At the top of Le Canal de la Marne au Rhin there is the Tunnel de Mauvages, a mere 5 km long (4877m to be precise). Until 2011 you used to be towed through, now it's DIY, one at a time. Due to its narrowness it takes about 1 to 1.5 hours and to make sure all goes well you are accompanied by one of the VNF waterways personnel on a bike. I suppose they still feel they should escort you as they have always done. The journey is quite stressful as it is full on concentration for an hour and a half with only inches to spare on either side. One wrong move and the wheelhouse roof gets a nasty scrape.

In the tunnel with our cycling escort.

The towing vessel has certainly made its last navigation, in a state of dereliction at one end of the tunnel. It did provide a solid mooring for the night.

The derelict toueur with Soraya ready to go.

After the tunnel there is a superb aqueduct over La Meuse. There are many small aqueducts or 'Pont Canal' as they are called. This one was quite dramatic.

Soraya braving the heights over the river Meuse.