Tag Archives: 2014
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Checked in

The only downside of coming early is the waiting to check it.  After sitting around and looking at the world go by for what seemed like forever we have finally checked in.  The room is exactly as expected if not better.  We have a great 2 bedroom suite with a large living room and a […]

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Getting Robbed

As tourists, we are usually very conscious of our surroundings.   There are places in Europe where you see the pick pocket warnings – mostly in larger cities around the main tourists sites.  Getting robbed is not something anyone wants to experience, getting robbed willingly is a different story all together.  This brings me up to Caffe […]

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The Bell Tower

Another item on our agenda today was the bell tower of St. Mark’s Basilica which is one of Venice’s most recognizable landmarks. The current tower is an early 20th century reconstruction of the original tower which completely collapsed in 1902.  The tower took 10 years to rebuilt and it is an exact replica of the […]

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The Centre Pompidou

The Centre Pompidou-Metz is a museum of modern and contemporary arts in Metz. It is a branch of Pompidou arts centre of Paris, and features semi-permanent and temporary exhibitions from the large collection of the French National Museum of Modern Art, the largest European collection of 20th and 21st century arts. The museum is the […]

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The Arsenal

The Arsenal Concert Hall is a cultural venue dedicated specially to Classical and Erudite musics and located near the Esplanade garden in Metz.  The Arsenal is home to the French National Orchestra of Lorraine and almost 200 events are spread over the season period between September and June. The Arsenal has gained wide recognition as […]

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Templar’s Chapel

It is believed the Temple Chapel in Metz, rare in Lorraine for it octagonal design, was built about 1180 with additional reconstruction work in 1220, and the surrounding Templar structures destroyed following the dissolution of the order following the Friday 13th arrest of Templars by the agents of King Phillip IV in 1307. The small […]

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The Esplanade

The Esplanade is a giant park in the heart of Metz.  It is  bordered by the courthouse, the Arsenal, the Templar chapel and the Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains and it overlooks the valley of the Mosellle. This garden mainly consists of linden and chestnut trees with a large fountain in the centre and a lot of flowers. The World […]

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The Germans’ Gate

The Germans’ Gate from the 13th century is one of the last medieval bridge castles found in France.  As a historic Garrison town, Metz has been heavily influenced by military architecture throughout its history. From ancient history to the present, the city has been successively fortified and modified to accommodate the troops stationed there. Defensive walls from classical antiquity […]

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Église Saint-Eucaire

The Church of St. Eucaire, was built in the  fifth century, it was extensively damaged during the French Revolution.   It is dedicated to the Bishop of Trier Eucharius. The church is currently undergoing a massive renovation.  Its claim to fame are the relics of St. Blaise who at one point saved a boy who was […]

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Protestant New Temple

A short walk from the Cathedral  at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers is the New Protestant Temple.  After German annexation, Metz became a showcase city  of Wilhelmine empire. The architectural eclecticism is reflected by the appearance of many buildings in the Romanesque Revival style, Central Post Office, the New Temple or a […]

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Metz Cathedral

There are a lot of churches here, some old, some newer, some very large and some small. All great in their own right, all steeped in history.  Metz Cathedral is no different. Saint-Étienne de Metz (French for “Saint-Stephen of Metz”), also known as Metz Cathedral, is a historic Roman Catholic cathedral in Metz, capital of Lorraine, […]

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St. Martin

The Church of St. Martin is one of the oldest Catholic parish church of Metz. The church has been rebuilt and remodelled a number of times over the course of the history.   Its construction dates from the late twelfth century or early thirteenth century. The massive pillars, and the overall arrangement of them is  reminiscent of […]

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Le Dauphine

A few steps away from the hotel on a quiet little street behind some government buildings is Le Dauphine.  A small bistro where we had dinner.  Long story short, if you are in Metz looking for a single portion of  steak tartar that is well spiced and large enough to feed a small village this […]

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We are in Metz

We have arrived – in fabulous Metz. Metz has a rich 3,000-year-history, having variously been a Celtic oppidum, an important Gallo-Roman city, the Merovingian capital of the Austrasia kingdom, the birthplace of the Carolingian dynasty, a cradle of the Gregorian chant, and one of the oldest republics of the common era in Europe.  The city has […]

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Alfa Adventures

We are going to call this an Italian adventure in Germany on the way to France. We set off to Metz about 2 hours later than we though but we got going at a really good pace, at least initially so we were not worried. We knew that there would be some traffic just outside  Hockenheim because […]

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It's how the locals do it....

The Wardrobe Malfunction Paradigm

We have been on this adventure now for 421 days or  1 year, 1 month and 25 days.  It has to be said that we love being here and if it was possible we would stay here for good.  Europe is quite grand with its 1000 year old cathedrals and glorious piazzas amazing parks historical artifacts and […]

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Cardinal Giuseppe

While in Rome, our busy schedule did not allow us to meet with Papa Francesco!  However, not long after the visit to the Vatican we noticed that one of  our blog posts was checked out and favoured by – Cardinal Giuseppe, the right hand man of Papa Francesco himself!  Turns out Cardinal Giuseppe is quite […]

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Farewell Villanova

We are saying farewell to Agriturismo Villanova.  We had great time here, we had great rest, amazing breakfasts and met some great people from Wurzburg of all places – what a small world!  Everyone’s favourite pet here is Giro, in Italian Geeeero, you really got to stretch that ‘E’.  After Chateau de Varenne, I think this is […]

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Church of San Lorenzo

Like all the other villages this one too has its own little church.  The church, which was built in 1338, has a Gothic facade with a nice rose window, and a Baroque-style interior. On the facade, there is a bas-relief representing the martyrdom of San Lorenzo. On the XIVth-century triptych, you can see San Lorenzo […]

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Manarola

Manarola may be the oldest of the towns in the Cinque Terre, with the cornerstone of the church, San Lorenzo, dating from 1338. The local dialect is Manarolese, which is marginally different from the dialects in the nearby area. The name “Manarola” is probably dialectical evolution of the Latin, “magna rota”.  In the Manarolese dialect […]

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Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore is the first village in Cinque Terre when travelling north from La Spezia. The village, dating back to early thirteenth century, is known for its historic character and its wine, produced by the town’s vineyards. Riomaggiore is in the Riviera di Levante region and has shoreline on the Mediterranean’s Gulf of Genoa, with a small beach and […]

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Relax-a-tion

We had a busy day yesterday and today is not going to be any easier.  After an early breakfast we are grabbing a nice and quiet cappuccino on our patio before we set out on a boat cruise to Riomaggiore which is the last village of the Cinque Terre National Park.  We are going to […]

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La Picea

There are 47 restaurants in Levanto, we found this one – La Picea, on the outskirts of the old town – and  it just happens to be THE number one rated restaurant in the city.  This place is mostly for takeouts but there are some tables and chairs for people like us.  It is all […]

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Levanto

Levanto is a small town on the fringes of Cinque Terre and it is where we are staying at Villanova Agriturismo.  Levanto  has a great beach and it is only about a 5 min train ride to Monterosso which is the first town in the Cinque Terre National Park going from North to South.  Like […]

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