We actually had a bit of a white-knuckle drive from Carl's to Metz once we got up in the hills north of Carl's village. It was snowing and blowing and the snow was starting to stick on the road. It wasn't all that bad except that it was unfamiliar territory and the roads were narrow and precipitous for a short ways. So, we stopped for some FrouFrou once we got out of the blustery weather....
Our place on the canal in Metz for two days...
Jan took a little walk about our local area of Metz, to get the lay of the land...
And I photographed some wildlife from the window of our room...
Below, a Grey Heron (I think)
Oddly enough, we had a ball watching a coot, and then the coot and it's mate, build their nest over the course of the two days we stayed on the canal. As somebody famously said, it's hard work! And work hard they did... jamming sticks and reeds together most of the two days we watched. And of course they were grateful for the occasional cracker that fell out of our window. It's hard work.
The waterborne American Coot is one good reminder that not everything that floats is a duck. A close look at a coot—that small head, those scrawny legs—reveals a different kind of bird entirely. Their dark bodies and white faces are common sights in nearly any open water across the continent, and they often mix with ducks. But they’re closer relatives of the gangly Sandhill Crane and the nearly invisible rails than of Mallards or teal.
We had a nice dinner down the way from the hotel we stayed in the final night in Metz. Somehow we managed to order something that resembled what we thought we were getting. They weren't very helpful with translations, but finally assigned a lesser waiter who spoke English to us. And the food and company were great. To the sky.
And it was time to head home.
On to our final stop, a hotel in a small town north of Paris and the CDG Airport. This was the view out of our window, a big new Mc Donald's, bordered by not one, not two, but three rotaries/roundabouts! We were tired, ready to get home, and didn't want to try to find an open restaurant in this little town on Easter, so we actually went to Mc Donald's for dinner.
Why, I never, at no time, in all my put-together ever did see such a thing...
Wouldn't you know we'd encounter Mc Donald's new touchscreen ordering system for the first time, exhausted and in a foreign country! Some nice young people helped us out though. I think we were the evening's entertainment for those who were having their Easter dinner at this eatery.
I mean, three year old's were over there punching stuff up on the screens! But the kids gave us some smiles, so it's all good.
Jan is ready to go home!
Is this a Stanley Kubrick movie?
Jan had way too much luggage...
On the plane, I threw all of my stuff in Jan's lap and I was comfortable and ready to go...
Another good trip!
