I have taken them to Strasbourg and Nancy, and today they are in Luxembourg on their own. This weekend we will be with the Grandiders again to travel to Germany.June 21 - Fête de la Musique - takes place all throughout France.
Here are some videos from all the different musicians we saw last night.
Rocky came to visit us here in Metz before going to a conference being held in Paris. Although Metz isn't a very exciting place Rocky came at a pretty exciting time. This was also a very good excuse for us to make the guest bedroom a more official guest bedroom. The blue futon is now in it's permanent home having been replaced by a dark grey one in our living room. It works very well because it fits perfectly in the space. 
The weather was pretty warm while he was here (except for the time when there was a huge downpour of rain...at least he got to see what the weather is usually like in Metz).
Ok, so for the more exciting part. During his stay the TGV (fast train) to Metz finally started running...and this means celebrations. The city set up a huge stage right in front of the gare and both Friday and Saturday nights there were performers and entertainment of all sorts. We got to see an orchestra, electronic sliding trombone-like instruments, a video of how train travel has evolved, the French "American Idol" equivalent runner-up, and fireworks.
Since he was leaving on Sunday (the first day of the TGV actually running) he was able to take it for his return trip to Paris. BUT the night before he left he took us out to dinner. We went to a restaurant that we've never been to before, but definitely will be returning to. We all had delicious 'french style' meals followed by dessert at Top Ice Cream...the best ice cream place in all of Metz.
Next we went to Villefranche. It is a very small place between Nice and Monaco. Most tourists don't visit Villefranche like they would other places because there really isn't much to do here. It is very peaceful and quiet, but there isn't much to see. We saw lots of boats...lots of boats...and that was good enough for David. We also found some decent places to eat, but it took us a really long time to find them. It didn't take long to see all of Villefranche, thus, we only stayed for 1 night. Then we headed toward Antibes. BUT, check out the gare in Villefranche.
It's really neat because it is so close to the water. Most of the time that you travel by train around the south of France this is the kind of view that you have...darn.
pretty neat. The entire country was full of security and police and barriers to keep people from seeing the race unless they had purchased tickets. They must have taken a lot of time prior to the race to walk everywhere and determine where the "track" (road they were using) could be seen because we weren't able to see anything no matter where we went. We heard it though! It was so loud! We were able to walk around some areas where they were selling racing merchandise and even get really close to the road where they were racing because the sound was deafening...we had to walk around with our ears covered because it hurt not to...but we still couldn't see anything. So, after a somewhat disappointing day of site seeing, we decided to come back again. We really wanted to go to the aquarium, but the day we were there, was the only day of the year that it is closed...the last day of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Our second trip to Monaco was much better. While many of the barriers were still up, we were able to walk around everywhere and even on the streets they were using for the race. We could see tire tracks and some of the advertisements were still up.
So, some history of Monaco... Monaco has been ruled by the House of Grimaldi since 1297, when François Grimaldi ("Malizia", "The Malicious") and his men captured the fortress protecting the famous Rock of Monaco while he was dressed as a Franciscan monk. He gave David some pointers on using a sword...
Then we ran into Prince Albert the 1st. HE gave David some pointers on how to steer a boat. Prince Albert the 2nd is currently living in the palace (Albert the 1st's grandson).
I'm pretty sure we walked around everywhere possible in Monaco. It is pretty small. But it was very pretty. There were boats everywhere - which David loved. And the scenery was just incredible. Most of the things we saw looked like they would be part of a resort or something and they also had a bunch of casinos...and those were very pretty buildings.
After our self guided walking tour we finally went back to the Aquarium. Of course it wasn't as large as our new one in Atlanta...or most other aquariums I've been too, but there were a bunch of neat things inside.
We even saw those eel things that are in the Little Mermaid movie - Flotsam and Jetsam. Well, we think that is what they are based off of...they can be 6 feet long and have those creepy looking faces. We also saw a lot of the characters from Finding Nemo. Nemo of course...Mr. Johansen (the flat fish with eyes on top of this body..the "kids" got into his yard before school one day)...I'm pretty sure I saw the fish that Gill was based off of...star fish (Peach)...and one fish that looked like Gurgle (the fish that hates being dirty). The Aquarium also included a Museum. Most of the things in the museum are from the travels of Prince Albert the 1st and they was also a section that Prince Albert the 2nd had contributed to. Albert the 2nd actually brought a chunk of ice from the North Pole back with him and they have it in a container that is keeping it frozen. They also had models of Albert the 1st's sail boats and equipment. 
And this model of a very old submarine that David tested out. I can't imagine trying to use this thing...there are so many knobs and handles and things to think about....and I wonder if it had a window so they could look out of it...I guess they would need one or what is the point huh? It was all pretty interesting and we were really glad that we were finally able to go.
So, David and I recommend visiting Monaco if you are ever in the south of France...just don't go on the last day of the Monaco Grand Prix.
After an 11-hour overnight train ride from Metz, we were in Nice. We walked to our hotel and checked in. We were a little early to check in but this ended up being to our benefit. We were planning on leaving our bags in the hotel lobby area while we began site seeing but just as we were about to leave the lady at the hotel gave us a key so we could take our things up to a room. We thought that this would be a temporary room but it turns out that they gave it to us for the duration of our stay. Why does this matter? Well, they gave us a room with 3 beds! 1 double and 2 twin! If you have ever been in a hotel room in France you will understand that this is a very large room. Most French hotel rooms are very small.
After we washed up a bit we headed out to our first site seeing destination. La Turbie.
Here, there is a monument and small museum. Before we went it we walked around a little because we heard a very strange noise. It sounded like a billion gigantic bumble bees swarming around. At the edge of a sharp cliff, we realized we were looking down on Monaco. Then it made sense... the Monaco Grand Prix was going on and we were hearing the noise from the race cars echoing off of all the cliffs and buildings and the water. At first it was hard to pinpoint where the cars were actually driving but eventually we got a glimpse of a tiny speck moving really fast along a road. I'm not a big racing fan but it was neat to see.
Then we went to the monument, which is currently very destroyed,
as are most pieces of history in Europe. It is called Trophée des Alpes...or the Trophy of Augustus. erected between 25 -14 BC in honor of Emperor Augustus, who subdued the Gaulish tribes. Although it isn't much to look at now the museum had a replica of what it looked like when it was first built. There was hardly anyone here because it isn't a typical tourist attraction, but when you have the help of Rick Steves you can find anything! :o)
Since there were so few people there we got a guided tour up the monument (it has been slightly renovated thanks to some rich Americans who fell in love with it many years ago...so now it has stairs to the top and a few columns so that you can get an idea of what it was like long ago.) It was also getting a little rainy and windy so we didn't linger long.
After our time there we headed to find some lunch. We ate a a restaurant (also recommended by Rick Steves) that overlooked part of the Mediterranean. We spoke with our waiter and he told us that about 10 days prior to our visit Rick Steves had actually been there...and he sat at the table that was right next to us. Darn, just missed him. It would have been funny though to bump into the guy whose travel advice we were following as we were following it.
After lunch we did some walking around just to see the area - because the monument was actually the only thing really exciting in the town. But, we did find some animals. There were two cats...this red one was the most friendly. It was rubbing all over my legs. ...I've been seriously cat deprived, I loved it. Then we found some goats. Haha, yep, goats. They were standing on the edge of a cliff...like mountain goats...BUT we are pretty sure they are milk goats because they smelled just like goat cheese! It was weird! The goat cheese (chèvre) that I buy at the store smelled just like these guys - seriously. There were a couple little ones too and they were cute.
Then we left La Turbie (via bus) and went back to Nice. We spent a lot of time walking around Nice by the water and looking at the really huge hotels that line the shores. It is just like the popular beach destinations in the US with some 'surf' shops, restaurants beach-side, and other beachy things, but the water was beautiful and we didn't get sick of looking at it.
One day, when we were heading the beach to get a little sun I walked into a fence that had been set up because they have been doing a lot of construction. It hurt pretty bad and bled a lot but the most interesting part is... Right after I cut myself we looked for a place where I could clean it out (aka place with public restrooms). The closest place we found was a McDonald's. :o) We walked in and noticed that all the tables and chairs were stacked up like it was closed. Well...it was. They were about to have some repairmen work on the water line or something. But, after they saw my arm, they were quick to help out. One of the ladies that was there got some hydrogen peroxide-like stuff and some gauze and a band aide from their first aid kit. I didn't think about it at the time, but they could have just told us to go to the nearest Pharmacy. Lesson: (if American) when in need in a foreign country seek out a Micky D's! haha.
After all that David bought me a strawberry ice cream cone :o) and we headed to the beach. Honestly, it was a little too late for a beach trip. The sun was setting quickly now and it was getting a bit chilly so we didn't stay long. Eventually we left, found some Chinese take-out for dinner and ate back in our hotel room with chopsticks.
The last night we spent in Nice we went to another Rick Steves recommended restaurant. Here we ordered a Menu (this doesn't mean the booklet you get to see your meal options), in France a Menu is a 'coursed' meal - in this case 3 courses (appetizer, main, and dessert). David followed a Rick Steves recommendation for his appetizer and this is what he got! The largest pile of sausages and pate we've ever seen served. At first he was a little nervous, thinking that he was supposed to eat the whole thing, but he asked the waitress and she told him to just take what he wanted and leave the rest. We think they just pass it around to whoever orders this stuff until it's gone. It was definitely a memory making moment though. I got a salad. For our next course David had duck and I had veal (I know, I said I'd never do it). Then for dessert David had ice cream and I had chocolate "cake." ..in France cakes aren't the same as they are in the US...not fluffy, more dense.
While in Nice we also did some people watching at the beach, tried some bread from an award winning bakery, and went into their most famous hotel - Hotel Negresco. It was a very nice first destination for our trip.
Look who came to visit us before we left on our vacation!
