Back on the Freshwater again for a new adventure. Not sure yet wether it is day or night or if we packed the right clothes for the season.Still jet-lagged and dazed from a 27 hour trip and a drive from Paris to St. Jean de Losne then on to Toul, we got straight into action. The Freshwater was de-winterised but a bit smelly and dirty inside-out. So we hosed, scrubbed, swept and shopped for the next couple of days. When finished we rewarded ourselves by visiting close-by Nancy.
Nancy’s royal Place Stanislas is a Unesco Heritage site. Through Nancy's own Arc de Triomphe we entered the old city with lanes lined with quaint shops and Sunday market stalls.
We bought a serve of hash browns made the French way with onions, cheese and leek varieties which we ate sitting on a park bench in the beautiful Parc de la Pépinière.
The following day we headed to Germany to catch up with family. It seemed that winter had returned after our first days in France had been warm and sunny.
The weather stayed cool and unsteady, but we still had a great family time.
On our return trip to Toul, we not only crossed 4 countries, but also had 4 seasons in one day: warm and cloudy in Germany, sunny and windy in the Netherlands, heavy rain driving through Belgium and clearing skies in Lorraine, France.
On the way, in Nijmegen, Austin took his two-way-radio test in English with friendly Geert-Jan Smolders. He passed with "Foxtrot, Lima, Yankee, India, November, Golf - Charlie, Oscar,Lima,Oscar,Uniform,Romeo, Sierra”(=flying colours).
This definitely was a reason to indulge in the obligatory “Safe arrival drinks”!