Alsace; Lorraine; Burgundy

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We collected the car and somehow navigated to Nancy with a few tolls on the way. Not too stressed by the drive or by my directions and navigations. We head for the main plaza and find street parking, my reverse parking - on the opposide side of the road is not great. The actual plaza of Nancy was spectacular at night to say the least. The French really know how to show something off.
By Day 2 we are already looking a little frazzled trying to find our way around the centre of the city, while looking for parking etc. Hence, the investement in TomTom our GPS system. To make Gary feel right at home, I have chosen Jane the voice, so Gary still has a woman piping commands at him. Jane has now directed us to Strasbourg, Dijon and many other scenic places and she has only been yelled at a few times. Her stats are far better then mine would have been. You never know, I might change Jane to a male voice in a few weeks. So far the scenery has not disappointed, one minute open green fields the next there are snow capped towns with church steeples standing high into the mist. The weather is fluctuating from 7C° to -2C°, and yes it is cold. I have invested in a few pairs of warm socks and another jacket, but I am still cold.
I have been enjoying our daily visits to the markets to buy our baguettes, pastries, fresh produce or whatever else we decide for lunch. Gary occupies his time choosing the wine to go with the meal, and usually in keeping with the region. How do you chill your white wine without a fridge? Leave it in the boot of the car for a few hours, result, perfectly chilled riesling. The reds are more the problem, trying to prevent them from chilling. One could get very fat travelling through France.
Penny

NANCY
There once was an OLD boy named Yeatesy
We havent seen much of him lately
To France he took a fancy
and finished up in NANCY
so now he's an old NANCY BOY

sorry, I couldn't resist that one.
Nancy, minimum temperature 7C°, maximim 7C°. At least it is consistently cold.

STRASBOURG
Driving Pepe the Peugot can get awfully frustrating on the wrong side of the road when you don't know where you are going. Response - the purchase of GPS, in Aussie MPS - marriage preservation system. If bigamy was legal, I would marry TomTom / Jane. Approaching Strasbourg, the architecture and town names become much more germanic, hardly surprising only a few clicks from the Rhine- from here on Penny, pack away the goose step and don't mention the war. Strasbourg itself could be renamed Hansel and Gretel Bourg with the old city jammed packed with half-timbered houses, cobbled streets etc following the river which winds its way through town. How do you find your way around? Just follow the bread crumbs.
The weather has turned ugly with first rain; then sleet, then eventually cold enough for snow. How do you stop the precipitation? Buy an umbrella. Then at least it just stays cold not wet. The cold does force you inside to some cosy little bars / cafes. The draught beer is actually quite palatable and the wines, well we have switched to Rieslings. When in Alsace do as the Alsations. A little sweeter than our South Australian crisp version but I like it and you don't need to spend a bomb.
Leaving Strasbourg to head for Dijon isn't that far so we decided on a couple of transit stops on the way, most notably Colmar (thanks Greg and Marie for the advice) the TomTom and Pepe combinatiion allow that luxury.Colmar is like a more tranquil version of Strasbourg but the architecture is perhaps even more fairytalish. You feel like walking up and taking a big chunk of some gingerbread building for morning tea. Things got a little more tricky after Colmar. First Munster - I tried to put a French pronunciation on that one, but received lots of puzzled looks. It turns out you just pronounce it like Herman and his cohorts at 1313 Mocking Bird Lane. Following Munster we took a winding route over the Vosges Massif. Super scenic but we could not work out why we were the only car on the road as the snow got thicker and thicker. Answer - TomTom can't pre-empt road closures due to snow falls. After reaching the road block, Pepe pipes up with WARNING, risk of ice. Thanks for the scoop Pepe, can't wait for him to tell me the US invades Iraq.
DIJON
Mustard capital of the Cosmos. I have never been a huge fan of mustard, but am now converted. Dijon is also the capital of Burgundy so we've switched to some local reds - boy I love this country. Sharing a bottle of regional VIN every night is out of this world, not to mention the afternoon apertif in some local bar / cafe. Dijon itself is another atmospheric provincial city which we are using as a base for the region.
Agent Yeates, your mission, should you choose to accept, is to find any French city / town / village which isn't absolutely charming. I accept this mission but it does appear impossible. It would be easy to become blase but we fight the impulse.
The town / villages within striking distance of Dijon follow the trend of provincial charm. The names roll off the palate - Flavigny Sur Ozeraine (where chocolat was filmed - Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp where were you), Semur En Auxois, Vezelay, Avallon. Walled towns, cobbled streets etc. The building blocks of provincial character.
I recall mentioning Nancy being on the cool side. on reflection it was positively balmy. We have been as low as -3C° but seem to sit regularly around 4C° with light snow falls common. The snow can add to the ambience, the rain doesn't
Gary

More images at:

www.colvinyeates.zenfolio.com

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Photos

Nancy
Plaza Stanislav

Strasbourg
Waterfront Housing. position position position

Nancy
The cafe at the zoo

Strasbourg
Aerial view from the Citadelle

Colmar
Fairytale land

Route Des Cretes
Lonely Snowy Road

Dijon
Animal guards

Dijon
Notre Dame

Flavigny
Chocolat Town. The cold will turn you to stone

Semur
Even the postman has style