I'm in Lorraine, specifically Metz, where german culture begins to show itself a bit, that is trenches, pillboxes, and cemetaries. (sorry) That was Verdun anyway, my last stop on the road. The trenches and craters really are still there, but covered in giant fir trees now. Metz I'm enjoying, its probably the city that has impressed me the most, possibly because I didn't know that it even existed until a few weeks ago, and it turns out to be a beatiful, peaceful, cafe lined city in the best European tradition. The cathedral outdoes any I've ever seen. And the campground is right in town, so convenient.
Maybe I'm enjoying it because of the emotional highs that accompany it. On the way here the inevitable finally happened, and I got a total flat tire. My little pump was inadequate to refilling it enough to locate holes, so I was stuck. Fortunately not TOO far from Metz, but still far enough. I had no choice but to walk the rest of the way. I was pretty annoyed because I had been making good time, but since it was Saturday afternoon everything that would fix a bike would inevitably be closed by the time I got there, and everything closes on Sunday. Then I got sort of lost getting into the city because the signage is a lot worse than any other city I've been to. So by then I was pretty hungry and despirited at the prospect of two days till i could continue. Fortunately I happened upon a workaholic car garage, whose owner used to be a bike mechanic and he fixed everything up!!! Such luck, I can hardly believe it. He even tightened everything up and greased it.
Short of that, the weather has improved a lot, I'm headed south to Nancy and the east to Strasbourg. The French papers should really just be rename the Zinedine Zidane express, since that's all they really cover now. I'm now used to speedo wearing Dutchmen wandering around in the morning, and may take up the habit myself if I'm not careful.
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