Settling in...

We had a long day yesterday, a continuation of the day before. Arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport at 8:30 am, we figured we would miss our train out of Paris, so we exchanged our train tickets and took the TGV to the Lorraine TGV station, located in the middle of the countryside about 20 minutes south of Metz. During the 90 minute ride through the French countryside, we saw many grain elevators and green fields. Getting on and off the train was a bit difficult - carrying six suitcases of various sizes and two briefcases, we must have been a sight to behold! We hopped on a shuttle to Metz - the driver was nice enough to put our bags in the baggage compartment - and went on a route that included the regional post office, the regional airport, back to the post office and then on to Metz.

We unloaded our bags at the train station and found a place to sit to await Nicolas, a staff member at Georgia Tech-Lorraine (GTL), who helped us rent a car and took us to our apartment. Located across the street from the downtown area, the apartment consists of a large living room, a smallish kitchen, a study, three bedrooms, a tub and a shower. When we arrived, Nicolas went around the apartment turning on heaters in each room as it was quite cold. He showed us the particulars of the apartment and gave us the keys - there are four doors one must open before one gets into the apartment itself - and left. We then followed him and went to explore the downtown area and get a bite to eat.

Metz is known for Christmas markets located throughout the downtown area. The markets are charming, with vendors selling everything from cheese to spices to escargot. Bakeries and chocolate shops abound! People were loading up on bread and pastries (especially boches de Noel - special for Christmas). We ate a mid-afternoon lunch of soup, a savory crepe, and cider, and bought some pastries to eat later - they constituted our dinner!

When we returned to the apartment, all the lights and heat were off. I had noticed a flashlight (thank goodness!) and we looked into the fuse box but didn't see anything wrong. With the phone inoperable, David had to go out, find a phone and call Nicolas to help us out. Nicolas arrived about 10 minutes later, turned a switch which we hadn't seen, and voila, the eletricity and heat returned. Yet, when we used an appliance or turned up a heater, the electricity would go off again. This lasted for about an hour, and the place was getting colder and colder. Once the electricity had stayed on for 40 minutes, most likely a result of turning down the heat in the other rooms, we decided to get some sleep. It was still cold, so we slept in our clothes with duvets from the other beds covering us!

Nicolas came by at about 10 am this morning and said that an electrician would come by at some point today. That happened to be about five minutes after David left to get breakfast and other provisions. Of course, the electrician didn't speak English and I couldn't convey the problem in French. He checked out the fuse box and looked around and couldn't find anything wrong. Fortunately, David returned just as he was leaving, and we all figured that we had overloaded the system when we turned on all the heaters at once.

After a mid-morning breakfast, we ventured off to take photos of the markets, visit the Metz Cathedral (with beautiful Marc Chagall windows depicting Old Testament themes), make reservations for dinner, and buy food for the next couple of days at a nearby grocery store. We returned to a warm apartment and unpacked, so we're feeling settled.

My first impressions are Metz are quite good. The people are friendly (especially if you speak French like David) and their warmth helps overcome the cold weather. We are lucky to be in the center of town in an apartment that is quiet but close to shopping and other attractions.