Nancy, France

Long time no blog. What can I say; I was busy having a baby and learning to be a parent. As far as excuses go, I think that’s a pretty good one.

Rather than rehash the birth and the last few months I think I’ll skip ahead to our first trip with our brand spankin’ new little girl, Sabine.

After being cooped up for the month of January and the beginning of February, we decided to see how Sabine would travel. We went to Nancy, France which had been on our list for a while. Nancy is only about 3 ½ hours away so was a perfect spot for a long weekend. We had heard that Nancy had some beautiful plazas and nice architecture and as well as a good dining scene. There were a few Michelin starred restaurants that we thought we might try if Sabine was up to it.

We left Friday night and were lucky enough to have Sabine sleep the entire way. I wasn’t sure how she would do in the car since she’s only been in the car a few times. Up until that point, I walked everywhere so she wasn’t accustomed to being strapped down in the car seat like a mental patient.

My search for accommodation was a Iittle bit different this time around. Instead of trying to find a charming B&B like I usually do, I was simply looking for a place with parking and large rooms so that we wouldn’t feel too cramped with the pack n’ play and the stroller. I also wanted one that had a fridge and a microwave so we didn’t have to try to get out for breakfast. I settled on a room at Suitehotel just outside the city center.

When we arrived on Friday night, we were very excited to discover that we had a movie channel with 33 free movies in English! We will definitely stay in another Suitehotel. Although the décor is reminiscent of a dorm room with cheap modern looking lighting, the rooms are so spacious and great for a family. Our room would have comfortably held a family of 4 and a baby.

On Saturday after breakfast in the room, we ventured out. Our plan was to do some shopping as shops would be closed on Sunday and to try and have a really nice lunch. We had identified a restaurant that we wanted to try.

Our first stop, however, was to see the Place Stanislas. We had both seen pictures of this large plaza and heard how beautiful it was. We were both a little disappointed by the plaza. I think it was because pictures we had seen had been taken in the summer so all of the cafes and restaurants had tables set up lining the plaza. Since it was way too cold for anyone to eat outside, the plaza looked a little bare and forlorn. It also didn’t help that all of the fountains were frozen solid.

After a quick stop at the tourist office and a coffee at Commerce café, we set out to find the restaurant we wanted to eat at for lunch. Unfortunately, when we finally found the restaurant, we realized that it was Valentine’s Day weekend so they had a set meal which was 80 Euros per person. We weren’t ready to blow that much money on a meal when we had a 2 ½ month old in tow who didn’t look a bit sleepy.

After trying a few more restaurants which were all booked up, we finally ended up at a seafood restaurant which was ok but nothing I’d recommend to anyone.

We decided to shop for the rest of the afternoon. They had a lot of kid’s clothing shops and the stuff was so much cuter than what I’ve seen in Germany. I’d go back to Nancy just for the shops. We ended up just buying Sabine a few things but nothing for ourselves.

When we were shopped out, we sought out a restaurant that had been recommended by one of Jim’s coworkers. Unfortunately the restaurant didn’t open until 7:30. We decided we didn’t want to wait around for an hour only to find out that they were all booked up so we went in search of another option. After getting turned away at restaurants all over town, we finally went to a hole in the wall pizza joint. By this point, we were just happy to be somewhere warm. Since it was pretty deserted (obviously everyone else wanted to be at a nicer place for Valentine’s Day), Sabine’s crying didn’t seem to bother anyone.

Sunday morning Jim ran out to buy croissants for breakfast at a nearby bakery. After we packed up the car and checked out of the hotel, we walked into town to go visit the Beau Arts museum. Unfortunately, Sabine wasn’t too interested in the museum so started squawking in the second room. Luckily, there was a couch in one of the rooms so I was able to feed Sabine while Jim did a whirlwind tour of the museum. I think our museum days might be over for a while.

After the museum, we once again attempted to find a nice place for a meal. While we looked we ran into a small farmers market. A guy was giving out samples and somehow we ended up walking away with 50 Euros worth of cheese. I don’t know how that happened.

We weren’t any closer to finding a restaurant for lunch but Sabine needed hers so we stopped at a cute tea and coffee shop for a quick feed and a coffee.

We decided that we might be walking around forever before finding a restaurant with space so we went back over to the touristy restaurant row off of Place Stanislas and ended up at France’s equivalent to TGIF. The restaurant logo was a cow with a bow tie which I think says it all. Oh, how far we’ve fallen.

We briefly contemplated staying another day so that we could watch a bunch of movies in the hotel room and have one more go at a good meal. However, we decided that cost wise that didn’t make too much sense so we headed back to the hotel and got on the road.

Even though Nancy didn’t turn out to be the dining panacea we hoped for, it was still a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend.