AROUND SEXEY

May 15, 2011

We are staying in the village of Sexey aux Forges. This little village along the Moselle River is a bedroom community for the city of Nancy. There are several small villages nestled in the hills along the river. Our village has only a boulangerie, but no marche. The patisserie truck comes by in the morning around 9 to sell bread and other bakery items. Luckily Nancy has all of the big supermarkets so I can buy too much food.

Sexey also has a Mairie and a school and about 40 homes. The houses run along the river and up a steep street to our street, rue l’evique We don't see many people out but we did meet the little old man who lives next door. He was obviously interested in who we are, so we went to introduce ourselves. He has some trouble understanding my French and I think that in addition to my American accent I also may have a southern French accent. We mentioned to our hostess that we had met the little old gentleman, and she informed us that he is actually a she. Boy, we couldn't tell that! In France one rarely sees women, especially older women, in scruffy, baggy farmer blue jeans, so it is a natural mistake.

Our exchange home is quite spacious. Three floors with three bedrooms, a huge living room, big kitchen and nice family room. The views of the Moselle River and the little villages and hamlets dotting the wooded hillsides can be seen from the kitchen and family room, Each morning brings another beautiful sunrise with a layer of fog nestling in the valley. Don jumps up to take another picture just as the sun peeks over the hillside.

We are adjusting to the time change and beginning to get into a normal routine. Saturday we did our first bike ride, along the bike path at the edge of the river. The route is varied surfaces, sometimes dirt and gravel and sometimes pavement. There are many campgrounds along the route. We rode a loop of about 17 miles. As we neared home we stopped in the forest, alongside a pretty meadow, for our picnic lunch. Just as we finished a few raindrops began to splat. We quickly packed up and rode the last half mile to our house. By dinner time the rain had stopped, the pavement was dry and it was warm enough to have dinner on the patio with the neighbor cows.


Sunday we bought a baguette from the bread truck and then went out on our ride. This ride we went upstream along the river and found the bike path to be in very good shape, pavement and well marked all the way. Spring is bodaciously bursting here. We rode through beautiful leafy stands of maple, poplar and oak, and past verdant meadows with cows munching on buttercups. As we rode along we were serenaded by thousands of birds, chirping, trilling, cawing, warbling.


Sometimes the path took us along the riverbank and sometimes we would be diverted to the old towpath along a narrow canal. Along the river we saw several very large foundries operating at full speed. Big barges bring recycled metals upriver for processing. One factory made industrial wire because we could see the huge coils staked alongside the riverbank waiting to be picked up for deliver to an end user.

We set out to get our ride done in the morning because the weatherman predicted rain showers at noon. As we were on our way home we heard the church bells chiming noon and just one minute later a big black cloud rolled over and opened up and the rain came down. I wish channel 5 pinpoint weather could be that accurate.

We made it home without getting too drenched and took a hot shower to warm up. Don started a nice fire and we are cozy as can be. Sometimes the sun comes out and two minutes later it rains again. Spring weather.

Links today ride: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/85724763

Weather: http://www.weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/FRXX5361