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Lorraine

Madeleines of Commercy-Madeleines and More Madeleines!

Madeleines of Commercy - Commercy France is home to the madeleine and these have to be one of my favorite cookies!  Madeleines are small shell shaped cookies that remind me of a personal sized morsel of pound cake. In French, a pound cake is called a quatre-quarts. Commercy is a little town with a population of less than ...

Roman Mosaic in Grand

The enormous Roman mosaic in Grand France was the floor of the basilica of Adesina during Roman times. Adesina was the Roman name for the village we now know as Grand. One of the largest known mosaics in Europe, this restored mosaic measures 232 square meters. A Bit of History A little bit of research leads me to believe ...

grand amphitheater

Grand Amphitheater

The  Grand Amphitheater is a Gallo-Roman amphitheater found in Grand France in the Lorraine Region. It was one of the largest amphitheaters in the Roman Empire. Dedicated to Apollo Grannus  who  was one of several Gaulish dieties. Grannus was a god of healing Located on the outskirts of the town, the amphitheater was ...

Photos Porte des Allemands

These Porte des Allemands photos are some of my favorite from our trip to Metz. Porte des Allemands spans the Seille River, facing toward the German border. It is Metz's last structure of its defensive fortifications dating back to the 13th century.   [caption id="attachment_632" align="aligncenter" width="629"] ...

Domremy Joan of Arc fresco

Joan of Arc One Courageous Young French Heroine born in Domrémy

Read my story in French » Joan of Arc  was born 1412 and burned alive at the age of 19 in 1431. Her birthplace was the little hamlet of Domrémy  France, now called Domrémy-la-Pucelle. La pucelle means “maid or virgin”. In this little hamlet of only 200 people, we visited Joan’s birthplace and the church where ...

Exploring the Alsace Lorraine and Metz

Metz, France has often been found under Alsace Lorraine Metz in guide books. However, since the administrative regions have been consolidated from 22 down 13, Metz now lies in the Grand-Est region. This includes the Alsace, Lorraine and Champagne-Ardenne regions. Metz was the capitol of the Lorraine before the ...

Fort Douaumont

Walking down into the bowels of Fort Douaumont is like stepping back in time. This fort was built in the late 1800s after the Franco Prussian War. During World War I it housed over 600 soldiers in its underground fortress. [caption id="attachment_380" align="aligncenter" width="449"] Fort Douaumont[/caption] [caption ...