These are the adventures of Andy and Sally Rawnsley on their narrowboat "The Puzzler". We have been living on the boat for over nine years now and are still loving it. Our Ulster born Shih Tzu, Shannon, has grown up, and has taken over the boat! After three wonderful years in Ireland, we transported The Puzzler to The Netherlands, and spent a year there. In 2015 we went southwards, to reach the north of France by June. After glorious weather throughout the summer, we arrived in Roanne in late October, and enjoyed our winter in this friendly port. We cruised extensively in France in 2016, 2017 and 2018, returning to Roanne each winter.


Thursday 8 September 2016

29th - 30th August. On from Liverdun to Nancy where we visited Stanislas Square and the Musée de Lorraine. The Son et Lumière in the square was wonderful!


Leaving our mooring, we sailed past Liverdun, which can be seen on the hillside above us.
On to moor in Nancy. The main port is on the right, for those who want to pay for water and electricity. We are on the left, with an attractive park beside us.
The flowers in the Godron garden were in a different class to those on The Puzzler. This garden was laid out in 1758, on the orders of Stanislas, the last duke of Lorraine, and was Nancy's first botanical gardens.
Place Stanislas is considered one of the beautiful royal “places” in Europe. This 18th century square and the surrounding buildings are on Unesco's World Heritage List, having been built in 1755.


Many of the surroundings of the square are gold embossed, and look fantastic.



Time for a rest!

After a picnic lunch in the park, we walked to the Porte de la Craffe, which is the oldest fortification in Nancy, built in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Then it was back to the Eglise des Cordeliers, which is now part of the Museum of Lorraine.


This church was built in the 15th century.



This was the mausoleum of the Dukes of Lorraine, and there are many carved statues of them, with animals at their feet.

In the church the “old” is best represented by this ancient carving of the Last Supper.


And the “new” is shown in the painting of the Burning Bush, on a screen, by Bruno Carbonnet in 1996.
Every evening there is Son et Lumière in Stanislas Square, with pictures projected on to all the buildings around the square. This shows the town hall in daytime, followed by some of the projections. It was fantastic!

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