When choosing the base for our further exploration of the Grand Est region, I was torn between Nancy and Metz. I chose Nancy partly because I fell in love with an apartment that was both beautiful and functional for our five-night stay. I didn’t consider that it didn’t have air conditioning. In the summer. In a country that was experiencing temperatures over 100 degrees.

The apartment was indeed stunning, but Jim wasn’t appreciating the beauty when we entered the hot, stuffy rooms. Luckily, the owner had provided a few fans, and more importantly, the weather had broken a couple days earlier so it was actually pretty cool outside at night. Our first night was still rough, but by the third night it was cool enough for me to use a blanket.

In other ways, the apartment did fulfill my expectations. The furnishings are a blend of art nouveau and art deco and has a living room, small kitchen area, balcony and a refrigerator and microwave. It’s on a busy shopping street during the day, but by evening the shops closed and street became quiet. There was no car traffic, only the occasional tram and city maintenance vehicles.

We didn’t really explore Nancy until our third day since we were off to battlefields and Metz first, but thanks to a connection made by our wonderful guide from Verdun we hooked up with a guide in Nancy and had another fascinating day.

We started at the Musee des Beaux Artes in Place Stanislas. The museum has works from the late Middle Ages to the present arranged in chronological order with paintings by famous artists including Rubens, Caravaggio, Picasso and Monet, along with a couple special exhibits of famous local artists – a Daum glassware collection and design works by and inspired by Jean Prouve. We did our usual slow, in-depth art exploration and realized we would never finish in time for our walking tour. The museum looks compact from the outside, but it holds a lot of treasures. So we had to breeze through the 20th century floors.

After a quick beer and champagne to sustain us, we met our guide, Romain. He gave us the background on Place Stanislas, which was built by a former Polish king whose daughter married Louis XV. Louis gave Stanislas a lot of money to live in style and oversee Nancy on his behalf, with the condition that the city would become part of France after Stanislas died. Stanislas returned the favor by building lots of gates, arches and fountains to honor Louis.

It would have been a win-win except Stanislas lived much longer than expected and left Louis a mountain of debt after he finally passed. Oh well, Stan left everyone a great square to enjoy. One of the highlights of the square is a light show the city puts on nightly during the summer at 10:45 p.m.

After a little more touring of the old town, we were off to two art nouveau destinations, the Ecole de Nancy, the former home of Eugene Corbin, the most important collector of art nouveau in the area, and Villa Majorelle, home of Louis Majorelle, one of the leaders of the movement.

As art nouveau developed around the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Ecole de Nancy was created to promote the decorative and industrial arts. Very similar to our experience in Glasgow, we learned about artists and artisans who created beautiful works in glass, metal and wood but don’t get the recognition of someone like Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Both homes contain stunning works of art, though an entire home of art nouveau is a lot. I think I prefer a vase, lamp or piece of furniture as an accent piece. But I do admire the philosophy that art should be accessible to everyone, which is why they infused beauty in everyday items.

The final part of the day wasn’t related to art or history. When Jim and I were on our Patagonia trip, our last stop was an uninhabited island that was the last parcel of land before traveling on to Antarctica. They have what they call a “post office” where travelers can write postcards to themselves and deposit in a bin. The postcards are separated by country and future travelers can select one to deliver to that person.

If I were normal, I’d have picked a postcard from someone in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. But I’m a little crazy, so I took a postcard from Nancy. At the time, we didn’t even know we would be staying in Nancy. I just knew we’d at least make a day trip here. Weirdly, the person that wrote the postcard didn’t even have the exact address. They had the street and the fact that the building was a tall one with seven floors.

Armed with this sketchy information, Romain helped us find the building. Upon answering the buzzer, the resident clearly didn’t know what we were talking about, but thankfully he came down to meet us. He spoke perfect English having traveled to the U.S. often for work. When I showed him the postcard he remembered that his mother-in-law had been on the trip. He would be seeing her the next day and would deliver the postcard to her. Wow! It was a mix of karma and determination that this postcard made its way back to the writer, and it was certainly a fun and unique adventure in Nancy!