Troyes

On a tip from an online article, we headed south for an evening in Troyes. Thinking it would be a lovely day for a drive, we forsook the tolled highway for the more scenic backroads.  We wanted to enjoy the French countryside- maybe see some vineyards?- and, after all, isn't that the purpose of a road trip?  As it turned out, it rained the entire duration of the drive and the road from Reims to Troyes does not travel through any vineyards.  Plus, Rob very belatedly realized that he didn't really know exactly what was so great about Troyes (he just does whatever the internet tells him to), so we didn't really know what to do once we got there.  The whole thing had the makings of a disaster.  

But, as we pulled into town, the skies cleared and the rain stopped.  We parked and walked into what turned out to be a beautiful old-town center.  The city center of Troyes is shaped like a champagne cork and still has a very medieval feel.  Many of the homes and cafés are in these wonderful, crooked wooden houses and the streets are narrow and winding.  

The town has its share of Giant European Churches, too, although it was too late in the day to go inside (a nice relief after Riems and Ghent), we did appreciate the tiled roof of one and the gargoyles of another:

After wandering around, we had a nice, people-watching dinner in a narrow street, while a French woman sang old Sinatra and Dean Martin songs.  It was a lovely end to a long day and we headed back to Reims to get some sleep in preparation for the following day in Epernay...