We arrived yesterday and spent time with the owners of these two – who quickly discovered they liked our bed.

The cats I mean!

We are staying in the Vosges Department of the Grand Est Region (previously Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine). Almost half of the Vosges is covered by woodlands and forests (the third highest in France), and almost 40% of the land is used for agriculture. The map below shows quite a bit of green around the red marker showing where Mandray is located.

Mick and I noticed that many of the towns and areas around here have German looking names, but I’ll write something about that in another post when I learn a bit more about the area.

I’ve never seen this before – where the commune of Mandray ends (displayed by a red line crossing through its name), less than 100m away, the next commune starts. You may not be able to see it in the photo on the left, but there is a sign on the right stating you are entering St Léonard.

The photo on the right shows the home we will be calling ours for the next three weeks. Mick and I are pretty sure we are going to be very comfortable here.

This part of France is very different from where we have come from. There is a lot of new building here. The house we are staying in for example, was built in the 1990s, and on a stroll this afternoon I discovered quite a bit of new building underway.

Not very attractive – these two were across the road from each other.

I think there is quite a deal of beauty in the area, scattered in between clumps of houses. These next two photos were taken on my walk this afternoon.

Before the owners headed off on their holiday, they told us lots of interesting places we can visit during our stay.

Apparently, quite a lot of wine is produced nearby, mostly white varieties. Even though we prefer red wines, Mick and I have decided we have to try them!