6/30 Vic-sur-Seille to Chateau Alteville

There used to be a auberge in Vic-sur-Seille but it's closed now and it presents a logistical problem for the walker. The next stage brings you to the Chateau Alteville. The day past the Chateau brings you to the village of Gondrexange where a similar lack of lodging exits. So my solution to overcome these bottleneck lodging problems was to arrange with David Bartholemy - the Chateau proprietor- a 3 night stay at the Chateau Alteville with a car shuttle to the respective towns. This solved the lodging issue in an elegant way as it allowed members of the group to opt out for a rest, but really to savor the experience here. The Chateaux was built by a general of Napoleon but had been in David's family for generations. Indeed he grew up here watching guests come and go- thus he is raised as natural host and he lives here with his young family, parents and extended family. The chateau miraculously survived the wars and the furnishings were hidden to survive as well. The experience then is entirely unique. We dined on homemade food some of it right from the Chateau. Around a large dining table each night we sat with guests of the day from France, Luxembourg , Belgium, Holland and Germany. The languages were a joy to hear and the discussions wonderful and fun. After dinner we moved into the salon where we would continue the discussions over night cap/ tea or coffee. We even had billiards instruction from a Dutch couple. The experience lasted till 11 pm and sleep was good each night. In our preparitory reading for the trip the American girls and the Irishman Rothery all wrote favorably of the Chateau and it's my pleasure to say that 14 years after the last report the Chateau Alteville remains an experience for the walker not to miss!

So as arranged Tammy and I had a ride back to Vic-sur-Seille then walked the GR back to the Chateau. The kids opted to rest. Back in Vic... We paused to peek into the ancient church and pick up lunch sandwiches from the bakery .
Then we headed out of town on the road till crossing a large highway when we went into a brushy path between fields . We emerged again on highway with fast traffic but after less then a km we turned off into the old Vauban fortified town of Marsal. The ramparts are still there and the church is made of reddish sandstone. We walked from town in building heat finally stoping to eat along the road under a shady tree. Eventually we moved into forest and despite knowing there was a turn along the path, missed this and ended up wandering off course without realizing the error for some time. With the GPS we eventuallynavigated back onto muddy trail. Nearing the Chateau we took a side trip to Tarquinpol, a village of significant antiquity. Here we saw 5 cranes on the rooftops. Out of water in the heat we headed back to the Chateau. Cleaned up,  that evening we enjoyed a dinner of wild boar- delicious! A large thunderstorm topped off the day.