Page 207 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2024 LIMA

In my ancestor’s footsteps

The phone call came when I was al‐
ready in Châlons-en-Champagne.
“Madame,” said a deep voice at the
other end. “We will be waiting for you in
Rosières on Wednesday at 11AM.”
“Merci monsieur!” I couldn’t hide my ex‐
citement.
On the appointed day, my niece and I
followed Google maps’ mangled Franglish
directions two hours and thirty minutes
east of Châlons, across fields of undulating
mustard flowers. M. le maire and members
of his staff awaited in front of Rosières’
mairie, city hall, where I was handed a bou‐
quet of fresh flowers. But, as in Châlons-
en-Champagne, first things first. A welcome
apéritif was in order. In this case, glasses
of local bubbly and trays of local petits
fours.
In between sips, mayor Philippe Jonquet
and his colleague Philippe Bundt, filled us
in on the town’s history. Rosières, one of
Lorraine’s famed “villages fleuris”, flower‐
ing villages, lies a mere 24 kilometers from
Nancy, in the department of Meurthe et
Moselle. The area has been inhabited since
prehistoric times, and only after the 12th
century did it become known for its salt
mines, the town’s main source of income
until Napoleon 3rd had them shut down in
1760.
Before the free-flowing champagne
turned me into a weepy fool, our small del‐
egation set off along Rue Gambetta,

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