Un petit voyage en France

Another Monday already?! Where does the weekend go?

I first want to thank all of you who linked up to the Storytellers Blog Hop! What a great turn out! And I found some great new reads, re-read some classic posts, and enjoyed hopping around each site. So I hope you did too :) And if you missed out on linking up, you can still have a good chance to read up on some new blogs. Check out the button that links to the hop on the right side. It'll be there all month :)

With hockey playoffs still dragging on (let's see how many times I say that in the next month) the boys had Friday, Saturday and Sunday free. A weekend without practices, games or anything, unheard of! Especially in playoffs.

So instead of spending quality time with the bunnies and goaties, which was hard to turn down, the hubs and I figured we would go visit a country we had never been to.

I have to admit it is pretty embarrassing that we hadn't been to France before this past weekend. Living in Germany for three seasons now, you would think that we would have at least wandered over there once or twice before. But nope, and that is ok, we have seen many other places, so France was just waiting its turn. 

A mini vacation to the Alsace region brought along with it many iconic things that France is known for. There was no lacking in vineyards, mild and fruity wines, strong but delicious cheeses, and beautiful and distinct architecture.

Strasbourg was our first stop, and the weather could not have been more beautiful. With temperatures in the upper 70s and an abundant spring sun, this little Texas girl was in heaven. 

The city is a perfect mix of German and French culture. It has the structure and order of German lifestyle combined with the laissez-faire attitude of France.

We wandered the streets of Petite-France, a small but well known section of Strasbourg. Despite many wars and destruction that the city has seen, the medieval area of Petite-France has been maintained to this day. (Still think it is funny they have a Little France in France. You think they have Chinatowns in China?!)

We walked along the Ill River and through the windy streets, and were towered by the medieval houses crisscrossed in black and white timber-framed style. Literally just a hop, skip and a jump from the German border, yet it was new and different and we felt as if we were in a whole 'nother world.

Of course, as we walked through the town, I didn't comment on historical style of the buildings or the bridges, didn't relate it to the back and forth passing of the German and French reign. I just kept thinking "Holy cow, this looks like a street from Beauty and the Beast!". What a well rounded, cultured gal I am, haha. 

We eventually stumbled upon the last cafe to have sun gracing it's terrace. Somehow snagged a seat, our aggressive table snagging being attributed to our time in Germany. Thank you, Germans, for that. We sipped on wine, tried the local cheeses and basked in the warm sun. It was beautiful!

The area of Alsace is apparently known for its Rieslings and Munster cheese, among many other things. I already knew I liked Riesling, so I was just fine trying as much of that delicious goodness as they would pawn off on me. But Munster??...I wasn't sold on that stinkiness. 

Mmmm Mmmm Munster??? (source)

Let's be honest, Munster cheese has a reputation that precedes itself. It is stinky, it 'matures' in damp cellars for five weeks to up to 2-3 months. That is a loooot of aging, which makes is small kind of like feet. Really making this sound appetizing, right?!

But it is delicious! I can't explain how it can smell so putrid yet taste so yummy, but it does.

So as the sun set on that evening, we watched as swans flew past us*, gracefully gliding over the river and enjoyed the mild wine and strong cheese. It was one of those moments that I will savor for a lifetime.

For now, I'll stop here and tomorrow go into our wine tasting afternoon along the Tour de Vins de Alsace. Gosh, we sound so fancy pants!

*Ok yes, swans really did fly past us and along the river. As the first one was drawing near, I so eloquently said "Wow, that is the biggest darn Seagull I have ever seen!". It wasn't until it was right on top of us that I noticed the long neck. You can take the girl out of Texas...