Shortly after arriving in Auxonne, we hopped in Peugey and drove to Strasbourg. (Population 285,000, Metropolitan Strasbourg 790,000) It is a beautiful and vibrant city. With an amazing history. It’s more than 2,000 years old. It has been part of either France or Germany four times within 73 years. All street signs are bilingual – in both French and what I thought was German but turned out to be Alsatian. It’s also home to the world’s first Christmas Market. And that’s why we went.
Fourteen separate markets have been set up on Grande Île – an island and World Heritage Site in the centre of Strasbourg. The most photogenic sits at the base of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Construction of it began in 1015 and wasn’t finished until 1439. And as you can see, it’s still standing. Amazing.
The markets and streets were packed. Even outdoors, masks were required. And everyone complied.
Outdoors, eating or drinking could only be done in fenced-off areas – after showing a COVID pass. Not even a glass of mulled wine or hot orange juice could be purchased without showing proof of vaccination. And then taken to the eating area. No eating or drinking while walking.
Strasbourg is a shopper’s paradise. Every street is lined with shops.
And we found one shop we couldn’t resist – Carré d’Artistes. Actually, it was the painting in the window we couldn’t resist. (Since the photo was taken through the glass from outside the gallery, please ignore the reflections – such as from the Nicolas wine merchant across the street.)
It was done by a Spanish artist named Natalia Villanueva. When we looked at it up close, we realized it was way too big for any wall on Aleau. But we did find two smaller works by her – and bought both of them. They now hang on either side of the TV in Aleau’s living room. The heron was bought in St. Jean-de-Losne after one of those magnificent birds flew alongside for a fair distance on the Canal-de-Bourgogne. The statue is a daily reminder of the wonderful time we had.
We love the nautical theme of the paintings. How appropriate for Aleau.
The photo to the left of the books is me at age 3 or 4 in Regent’s Park in London. Was I dreaming of being at the wheel of my first barge?
Not all the art we saw was in the gallery. The Christmas decorations on some of the buildings in Strasbourg were also works of art.
It was possible to take a break from the crowds and lights.
Walking down to the waterfront, one could imagine being in Paris.
No surprise, Strasbourg is not just pretty – it is yet another of France’s gastronomic delights. Both L’Escapade and Melba (Chapters 119-126) decided to spend the winter moored in Strasbourg. Was it because of the incredible number of high-quality restaurants? We had meals with Mark and Debra – and with David and Evey. Separately. A cynic would say we planned it that way so we could try one more restaurant. Of course, we also found some alone time. We had a delicious honeymoon dinner at the Piano Grill.
We must have been hungry. We both polished off our entrée without pausing to take a photo. Too late to show you but Jeannie had duck foie gras with a fig-and-raisin chutney. I had what was described on the menu as a “Perfect egg (64-degrees) with truffle, chanterelles, and croutons.” We did remember to share with you our plats. Jeannie had a sea bass fillet with tangine olives, candied lemon, coriander, turmeric,and Venere rice.
I chose a scrumptious piece of veal with garlic mousseline potatoes served in the pot they were cooked in. That long object in the centre of my plate is a wedge of pear.
We spent the next day burning off calories and exploring more of the sights of Strasbourg. Below, a turntable bridge is moved out of the way so a tour boat can pass.
As Grande Île is an island, water is never far away.
At least one home is surrounded by it.
As with much of Europe, the architecture is a blend of old and new. Usually that means the buildings are either old or new. But the Strasbourg train station is both. Behind that flying-saucer like exterior lies the original station building.
The new façade means the area in front of the older part is now protected from the elements – greatly expanding the waiting area. How ingenious! And gorgeous. (It was dark when we were inside so I’ve appropriated a daytime photo from the web. I do try not to do that.)
The shot above was taken through Peugey’s windshield. We were on our way to the next of our three stops as we headed back home to Auxonne.