Alsace gem

This city of about 70000 people is located in Alsace an area of France that has see-sawed from German to French rule since the Middle Ages but for 700 years under German rule and since 1919 mostly French. It considers itself the capital of the Alsatian Wine area and is renowned for the well preserved old city. It is a tourist magnet!!!

Of course we had to find the markets. There are always markets. John was thrilled when he found anchoiade- a type of anchovy paste.. um. We had been up early and despite the fact that it was just mid-morning we decided to join the locals and settle in and have a beer. We just missed the owner so one of the regulars slipped behind the bar and pulled us a beer. No worries!!!

Our accommodation was lovely. Right in the heart of the old city with every amenity and plenty of space.

The old city is crowded with beautiful old buildings some dating back to the 1200s. It is also a popular destination for Americans as Bartholdi the designer of the Statue of Liberty was born here and there is a museum and many examples of his sculptures scattered around the city.

We had been incredibly lucky with the weather and then it changed. We decided a bus trip to Riquewihr just up the road would fill our day nicely and we would easily cope with the patchy weather. We got information from the Tourist Information Office and took an early mark. Buses were not regular. We had to be careful.

We arrived with the vans! This is a very popular tour bus town and hordes of tourists descend upon it all at the same time, which is curious. Anyhow it was obvious that the vans arrived to top up all the stock and had to be out before the tourists arrived.

We were so early the only thing open was a hotel serving their guests petit-dejeuner. We took a seat and were presented with a wonderful breakfast.

John had discovered that Veronique Ziminski had a gallery in this lovely village. We had visited another of her galleries in Yvoire and purchased a poster which we both liked so we were keen to visit this one. John was thrilled when he was offered a book with a collection of her work. It made his day!