December 22, 2022. The ‘hood, The museum, Franck & Saundra

 December 22, 2022

Yesterday, we woke up a bit late. The day before, at 8 am, the church bells rang for about 5 minutes. They went on and on and on. Fabi and Francis said that the bells clang like that every morning. I hadn’t heard them before. This morning I awoke at 7:45 and decided to wait until the bells clanged before getting up.  BUT the next time I opened my eyes it was 8:40. I hadn’t heard the bells. We told Fabi that we would come over at 9:00-ish. It was definitely an “ish” morning.

The offending church….

After le petit déjeuner, we went to the bank where I was finally able to get cash. Then we walked around the neighborhood. I love Alsatian architecture and in this old neighborhood, there was a lot of it. Even the little shops are interesting. This is where Francis buys our morning pastry. 

Notice the little man in the top window….

Old traditional houses have interesting construction. Take a look at the next three pictures as I zoom in on the window that shows how the house is made.

In the afternoon, we went to the Modern Art Museum. They had a special exhibition of Lewis Carroll and other surreal art. It included an “interesting” exhibit of insects and other animals in jars of formaldehyde. No pics. Use your imagination.

For dinner, we went to Franck and Saundra’s. Saundra has high positive energy all the time and is a most interesting woman. She has collections of movie stuff. She likes Johnny Depp and has many items from his movies. Her favorite, however, is Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King. So EVERYWHERE there are things related to Jack. Here are some photos of her house.

We started the evening with l’apéritif…Crémant d’Alsace with potato chips, pretzels and tapenade on delicious bread. Here you have it…

For dinner, Saundra prepared Duck!! and potatoes au gratin (aka “gratin dauphinois”) for the first course.

The second course was salad, the third was cheese, then there was dessert—cookies and berry sorbet. Oh, then there was the coffee and finally the schnapps—a shot of limoncino (not sure of that spelling). Everything wa incredibly delicious.

After dinner, Mia received a Christmas present from Franck and Saundra.

Tickets to the Soprano Concert

Finally, we left. It was 11:00 and we were so tired. So much fun! And culture!

Last night I had nightmares. I dreamt that huge insects with strange men on their backs were flying over my village and grabbing people. Everyone was running every which way and I was afraid I would be caught. Was it the museum? Jack Skellington? Or did I just eat and drink too much?

Today it’s a lazy day. We’re going shopping later since it’s raining. Fortunately the temps are in the mid-50s about every day. Life is good.

December 21, 2022 Again….

 December 21…. Or not

Oh, dear, my days are all screwed up. I dont know what date is which day. On Tuesday, we went to Riquewihr. Wednesday was Christmas Market day. I havent written about that yet. So now my posts are a bit out of order. Such is life.

OK, Wednesday morning we went to the bank but my credit card didn’t work at the ATM. (Sigh) I didn’t have my second card with me so I was cash-less. We went to a chocolate shop and I bought some of the yummiest chocolate. At this shop, the owner travels the world and gets cocao beans. Then he roasts them and grinds them and makes the yummiest of yummy chocolates. (Actually, the chocolate from Boise is running neck ‘n’ neck with this.) We then went to the grocery store. Markets and stores are interesting in other countries. You weigh, bag and put a price sticker on the produce you buy here. We got some fruit and tea and other stuff. Then we went back “home.” We had lunch.

After lunch, we went to the Christmas Market. There were so many people, we had to walk a long ways from where Francis dropped us off before parking the car. We walked to the square where the Cathedral is. One is unable to describe the magnificence of this cathedral but the look on Sarah’s face when she saw it showed the awe of its architecture.

We walked around looking at the buildings and the lights. We had some fun posing.

There is also a place where there is a column next to a building which has been a restaurant forever. In the olden days, before scales and Weight Watchers, people would try to squeeze between the column and the building. If they could make it, they could go into the restaurant. If they couldn’t squeeze between the column and the building, they knew they needed to go on a diet. Maybe they weren’t allowed into the restaurant? That part of the story is a bit fuzzy. I gave the old column a try……

I’ll just show you some of the photos I took.

Notice what she is wearing..her jacket.

Just before leaving we had to have the famous vin chaud. (Hot spiced wine)—or warm apple juice.

And then we left.

Oh…forgot…on the way out we saw some bunny rabbits making anise cookies. (Sorry if you can’t see this video.)

https://share.icloud.com/photos/085HqcXqMExwQ7sVKtZUS6YeQ

Later, we had some time to kill so Fabi told us about her job before she retired.  She worked at the largest newspaper in Strasbourg where she was responsible for a supplement on beauty and fashion. The clients, aka advertisers, gave her a lot of product to try and then review. She constantly received boxes of creams, and cosmetics, and nail polish. Nail polish? Yes. She showed us her box of polish and we went to work. 

We had many colors to choose from and Sarah used many of them. She polished her left hand and I polished my left hand. And then she polished my right one and…..ahem…. I attempted to polish her right one. Take a look closely… I won’t be working in a nail shop anytime soon. 

For dinner we first went to Jerome and Celine’s house. About 2 years ago, they bought an old broken down house and completely refurbished it. The inside is very modern while the outside retains its Alsatian look. Sorry no photos. I forgot.

From Celine’s house, we went to a restaurant and had tarte flambée. I died and went to heaven. Rather than explaining it, I’ll just show you. We ate about 4 different kinds. And I had “picon bière”…“avec.” That means a beer with the liquor called picon and “avec” (with) a bit of lemon. I’ve always loved this and was glad to see it on the menu.

For dessert, Sarah had lemon tarte. I had a bite. It’s a lot like lemon meringue pie.

We got back late. I was ready for bed. Goodnight.

December 21-22 Monsieur Gilbert

 December 21-22. Monsieur Gilbert

There is a neighbor. His name is Gilbert (pronounced Jeel-Behr). Fabi calls him the “concierge” of the neighborhood. That means he takes care of plants and animals when people go on vacation. He generally watches out for things, makes sure things work and sees that all is safe and secure. He really is a very nice man. He also makes sure that foreigners like me know how to properly stay in a French house. For example, I must turn out the outside (and inside) lights; make sure the gate is closed—slowly push the buttons on the keypad to lock it; close the shutters at night and open them in the morning….oh and latch the shutters which means going outside to do that after opening them. Well, he carefully explained all this to me on two occasions and he had Fabi explain it to me. The lights were left on one night so that’s probably why he let me know the way things work here. He spoke slowly and I did appreciate it. However, I knew that if I forgot something, he would let me know again. Yesterday, when we left for Fabi’s house, I tried very carefully to do everything. I opened the shutters, turned out the lights, turned down the heat, locked the door, checked that the outside light was off, opened the gate, shut the gate; made sure the gate was locked. Whew! We went to Fabi’s for petite déjeuner. After breakfast, I remembered that I hadn’t latched the shutters. I jumped up and put on my boots. Fabi said, “Don’t worry about it. We can do it when we leave.” I said, “But I don’t want Monsieur Gilbert to see that I didn’t latch the shutters.” So, I hurried out, latched the shutters, and returned. Whew! I got there before he did. Score!

The house where we’re staying.

The shutters on the house. See the little latches?

December 21, 2022 Riquewihr

 December 21, 2022

Yeserday we went to the Christmas Market at the village of Riquewihr, along the Route des Vins. Aline, Fabi’s daughter, and Mia, Fabi’s granddaughter, came with us so we were 5 people. We wandered the streets of this great medieval town, went into some shops and perused the outdoor market stalls. There were sooooo many people that it was sometimes difficult to get through the streets.

I bought a scarf with a kind of a doo-dad scarf bling. 

We stopped and bought Alsacian Bretzels with cheese—sorry, no photo — but it was yummy. Then after awhile, Aline bought these totally yummy treats which looked like little cupcakes but they were a kind of mousse of different flavors with a tiny waffle bottom and chocolate tops. It’s difficult to describe so here’s a photo.

When we were cold enough, we stopped in a tea shop for hot chocolate and tea. Then we wandered out of the village. I admired the architecture along the way.

Home again, home again.

For dinner, Francis prepared spaetzle with chicken and a most yummy sauce. He marinated the chicken in yogurt and spices all day. So yummy. We finished up with cheese and bread, then Christmas cookies.

After dinner,  Francis brought out a bag of bead bracelets that he had made. It seems that he inherited a ton of beads when his brother passed so he makes bracelets and gives them away. Now, Sarah and I are adorned with new elegance.

Today we’re off to the Christmas Market in Strasbourg…the big one.

December 20, 2022 Arrival, Horses, Raclette

 December 20, 2022 Arrival, Horses, Raclette

The plane ride was long and uncomfortable, as one is when one is forced into a small space for 10 hours. We arrived at 7:45 am Paris time. It took 45 minutes to deplane and less time than that to get through customs. Everything is automated so there are no live bodies to check you out. Then we had to wait until 3:00 to take the train. We walked around, drank coffee , ate pastry, sat in cold chairs, read, walked around…. The station was sooooo cold. 

We finally got on a very packed full train and 2½ hours later, we were in Strasbourg. Fabienne picked us up with smiles and hugs. Before long, we were pulling up to her little house in Bischheim, very near Strasbourg. Then there were more hugs from Francis. We settled in to the neighbor’s house. She rents out rooms to college students. There was one young American woman there who left this morning, so now, Sarah and I have the place to ourselves. The house is nice. It’s easy to walk back and forth between the houses.

Dinner at Fabi and Francis house began with a most delicious soup. It was followed by a Charcuterie plate with the most delicious meats and cheeses. I’ve been looking forward to the tastes of French cuisine for ages and it did/does not disappoint. We talked and drank good Alsacian wine and talked some more. Finally at 11:00, I fell into bed….31 hours since leaving my bed in Seattle. I slept 10 hours.

For breakfast, Sarah and I sat down to a basket full of pastry and real coffee….except that Sarah is a tea drinker. The pastries here are divine—Sarah and I shared 2 of them so that we got to taste a bit of different ones. Then we had some toast with the most delicious chestnut honey, made by Fabi’s friend with honey bees; and the most delicious blackberry jam, made by Fabi in Corsica (where they have another house). 

After breakfast we went to see 11-year-old Mia, Fabi’s granddaughter, at horse camp. She’s been riding horses since she was 5 years old so is really good. At horse camp, they play horse games and learn more about horses. We stayed until we were frozen, then went back “home.”  

Later in the evening, Franck (Fabi & Francis son) and Saundra came over and we ate a most delicious traditional raclette. So amazing. Sarah and Saundra hit it off with some common interests in music and art.

 We ate until it was not possible to eat any more. Franck said that when you’re happy, you gain weight, and when your unhappy, you lose weight. I’spect I will be filled with ecstatic joy by the time I return.

Bedtime was again about 11:00 but I got up a bit early to write this before we leave for the Christmas Market in Riquewihr, a medieval village along the Route des Vins. The high temperature there will be about 52. YAY! A short heat wave.  And this is where I leave it for today.