Le Petite France
Trip Start
Jan 04, 2011
1
6
30
Trip End
May 07, 2011
Where I stayed
Strasbourg, Alsace, France
Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday night we got in around 7 and then went to find dinner. Walking the streets of Strasbourg at about 7:30 pm was completely different from Cologne. We hardly passed anyone, and we were in the shopping areas. I wasn't quite sure if we were running early or late for the dinner rush, and I still don't quite know. We had a destination from our guidebook, but it turned out that it wasn't the same place anymore and is now a rather expensive bistro we didn't feel like paying for. After searching for a little longer we stumbled upon a restraunt that had Mediterranean pastas and pizza. Not exactly french, but I still enjoyed it! I had a pasta with Gorgonzola cheese in it that was excellent! After dinner we had to sample some creme brulé and chocolate mousse of course...and then went back to our hostel hung out with another group from Miami and went to bed.
Saturday morning we got free breakfast at the hostel then went to do sight seeing and shopping. Our first destination was the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg, a gothic style church in the middle of the city. It was a little smaller than the one in Cologne but it fit in with the surroundings a little better and felt more realistic. Inside there were some beautiful sculptures and a really cool clock (see picture). We also decided to climb to the observation deck of this one, which thankfully was a good 200 steps less than in Cologne. We walked around the area right outside of the cathedral to do a little more shopping, most of which was pretty touristy. Another thing I noticed about Strasbourg was that it felt significantly more touristy than Cologne did. We grabbed lunch at an Italian restraunt and then decided to walk to Le Petite France.
All of Strasbourg is very pretty with the river running through the central areas, which is very useful in finding your way around the city, but the most beautiful part was Petite France. This is an area where the river splits into 3 canals, and is known for it's half-timbered houses (now shops and restaurants) Here we did some more shopping in smaller boutique style stores and found a French restaurant for dinner with one of the other Miami groups. I had spaetzle here like I did in Cologne, but here it was not nearly as heavy and tasted more like a pasta dish than macaroni and cheese. It was interesting to see the contrast! After dinner we found a bar to meet our friends from the 3rd Miami group and hang out for a little bit before heading back to the hostel.
On our last day in Strasbourg we went to see the European Union Parliament building, I wish we could have gone inside but it was closed. The building looked really cool from the outside so I can only imagine what the inside was like!
That was pretty much it for our weekend. We had a good time overall, I'd say I liked Cologne a little bit better though because it felt less touristy and a bit younger. I still had fun though and enjoyed seeing all the beautiful scenery.
Also, if you are wondering how we get these lovely group pictures, it is because Jordan has a portable tripod. Best thing ever.
