Alsace-Lorraine
Trip Start
Sep 06, 2005
1
10
16
Trip End
Dec 05, 2005
Strasbourg, France
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
about my weekend in Strasbourg yet. Dawn, Shani, Molly and I left Friday
afternoon for Strasbourg, which is a small city near the German border in
Alsace-Lorraine. Both train stations, the one in Paris and in Strasbourg,
were heavily guarded with police which made us feel both safe and nervous.
One of the first things we saw when we came out of the train station in
Strasbourg was a group of guys getting frisked by the police, which wasn't
a good sign. Luckily we didn't have any trouble the whole weekend; I
think the problem is dying down little by little, at least that's what the
French tell us. We checked into our hostel, which was really really nice,
better than our hotel in Brussels. Our room had 8 people, but we also had
sinks and a shower and a toilet right there so that was convenient. They
even had a ping pong room and a t.v. room. Friday night we ate a meal of
"tartes flambées," which are kind of like pizzas but square
with very thin crust, topped with cheese, onion and bacon. They were
actually very good, and we got several different kinds to share so we
could try the different varieties. Saturday we visited the old part of
the city called "La petite France" which is very picturesque. The
buildings have the wooden framing and are all different colors, and lie
along a canal. We also saw the famous cathedral which is very impressive,
and inside there is an astronomical clock that puts on a mini-show at
noon. In the afternoon we visited the Alsacian museum and got a quick
dinner before going out to see a play by Molière, "L'avare," which was
very well done. Sunday we just walked around the city and attempted to
get ice cream, but we were met with weird looks since it was freezing
outside. Instead we had a lunch of French pastries before getting the
train back to Versailles.
Tomorrow is our last planned excursion into Paris, and we'll see the Musée
d'Orsay followed by a play by Ionesco at night. This weekend I'm staying
in Versailles since it's our last weekend with our families, but I'll
probably go to Paris and get a final cup of Angelina's hot chocolate
before leaving France.
I'll leave you with an expression I just learned that I find amusing. It
applies to exasperated parents especially...Instead of saying "keep your
mouth shut" or "shush", the French sometimes say:
"Tu viens de perdre une occasion de te taire." Which literally means...
You just missed an opportunity to be quiet!
