Jardin Des Tuileries

One of my favorite things about Paris are the green spaces everywhere. We spent Sunday at Jardin Des Tuileries, which is located outside of the Louvre. It was a beautiful sunny day and Lilah loved scooting around in the grass.

A Fairytale Easter

We spent Easter weekend in Alsace, a hilly Northeastern French region that borders Germany and is home to the big city, Strasbourg.  We rented a very cute gîte in the small town of Andlau with our friends Trynke and Arne and their son Melle. Our Gite was next to a river and wooded area, and Wilson ran away during one of his daily walks.  Luckily he ran ‘home’ back to the rental, dogs must have really good senses of smell!

Arne and the kids.

Alsace has a rich history of switching between French and German Rule, and because of this the architecture, language, and local food are a mish-mosh of French and German.  You can find bretzels served in the patisseries, alongside crepe stands.

We spent one day in Colmar, which is a very popular tourist destination as the buildings look like something straight out of Beauty and the Beast.  The buildings are all colorful sandstone with timber framing, and they don’t all appear to stand straight.  Some of them are slightly curved or tilted, which really gives you the impression you’re in a fairytale.  We arrived in Colmar on Easter morning and were pleasantly surprised to find the streets alive with food carts, craft fairs, and caged barn animals.  We wandered through the throngs of people, ate the best crepe yet, and took a boat ride down a canal/river running through the “little Vienna” neighborhood.

Typical architecture in Colmar

One of the several squares in Colmar all decorated for Easter and filled with stands selling cheese, candy, toys and beer.

Taking a break at the sausage and beer stand.

Vintage metal toys for sale

One of the busier streets and cafe's in Colmar. Everyone was out for Easter in Colmar while most of the rest of the country was sleepy and deserted.

Me and Lilah posing outside a building covered in 100s of faces (Maison des Têtes).

Family photo on a bridge overlooking the canal running through "Little Venice". We took a boat ride along it right after.

Historically the color of each building designated the profession of the occupant.

Alsace is also known for their wines, so we went wine tasting in Andlau and were surprised to like the Reislings!  We tend to stay away from Reislings in the US because they are so sweet, but the ones we tried in Andlau were crisp, refreshing, and delicious.

The whole group (minus photographer Chris) walking down to the local wine tasting bar.

After wine tasting...