I just got back to my apartment in Paris from a three day trip to the Alsace wine region. I thought hiking around Scotland was cool….. and it was but Im pretty sure nothing compares to biking the entire Alsace wine country in just a few days with the weather sunny and in the 70s. This was a truly unforgettable experience. I took a train from Paris to Strasbourg very early Monday morning with the fancy road bike i had just rented from one of the coolest guys I’ve met while abroad. His name was Sam and he owns a little bike hire/repair shop just outside Paris. And he gives tours all round the country too. So if you are ever in the area and have any desire to do some biking to see a bit of the amazing French countryside, Sam at Paris Bike Co. is your guy. I went into his shop last week to ask about his bikes and to get some advice on where to do about a 50 mile day ride. He helped me plan this three day trip to Alsace and I ended up getting over 150 miles in! And that only took us a half hour to work out. We ended up sitting and chatting for three hours. He was American so I didn’t have to worry about my terrible french.
Here is sort of the route I took. I started in Strasbourg and headed down to stay in Colmar for two night. So I spent Monday biking down to Colmar, and seeing that town once I got there as well as 5 or 6 other old mid evil villages on the way. Tuesday I biked around to half a dozen different little vineyards tasting the afternoon away. All wine tastings were free! I guess they are just looking for you to buy a bottle or two. Today I got up had breakfast and biked back to Strasbourg with enough time to eat at a nice little restaurant before I had to catch my train back to Paris.
I wish that I could find some connection between this little tour and what I have been studying here in France….. But really it was just a wonderful little trip that had nothing to do with Parisian music, the Romani people, or music in general. It was purely for the pleasure of eating amazing food, drinking incredible wine, and biking through some of the most picturesque countrysides I have ever seen. Speaking of food, here is a bunch of food I have had the chance to try while here is France.
An amazing pot of fondu I got to share with Tristan.
A very German meal of sauerkraut with sausage, ham, a boiled potato, and an Edelweiss served with a baguette of course. Everything here is.
There is a lot of German in influence on everything here in the Alsace region because it is right on the border of France and Germany. This area has been fought over for hundreds of years. But at the moment it is apart of France.
My last breakfast in Colmar before heading back to Strasbourg.
I couldn’t believe this was a thing so I had to get it. Its real……..
Its just a whole deep fried hunk of camembert served over roasted potatoes.
It was amazing. I can’t believe I ate a whole thing of camembert….
The more time I spend here is France, the more connection I make between the things that I perceive as very French. This week I am starting to see that French cuisine shares many of the same characteristics as French music. French cooking has always been known worldwide as the standard for good western cooking. It’s innovative, interesting, lively and much of it comes from such humble ingredients. And I think that most of that is true for French music as well.
Maybe French music and cuisine aren’t really that similar, but it’s been fun while I am learning about this wonderful culture to try and make connections between the things that I really love.