Fashion, book, movie and music addicts!: Strasbourg

I’m sure I’m not the only one who loves May for all its long weekends. It’s the perfect moment to plan short getaways. This time around, our destination was the East of France, specifically Alsace. For avowed lovers of the South of France, this was the perfect opportunity to discover the charms of this region. It helps of course that part of the family comes from the East of France.
After a relaxing familial stop at Nancy we headed off to Strasbourg. I don’t know much about this city, except as the seat of the Council of Europe. It was a pleasant surprise to see how much more there was to this city. From what we saw, it seems to be a lovely and cosmopolitan city. Strasbourg liesclose to the German border and because of the presence of the Council of Europe offices, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice there are a good number of foreigners in the city. Add the fact that Strasbourg is in Alsace which was a long historically disputed territory and you see why it has such a strong international flavor.

Before we could even get to the vieille ville, we found ourselves at a local brocante. For an avowed fan of brocantes, this was a wonderful start to our visit Strasbourg. Lots of interesting things at the brocante, mostly furniture that I wouldn’t have minded carting back to Paris. Alas, good sense prevailed and I left them behind. Heading into the center, we could see the spire of the Cathedral rising high above. Up close the Cathedral is a pinkish-red sandstone which I later learned was actually red Vosges sandstone. While the Cathedral may not be as impressive as other Cathedrals it looks for some reason much more welcoming and less forbidding. It is Gothic in style with the spire completed in 1439. If you look at it you will notice that it seems a bit incomplete with only one spire. In fact, the southern spire was never built. Of particular note are its beautiful rose windows.

While there are a number of European offices in Strasbourg that could be visited, what was of greater interest to us was to wonder around the Grande Ile which is a Unesco-world heritage site. It is here that you see what Alsace must have once looked with its distinctive timber framed houses and colored glass windows. It was so pleasant to just wander about the small narrow streets full of those distinctive houses that are now full of blooming geraniums that add even more color. It’s especially nice around Petit France where the narrow streets run around narrow canals where people spend pleasurable hours on small skiffs. The whole area is charming and well worth a leisurely stroll. Afterwards if you get hungry, there are a number of bakeries selling delicious pain epice which happens to be the area’s speciality. It was especially delicious after being pleasantly worn out by our walk through such pretty streets.

A view of the old city...