Wednesdays are just getting fun. New friends to pick up from the train station, showing them the house and then wandering about Old Town, introducing them to the twisty, wandering medieval roads.
I went out early and ran the vineyards in the mountains again while Nita goofed around the house doing all those things we need to do to get ready for people arriving that Im no good at. Like, everything. Nice morning, quite chilly!
Kim and Ryan were first in this time with Fernando and Debbie following a couple hours later. After picking up Kim and Ryan at the station we had some down time to let them relax and get some snackies in them before Ferd and Debbie showed up in their rental. No, they didn't get out old car like we were hoping.
After everyone arrived and got settled in the house we took our poor travel weary friends down to Old Town for dinner at our favorite winstub. We didn't torture them too long, and went back home to tuck everyone into bed for a big Friday of exploration and market day!
Friday, May 29, 2015
They Left Us!
Tuesday was a bittersweet day. We had just enough time to go roam around Old Town and grab a sensational lunch at Trois Poissions with everyone. I think this is our favorite place to eat in Colmar so far. With all the heavy German fare, it is nice to finally find a place that does lighter French dishes that actually have some veggies involved. I am assuming all vegetables grown in Germany are composted and then fed to the sauerkraut fields.
Matt finally got the chance to buy the pocket knives he had been searching for while and I deeply suspect other shopping happened as well.
Matt, Laura, Jim and Aletha headed out to Paris by train at around 4, leaving Nita and I some down time to get groceries stocked in and bedding laundered, etc. We will, of course, miss them all. Had some great times over the past couple weeks, sad to see it all come to so early an end!
Instead of going to the local grocery, we headed off to the other side of Colmar for a big fancy cluster of stores that were on the bus route to Germany. Shopping list in hand, we totally failed as responsible adults and packed the cart with cider, a frozen pizza(BBQ chicken, we could not resist) and odd flavours of potato chips. I even bought a new carry on bag for the flight home at a nice little luggage shop in the complex.
Back at home we enjoyed an embarrassing evening of American vices. Netflix, frozen pizza and lounging on the couch. Not a bad way to unwind after 5 weeks of running about!
The pizza was ok. Not great, but ok. Just in case you were wondering.
New folks tomorrow!
 |
| Pike over veggies in a white wine sauce |
 |
| Sole over squid ink pasta and veggies with a Riesling sauce |
 |
| A personal favorite, 5 local fishes over hand made pasta with a mushroom cream sauce |
Matt finally got the chance to buy the pocket knives he had been searching for while and I deeply suspect other shopping happened as well.
 |
| Pretty womens! |
 |
| No idea what this is. Really pretty tho! |
Matt, Laura, Jim and Aletha headed out to Paris by train at around 4, leaving Nita and I some down time to get groceries stocked in and bedding laundered, etc. We will, of course, miss them all. Had some great times over the past couple weeks, sad to see it all come to so early an end!
Instead of going to the local grocery, we headed off to the other side of Colmar for a big fancy cluster of stores that were on the bus route to Germany. Shopping list in hand, we totally failed as responsible adults and packed the cart with cider, a frozen pizza(BBQ chicken, we could not resist) and odd flavours of potato chips. I even bought a new carry on bag for the flight home at a nice little luggage shop in the complex.
Back at home we enjoyed an embarrassing evening of American vices. Netflix, frozen pizza and lounging on the couch. Not a bad way to unwind after 5 weeks of running about!
The pizza was ok. Not great, but ok. Just in case you were wondering.
New folks tomorrow!
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Monday yet again
This morning the crew set out for a quick run to Switzerland while Nita and I planned on running to a few new shops and a new big grocery store we found on the other side of Colmar.
At least that was our plan.
Jim, Aletha, Matt and Laura all left the house so quietly that we thought they had perhaps given up on their idea on driving to a small Swiss town to see the snow capped mountains. Apparently they got up and out so stealthily we never heard them moving about.
We snoozed till 930 and then got up and around to get all of our chores and running done. Little did we know(or had bothered to check) that Monday the 25th was a national holiday in France as well. So nothing at all was open. NOTHING.
So we drove about a bit to sight see and then back to the house for a few more rounds of laundry(in between rain storms) and some reading on the couch.
The guys got back safe and sound about 6 and showed us tons of the beautiful countryside in Switzerland. Dinner was some not very good artichokes and a huge platter of cheese and sausages.
Wine, there might have been wine too, but I don't remember.
Wine? Nah...
At least that was our plan.
Jim, Aletha, Matt and Laura all left the house so quietly that we thought they had perhaps given up on their idea on driving to a small Swiss town to see the snow capped mountains. Apparently they got up and out so stealthily we never heard them moving about.
We snoozed till 930 and then got up and around to get all of our chores and running done. Little did we know(or had bothered to check) that Monday the 25th was a national holiday in France as well. So nothing at all was open. NOTHING.
So we drove about a bit to sight see and then back to the house for a few more rounds of laundry(in between rain storms) and some reading on the couch.
The guys got back safe and sound about 6 and showed us tons of the beautiful countryside in Switzerland. Dinner was some not very good artichokes and a huge platter of cheese and sausages.
Wine, there might have been wine too, but I don't remember.
Wine? Nah...
Monday, May 25, 2015
Lazy Sunday
Sunday was declared a day of quiet napping and goofing about with laundry and house chores. Not shockingly, it was a unanimous vote!
Matt and Laura broke ranks for a brief mooch about Old Town and Aletha took a nice walk about town.
Dinner was a quiet but yummy batch of tarragon chicken(yes, again it is our favorite dish) and spinach salad.
Dessert was fromage blanc with fruit and meringue crumbled on top.
Another good day.
Tomorrow the crew bravely heads to Switzerland. Hopefully...
Matt and Laura broke ranks for a brief mooch about Old Town and Aletha took a nice walk about town.
Dinner was a quiet but yummy batch of tarragon chicken(yes, again it is our favorite dish) and spinach salad.
Dessert was fromage blanc with fruit and meringue crumbled on top.
Another good day.
Tomorrow the crew bravely heads to Switzerland. Hopefully...
Wedding Bells
Well, Saturday was the big day. Matt and Laura asked me several months ago to perform their wedding while they were in France, preferably at a castle if at all possible. It was, so we did.
We woke up leisurely late and had a light breakfast, picked up dinner supplies and wedding flowers at the open market at Sainte Joseph before some well deserved relaxation before we got dressed and ready to go.
About 2 we hopped in the cars and headed for Chateau Hohlandsburg for the wedding ceremony. This time, we took the risk and drove all the way to the top and parked in what I deeply suspect is employee parking, but as we didn't get towed, not that big a deal. We just could not face that long walk up the mountain from the usual parking lot in our wedding clothes. Not fun at all.
The day was bright and sparkling with a cool wind, just perfect for a quick exchange of vows on the battlements overlooking the broad Rhine River valley over to Germany. It wasn't too crowded for a Saturday, so we had just enough private time to share the binding of two wonderful people for the rest of their lives.
After the vows, we wandered about a bit, finally settling in at the little bistro in the castle courtyard for a bottle of local sparkling wine and some toasts.
While we previously bought dinner for the evening, we decided to head into Old Town to grab dinner out since nobody seemed terribly eager to get to work in the kitchen.
We ended up at a decent little winstub for a big table of all the traditional favorites, with one notable exception. It makes him happy I guess...
It was a very special day and Nita and I are very glad to have been part of it!
We woke up leisurely late and had a light breakfast, picked up dinner supplies and wedding flowers at the open market at Sainte Joseph before some well deserved relaxation before we got dressed and ready to go.
 |
| The happy and kinda nervous couple |
 |
| Flowers for the wedding |
About 2 we hopped in the cars and headed for Chateau Hohlandsburg for the wedding ceremony. This time, we took the risk and drove all the way to the top and parked in what I deeply suspect is employee parking, but as we didn't get towed, not that big a deal. We just could not face that long walk up the mountain from the usual parking lot in our wedding clothes. Not fun at all.
The day was bright and sparkling with a cool wind, just perfect for a quick exchange of vows on the battlements overlooking the broad Rhine River valley over to Germany. It wasn't too crowded for a Saturday, so we had just enough private time to share the binding of two wonderful people for the rest of their lives.
 |
| Jim, Matt, Laura, Aletha |
 |
| A very serious moment. |
After the vows, we wandered about a bit, finally settling in at the little bistro in the castle courtyard for a bottle of local sparkling wine and some toasts.
 |
| Toasting! |
While we previously bought dinner for the evening, we decided to head into Old Town to grab dinner out since nobody seemed terribly eager to get to work in the kitchen.
We ended up at a decent little winstub for a big table of all the traditional favorites, with one notable exception. It makes him happy I guess...
 |
| Yep, French Funyuns! |
It was a very special day and Nita and I are very glad to have been part of it!
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Castle fail!
Friday we got up and leisurely took the train to Selestat so the gang could go up and see Haut Keonigsbourg up close after seeing it in the distance for a few days.
While we were in the area, I decided to take a nice run in the neighborhood again. Again, I got a tiny bit lost. Instead of an easy 4.5 mile run my course opened up to a 7.1 mile death march that had my back cramping up and water bottle empty. Made it, but wasn't nearly as fun as I had been planning for!
Halfway through, I called Jim to ask if they had caught the bus up to the castle. NOPE! Little did we know the shuttle bus to the top of the mountain wasn't running for a full work. We really suck at this France thing... They had deciphered the bus schedules and had wandered into town for drinks and a snack.
Near dead, I got back to the train station just in time for us to realize we had exactly 3 minutes and a new round of drinks to down. We did it. Spent a 15 min trip on a crowded rush hour train debating where to throw up, but we made it.
Dinner was a quiet affair at the house and early bed time.
Tomorrow is another story. Big Day Coming!
While we were in the area, I decided to take a nice run in the neighborhood again. Again, I got a tiny bit lost. Instead of an easy 4.5 mile run my course opened up to a 7.1 mile death march that had my back cramping up and water bottle empty. Made it, but wasn't nearly as fun as I had been planning for!
Halfway through, I called Jim to ask if they had caught the bus up to the castle. NOPE! Little did we know the shuttle bus to the top of the mountain wasn't running for a full work. We really suck at this France thing... They had deciphered the bus schedules and had wandered into town for drinks and a snack.
Near dead, I got back to the train station just in time for us to realize we had exactly 3 minutes and a new round of drinks to down. We did it. Spent a 15 min trip on a crowded rush hour train debating where to throw up, but we made it.
Dinner was a quiet affair at the house and early bed time.
Tomorrow is another story. Big Day Coming!
Off to Germany. Well, not us...
Thursday morning, Jim, Aletha, Matt and Laura hopped in the noble and sporty Opel they picked up from the Avis office at the train station. Unfortunately for them it was the exact same car Nita and I had rented for the past few weeks. Not a great car...
We lent them our GPS and off they headed for deepest and darkest Germany. They were headed for Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a walled city from the early middle ages. Apparently the city's defensive walls are still in tact and give a really nice view into the construction of the city.
For some reason, which I refuse to speculate at, they went to the German Museum of Medieval Torture. Fun times!
On the way back our Garmin once again acted up. For some damn reason it will get you to where you are going with no issues, but coming back it always seems to mess with you horribly! The drive back took a good 5+ hours, complete with a lovely interaction with German police. They made it home, having successfully smuggled over 4,500lbs of assorted German sausages into France.
Well done!
We lent them our GPS and off they headed for deepest and darkest Germany. They were headed for Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a walled city from the early middle ages. Apparently the city's defensive walls are still in tact and give a really nice view into the construction of the city.
For some reason, which I refuse to speculate at, they went to the German Museum of Medieval Torture. Fun times!
On the way back our Garmin once again acted up. For some damn reason it will get you to where you are going with no issues, but coming back it always seems to mess with you horribly! The drive back took a good 5+ hours, complete with a lovely interaction with German police. They made it home, having successfully smuggled over 4,500lbs of assorted German sausages into France.
Well done!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)