Strasbourg

After eating a lovely breakfast at Cafe Pia, my girlfriends and I picked up the children from school and we headed south to Strasbourg, France which is a 2 1/2 hour drive. Roman didn't want to go, so he spent the weekend at my friend Marlou's house. I was grateful that Buffi was feeling well enough to go. She spent all of Wednesday and Thursday in bed with the flu. Strasbourg lived up to everything I hoped it would be! Seriously, I don't think you could find another town that looks like it stepped off the pages of a fairytale. We checked into the hotel and then set off to find dinner. We choose a brasserie not too far from the hotel.  French food doesn't disappoint. Then we tucked ourselves in for the night.  The next morning we set off for a local bakery for breakfast.  We filled our belly's with croissants and beignets. Yum! Then we walked a short 10 min walk to the Barrage Vauban bridge which was built in the 17th century. The bridge sits on the river Ill.  Inside the bridge, one can find statues, and if you want a view of the river you can climb up two floors or take the elevator to the terrace.  Once you cross the bridge you enter into Petite France which is an area of town known for its Fachwerk Houses and cobblestone streets. Had it not been freezing cold and children in tote, I could have just spent all day walking up and down every little charming street. Jennifer and Buffi found a little shop to buy some souvenirs. The girls had fun playing at a little park on the banks of the river.  We then meandered in and out of all the shop on our way to the Cathedral. We stopped to spend some time at the flea market in the town square. The girls were hungry so I grabbed them some fries. It was so cold we stopped at Starbucks for a bathroom break and hot cocoa. Once we were warm again we continued our journey through a few more shops before making it to the Cathedral of Our Lady.  It is the world's sixth tallest church. Also famous for its astronomical clock located inside its walls which are currently under repair. We grabbed a little lunch, dessert, wandered a little more through some shops before making it back to our hotel where we collected our bags and headed home.  All in all, it was a perfect trip.  I would definitely love to go back in the summer months and continue to explore. Prepare for photo overload!