the alsace

19 - 21 novembre 2012

we went to the alsace! the alsace is on the eastern border of france, just across the rhine river from germany and switzerland. the region has been fought over many times, and ultimately is now a part of france. politically, it is one of the most important regions in the european union. pretty cool. it is also known as the birthplace of both christmas and the bretzel || pretzel.

19 novembre

we met super early at dr erickson's apartment and got on our bus to drive to the alsace! we love buses. we feel so at home on the bus :)

after a long bus ride, we got off the bus and into our hotel. we were given some money for dinner and were sent into strasbourg. once in strasbourg, we all headed to the strasbourg cathedral. there was a thick fog that was hanging low, so we couldn't even see the towers. it was so amazing. after looking through the cathedral, we decided to explore. it was kinda hard to see things, because it got dark at like 5, and the fog was so thick, but we explored petite france which was cool. it was all sorts of old buildings that were hanging over little cobblestone streets. we also ate bretzels at a little bakery we found. everything was decorated for christmas, which was super fun. sadly we missed the big christmas markets, but it's okay because we got to see most of the decorations.

we got dinner at this restaurant that was amazing. i got a tradition alsacian dinner of spaetzle and sauerkraut. the spaetzle was good, the sauerkraut was...well, sauerkraut.

that night, we sat in our hotel room and laughed really really hard because i just have a knack for saying things that are completely innocent but come out all wrong. story of ma vie || my life.

20 novembre

got up early and ate breakfast. i love hotel ibis and their breakfasts. it's so much good food. haha. then we went back into strasbourg. we took an hour long boat tour of the city (there is a river that runs through it), and that was fun to see all the major sights. after that, we explored a bit more. we had bretzels again, because that's just what you do in strasbourg. i also got this pastry that i thought was going to be delicious. it was made with creme des marrons || chestnut cream. it was, however, incredibly un-delicious. it was the first thing in france (besides fish) that i actually didn't like. i was surprised.

then the bus picked us up and we went to kaysersberg! it was a super cute little town that was COMPLETELY decked out for christmas. did i mention that the alsace is the birthplace of christmas? i can't even tell you how cold it was in kaysersberg. i was wearing a shirt, a sweater, a sweatshirt, a pea coat, and a scarf. i was also wearing leggings under my jeans. and i had gloves on. i was frozen.

we found a wonderful little "stroll" to take up to a 13th century castle on the hill overlooking kaysersberg. it was so beautiful! kayserserberg literally looked like home. i couldn't get over it. it was such a bright green and the hills were covered in vineyards. (the alsace is also a well-known wine region in france.) it made me miss the valley so much! oh i loved that place.

at dinner that night back in strasbourg, i sat near dr erickson and sage and cori. dr erickson told us all about how he met his wife. it was the best thing ever. dr erickson loves his wife so much, and i've mentioned this before, but i hope that one day i can find a man who adores me as much as dr erickson adores jean.

that night, we watched music and lyrics in sage and annie's room. alicia and then tried to watch anastasia in our room, but we were both falling asleep so we turned it off.

21 novembre

we left the alsace. triste! || sad! when we got on the bus, alicia and i opened up my computer and realized that anastasia was still loaded! so we watched it. we were so happy! and it was so exciting when we realized that the bridge where anastasia kills rasputin is in paris! and we've been on it! (don't worry, we know it's just a movie. but STILL. it was exciting.) and then the whole trip, i did homework. who's proud of me? i am.

we also stopped in reims, where we got to take a look at the reims cathedral. this is where kings and queens were traditionally crowned. it's the coronation cathedral! we got lunch at this little chinese restaurant. it was so AMAZING to be able to have some other taste in my mouth besides sandwiches and cheese (although those things are amazing).

after we got back on the bus, i successfully got natey to watch some fun episodes of tv with me. we watched my favorite episode of the office called the injury (if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and watch it because seriously, it makes me cry every single time), an episode of say yes to the dress, and an episode of mythbusters. i'm pretty sure we covered all the important tv shows.

and then we were back in paris, just in time to go home for dinner with our host families.

such a wonderful trip! thank you, dr erickson, for planning such a good one!