Birthday weekend in Strasbourg

Bonjour! I was a bad blogger and didn't make my usual list last week where I write down my thoughts and experiences every day to condense into a blog post for the week. From what I remember, the actual week last week wasn't terribly exciting. I did get to eat in the restaurant that's attached to one of my schools (it's like culinary school combined with high school), and that was absolutely delicious. Vacances de la Toussaint started on Thursday, so I've had a lot of down time to explore and relax--cuz I just REALLY needed a break from that grueling 12 hour work week ya know? I was able to spend this last weekend in Strasbourg as a kind of birthday trip for myself. I feel like I repeat the same adjectives over and over like WOW everything is so beautiful and charming and blah blah blah blah blah but really....it is! I had only been to Strasbourg for my training at the beginning of the month, so I was excited to get to actually explore the city a bit more.

I was lucky enough to be hosted by a woman, Lori, with whom I’d been put in touch by one of my French professors from UNL (shout-out to both of them for being so kind and thinking of me!) who was lovely and lived really close-by to the main sights of Strasbourg. I arrived on Saturday afternoon, and we picked up some groceries for the weekend after a seriously delicious lunch at Pur. I had a cold dish with lentils, carrot ribbons, and some kind of fish, and a cheese scone. They’re local to Strasbourg and do the whole organic/local ingredients thing.

After grabbing the groceries, we walked and walked and walked and walked all night around the Grand Ile. It was chilly, but not terribly cold; a good excuse to get some warm treats to warm up our hands and bodies. Lori’s friend, Claire, LOVES Belgian fries, so we met up with her at La Frituur. From what I understand, there is some kind of expo-type thing in the square by the carousel in Strasbourg that is hosted by a different country every year, and last year’s was Belgium. They had a few Belgian fry stands and Lori said they were such a huge hit that La Frituur opened on the Grand Rue (a kind of touristy street nearby the cathedral, lots of restaurants and shops) and it’s usually pretty busy. Well, I can tell you that I am definitely going to La Frituur every time I’m back in Strasbourg. You can choose from a small or large cone of fries, and a small or large sauce that’s served either directly on the fries or on the side. I had a small cone (which is still pretty big) with their “Cocktail” sauce—mayo, ketchup, and whiskey—right on top of my fries. My mouth is seriously watering right now just thinking about how good they were! The fries themselves aren’t really that unique, but they’re done so well! Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and served fresh. Later, Lori and I stopped at L’Epicerie for Viennese hot chocolate before heading home for the night. Apparently, Viennese just means a ton of whipped cream…I can get behind this idea. It was so much fun to hang out with a fellow Nebraskan!

On Sunday, Lori wasn’t feeling well, so Claire graciously hung out with me for the majority of the day. I headed out on my own for about an hour, armed with my camera, my trusty water bottle (nothing special, just a huge bottle that was once Smart Water that I’ve kept since buying it in the Dallas airport before my long flight, the size forces me to drink water because it gets pretty heavy when it’s full), and gloves. This day was MUCH colder than the day before, and it was a damp cold, so it felt like I was running around in wet clothes all day. This was the first time I’d really seen the cathedral up close in daylight without needing to rush elsewhere. It is truly magnificent, words cannot describe the experience of seeing something so incredibly ornate and imposing. It trips me out to think that *humans* built that…with their hands??? I also climbed the tower up to the observation area on the church. It’s 5€ for adults, 3,50€ for students. I was able to use my university student ID to get the discount! There are 330 steps to the top, which I thought wouldn’t be a big deal at all. HA! Plenty winded, I made it to the top and was treated to a view of the city from above. I’d recommend hiking the tower for the view if you’re in Strasbourg! Definitely worth it.

Afterward, Claire walked me around the city. We had lots of great conversation throughout the day about life in the U.S. vs. France. Claire is from England and had lots of questions about the election, Native Americans, racism, and guns. I feel so unqualified to explain these complex subjects in casual conversation, with my students, or with the English teachers, but try my best. We stopped at Les Savons d'Hélène to sit on the covered outdoor terrace and warm up, walked a bit more, then had coffee and dessert at La Part Thé. Ended the evening with a drink at Au Bureau, seeing Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, then Claire walked me home.

Monday was my golden birthday! This was a birthday to which I’d been looking forward since I was about six years old and first knew what a golden birthday was. My young adult-self had dreamed of a party with friends, a gold dress, champagne, and gold everything, but then I found out I was going to be in France for this special day. No big party for me, but I was going to be in FRANCE, the place I’d dreamed about for so long. So, the day had officially arrived, I had my low-key gold outfit of a mustard sweater and gold eyeshadow, and I had no real plans other than dinner that evening at Sophie’s after I’d gotten back home. I’d pretty much seen all of the major sights in the city, so my goal was to find some kind of gold food….or something, and walk around to enjoy the much more beautiful weather of that day. There’s a great view of the river from the top of the covered bridge, and you can see the four towers that are part of the old ramparts. We found some chocolates at Jacques Bockel that had gold on them and then grabbed coffee at La Stub. Lunch was a ham and pineapple pizza for lunch with a glass of wine and then we had to power walk to the train station so I could make my train. I’m so happy to have made a few new friends and to have had a few days in the city to leisurely wander and have some delicious food. Strasbourg is a beautiful city that is exactly what I had imagined a European city to look and feel like, I’ll definitely be coming back!