Heading north

My older brother served his mission in Northern France. One of the cities he spent a lot of time in was Colmar. Located south of Strasbourg in Alsace it is a beautiful town with heavy German influence. For those of you that are historically inclined you will remember the constant conflict between France and Germany over the Alsace region. The French are quick to remember the conflict but that is a whole different story.

Ever since my brother lived there I have been dying to go. The family is in Italy this weekend so I took advantage of the freedom to take the train up for a visit. It is a short 30 min train ride up from Saint Louis. I am so glad I went. We use to joke that it was after Colmar that the makers of "Beauty and the Beast" modeled the village Belle walks into during one of the first scenes in the movie. For more pictures check out my facebook page. It is an absolutely gorgeous town with a lot of history and things to see. There are also a lot of restaurants. You can take your pick from the Irish "Le McFadden's" to a more traditional crepe shop.

One of the most interesting things about going was that I was completely by myself. Growing up with 7 brothers and sisters the only time I was alone was when I was sleeping and even then it was questionable. When I left for college there were roommates to contend with and even since then I have lived with, traveled with and shared a lot of experiences with roommates. I can tell that now I am going to have to get use to going places on my own. I'm not going to be able to rely on anyone else to translate or to order for me. I guess it really is time to grow up and live my own life.