out and about

I took the opportunity of a free Saturday (the kids were with their dad) to hop a train and go visit Strasbourg. Since I am so close I figured I should probably go up there and see what its all about.


Fortunately for me, Strasbourg is known for more than just the EU headquarters. It is home to one of the more well known European cathedrals. One of the things I love about living in Europe is how old everything is. It was cool in DC to go to sites that were a couple hundred years old but the cathedral in Strasbourg was built over a 300 year period from 1100-1400. There is nothing like that in the states. Its a beautiful building with your classic Gothic architecture. Inside there is an astronomical clock which is amazing and was used to calculate Easter.


As with most towns and villages in Alsace there was a distinct feel with the cobbled streets and the timber framed houses. There is a specific part of Strasbourg called Petite-France, or Little France. It is the quintessential Alsatian neighborhood. Though, as cute as the cobbled streets were my feet were killing me by the end of the day. Now I know why you don't see cobbled streets any more.


I found an ice cream stand with blood orange sorbet. It was so yummy. One more thing I love about European cities, you can always find an ice cream stand. I remember once in DC I wandered all over downtown with my roommate trying to find an ice cream shop. It was near impossible (once we did find one it was a really good place and still one of my favorite ice cream shops in DC).

I've created a photo album on Facebook so please, go check out more pictures.