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Published: November 4th 2007
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If It were possible to choose various countries and regions for this entry I certainly would... but alas. I have belatedly decided to start a blog, to keep people friends and family updated on my life and keep track of what I have done and where I have been, which has already taken up a good chunk of my old-fashioned hand-written journal. I will try to condense it here.
Strasbourg
I have been in France for over two months now and have taking advantage of every opportunity to travel and see more of Europe. I live in Strasbourg, Alsace which is a gorgeous city. If you are travelling in Europe, add it to your list. I believe it to be underrated, but that may just be the egoism of a foster- strasbourgeoise talking! The main reason to visit Strasbourg is the buildings. There are beautiful, beautiful half-timbered Alsacien buildings all through town, and particularly in the Petite France area. It took me a while to stop looking up and around, mouth hanging open while walking through the centre ville (you learn pretty quickly that that tends to highlight your foreigner status). Also, the Notre Dame cathedral is incredible. It took
a ridiculously long time to complete (if you can even consider its single-towered form complete now!) but the detail in the architecture makes it nearly impossible NOT to just stand there and stare up at it. As Dad pointed out when he came to visit me last week, it's tough to believe that each piece of the stone was carved individually without all the machines we have today. Oh, and you can climb to the platform on top too. Dad experienced that first-hand also. The view is incredible but the cathedral used to be the tallest building in the world and still towers over every other structure in Strasbourg. I love Strasbourg. There are negative aspects of course (smelly-ness, beggars, dreary weather...) but they are far outweighed by the beauty and friendliness of the city (yes, friendliness...don't listen to those who try to tell you the French are all hateful).
Alsace
For those of you at home who don't get the word 'region', Alsace is to Strasbourg what New Brunswick is to Moncton. Strasbourg is certainly not all there is to Alsace. The first month of living here I decided I wanted to explore the region a bit more.
I travelled to the towns of Obernai,Ribeauville, Riquewihr, and Colmar. All of which have the similarities... such as the half-timbered medieval architechture (but its even prettier in the smaller towns!) but they are all very different from Strasbourg. I think Strasbourg is a small-ish city with a big city attitude. It's around 300,000 in the centre but there is noise and traffic and business and all the things that accompany a metropolitan area. Ribeauville and Riquewihr are start contrasts. Small, touristy towns with winding cobblestone streets private bakeries and shops, and vinyards on every side. Colmar is larger but still a small city, with a gorgeous old town, and Petite Venice area complete with gondolas. I'm glad I had the opportunity to visit more of Alsace it has made me appreciate that the region has its own history and culture (largely influenced by Germany) that is unique from the rest of france. There is even a local language (Alsacian) still spoken among locals.
And Beyond
Two weeks ago I travelled to beautiful Switzerland, which is conveniently close to Strasbourg by train! We stayed two nights in a comfortable hostel in Bern, the captial city. Its a great place! The
city is clean and pretty and almost everyone speaks English (which comes as a relief after strictly French and Germany Alsace!). We walked around the Old town, visited the bear pits and the Cathedral. We also took a day trip to Interlaken, which is a beautiful, but touristy town in the Alps. I have never seen mountains like that in my life! Snow capped even in October, they surround the little town. Zurich was the last stop and despite the rainy day, we got a good feel for the very rich, proud city. Seriously, its really rich... there are banks everywhere and everyone drives very sleek black cars.
I spent last week in the Cote D'Azur area of France. It took 13 hours to get there by train but it was well worth it! It was literally a trip to summer! We went to sleep in cold, rainy Strasbourg and woke up to palm trees, sun, and the blue mediterranean! We spent time in Cannes, saw the hotel-lined boulevard, old town and castle, yacht-filled harbour, and the island prison where the man in the iron mask was held. Cannes is a small resort-y town where you can practically see
the wealth and fame. The film festival might not have been in town but the same atmosphere is a constant in the city. We also visited Antibes, a small town just east of Cannes where we strolled through the pretty Oldtown and saw the big harbour and beach (unfortunately the Picasso museum was closed for renovations). We moved on to Nice which is comparable to Strasbourg in its' big-city vibe. It is nothing like Cannes- it's busier and dirtier but also has a huge amount of history to tap into. The architecture in the old section is mostly Italian, and very pretty and there are even Roman ruins. On the trip, we also spent a day exploring Monaco which is odd in that it is its own country but is smaller than New York's central park. We watched the changing of the guard at the palace, saw the oceanographic museaum, visited a carnival (I LOVE cotton candy!) and stared at the prettiness everywhere, looking at the water and mountains. If you want to see wealth.... Monaco is the place for you. I loved it! On our final day in the French Riviera we visited Menton, a little city just miles from Italy. It was very nice, clean and pretty with fantastic beaches, little shop-lined streets and even Subway! It was a wonderful trip... it was great to spend hours sitting on the sand and put my feet in the sea! I miss the palm trees already as once again, it is cold and cloudy here in Strasbourg.
This may seem like a ridiculously long entry, but its not. Two months in Europe have been squeezed into a few measley paragraphs. Consider yourself now caught up on my life so far this year! Of course I could write forever, there is tons more. Writing this first entry and considering the task of summarizing the past two months makes me remember how it felt to suddenly find myself LIVING in a place like this. Now that I am a seasoned Frenchwoman (Ha. Ha.) I sometimes take for granted what I see walking to school, to the post office, to the grocery store. This isn't Canada. Canada is great but when you are used to fast food, mass market goods and SUVs, a place as EUROPEAN as Strasbourg comes as quite a shock. I use the word European descriptively here... it's useless to try to explain, come visit me and see it for yourself.
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Debbie McCabe
non-member comment
HI
Allie, I just discovered you blog. Wow. I could picture every detail in my mind, as I read through your entry. Your writing protrays such detail and description that I could imagin being there. I look forward to reading more as you adventure continues. Have fun, live life to its fullest. Bye for now!