Alsatian Vineyards

My husband and I had a magnificent time on our tour of vineyards in the Alsatian area of France just outside of Colmar. Breathtaking views, beautiful weather, and a wonderful guide named Jean Claude.

Bartholdi's Hometown

Colmar is a really old town that was founded in the 9th century. One of its most famous residents was Frederic Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statute of Liberty. Throughout the town you will find a museum dedicated to his work as well as this statute of him and a tiny statute of liberty on his shoulder. Colmar also claims to be the capital of the Alsatian wine region.



I loved the architecture of the buildings especially the Eglise Saint-Martin, the largest church of Colmar and one of the largest in Haut-Rhin. It has stained glass windows and several Gothic and Renaissance sculptures and altars.



We really enjoyed this town and especially the food. Wonderfully rich, buttery dishes. Fantastic wines.

Our first day in Colmar

After such a late night of travel, we slept in before exploring Colmar on foot. Our hotel was just a couple of blocks from Petite Venise or "Little Venice". We immediately came upon a little outdoor cafe, Cafe Venezia, which advertised "Crepes". We stopped and ordered coffee, a grand marnier crepe, and an egg/cheese/ham crepe which were UNBELIEVABLE. Afterwards, we strolled through the town. More to come!

Hello Colmar

Au revoir Paris, Hello Colmar! We jumped on the train to Strasbourg, the Alsace region of France on Wednesday evening. After two trains, we arrived at Colmar station at midnight. No cabs in site. No information booth. No cell service - no GPS. We were on our own. Hmmmm.. Let's call the hotel. Oh. You don't understand what we're saying? Hmmm... It was a looooooooong walk. Finally, we arrived at the Hotel Turenne and promptly crashed. It wasn't nearly as charming as the picture suggests but it was budget friendly.

Chez Casimir and the Church of Saint-Vincent du Paul

Our hostess recommended that we have late lunch or early dinner at Chez Cashimir, a wonderful restaurant in her neighborhood close to Church of Saint-Vincent du Paul. First we stopped at the Cafe for an early dinner and drinks. No one was there - we had the entire place to ourselves. We ordered the stuffed cabbage and white fish with mashed potatoes off the chalkboard menu that the waiter brought to our table. The food blew us away. Buttery, creamy fish and potatoes. Spicy cabbage. Best meal in Paris so far. After the dinner, we walked across the street to the church. Ghost town. No one was there. We wandered around the church admiring the artistry of the sculptures and the paintings.

"Above the portico (borrowed from those of Greek temples) is a pediment sculpted by Charles-François Lebœuf-Nanteuil on the subject of "The Apotheosis of Saint Vincent-de-Paul": the saint is glorified, surrounded by figures symbolising his saintly actions— a missionary, a galley slave, and some Daughters of Charity devoting themselves to children or to healing the sick. Inside, the painted frieze of 1848-53 around the nave (between the two levels of columns) is by Hippolyte Flandrin, and shows 160 male and female saints advancing towards the sanctuary. The decoration of the Lady Chapel, in the apse added later at the back, is by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1885-89). The Calvary shown on the main altar is by François Rude."**

I was particularly fascinated by the paintings of the male and female saints - such detail and color. This church was by far my favorite in Paris.