Alsace and Paris
They call it 'gay' Paris don't they?
27.08.2007
18 °C
Hello friends
Well, the flight from Perth to Zurich was relatively uneventful. We slept most of the way - well, we didn't sleep at all on Monday night. Still, it's scarely restful sleeping on a plane so we were somewhat zombie-like when we arrived in Dubai and didn't do much more than wander about the airport in a daze. After a three hour stop over we flew on to Zurich, Switzerland, took a taxi to our hostel and slept. 
The next day we thought about sticking around and doing the Lindt chocolate factory tour - Shelly was quite keen - but in the end decided to catch the train to France. We had been a little uncertain where we were going to go first in France. There were a number of options - Alsace-Lorraine or Burgundy. We ended up picking Alsace and it proved an excellent choice. We stopped in Colmar, one of the larger towns in Alsace, found a cheap hotel near the centre of town and then wandered into the old town centre. Colmar was so beautiful it wasn't funny. It was like we'd stepped into some crazy fantasy medieval world. We went absolutely mental with photos. 
Alsace was once part of Germany (1871-1918) and there is a stong germanic influence in the architecture and food. Saurkraute is emensely popular! We had pork knuckle for dinner. 
The next day we hired a car and although I was a little tense (white knuckle tense) and Shelly was screaming periodically we managed to drive safely around the Alsace wine route. Alsace is a major wine region but after a couple of stops we gave up trying the wine. For those who can remember moselle and reisling in the 1970's, well, the wine here is still in that time warp. Not so nice really. 
From Alsace we headed west to check out the boys in Nancy. Nancy was more French but not an amazing place. We then took the very fast train to Paris and checked into our apartment. I's only very small but it was right in the heart of things. There are bars and restaurants all around. In fact it turns out we're in the heart of the gay district. It's fair to say there is a very big scene in Paris - hence the name perhaps? Shelly is just a little disappointed to be surrounded by so many fit men and ... well. 
So far it's been sight seeing all day and eating and drinking all night. We've caught up with Leanne and Dieter and Sharon and Ian and partied like it's 2007 in Paris. Fortunately the shops don't open until late so we get to sleep in a bit. Food has been a bit hit and miss. Chips - or should I say frittes - seem to come with every meal. Well, I guess they don't call them FRENCH fries for nothing. Hardly haut-cuisine though. Days haven very hot - 28c and humid. Probably explains why so many French have George Hamilton tans.
Posted by paulymx 09:36 Archived in Backpacking | France Comments (2)
