This past weekend, we decided to road-trip to Strasbourg, France – it’s only a 2.5 hour drive from our house, making for an easy visit to a different country (!) We’d heard about how lovely it is, from the town itself to all the baguettes, chocolate croissants, and Alsatian wine you can get for a relatively short drive. The weather barely broke freezing, but since we’re full Europeans now, we put on our coats and enjoyed the sunshine!
The Ill River splits into 4 different sections in the ‘La Petit France’ section of Strasbourg.
Such a charming area for being known for syphillis hospices!
Strasbourg is out of a fairy tale – we could almost hear Belle singing about her provincial life just before meeting the Beast. The river Ill runs right through the town, splitting into four sections and creating islands in the heart of the most gingerbread, storybook area ever (‘La Petite France’). There were playgrounds, green spaces, old tanners’ houses (the hides, not the beds!), bakeries and cafes galore. Matt enjoyed some French shopping while the kids enjoyed playing cathedral guards and conversation chairs:
Spending all day outside in the cold calls for cocoa and fun:
Apparently just smiling for the camera was getting old 
The biggest jar of Nutella yet 
You can walk right along the riverbank of the Ill
We were all obsessed with the river’s locks – we booked a boat tour as soon as we saw it meant we could experience the locks firsthand:
Trying to figure out how the boat was going to go up the river’s ‘step’ 
Getting to experience the lock firsthand 
Strasbourg is probably best known for its awesome cathedral – work started in the 1100’s, and the spire was finished in the 1400’s – the cathedral has withstood all kinds of wars, bomb threats, and weather events since. There were plans for a 2nd spire, but concerns over the foundation meant they were better off with what they had. It was so much bigger and more impressive than I’d imagined – and something about being slightly mismatched with only the one spire made it even more appealing.
The cathedral spire’s ‘guestbook’ – dating back 100’s of years – a guard would engrave your name for a small fee
We continue to love these smaller European destinations – the crowds are low, the towns are charming, the people are nice, and there are just as many ways to experience something new as you’d find in the ‘biggies’. Strasbourg was no exception! We definitely hope we get to return – to replenish our French bread and butter if nothing else!!
Newmans in a New Land 