Strasbourg, France

For our final trip in France we decided to explore the beautiful city of Strasbourg. Strasbourg is the capital city of the Alsace region in eastern France. It is located close to the border with Germany. The city has a German name because the region is historically German-speaking and the proximity with Germany. While we were in Strasbourg we felt like we were in two countries at the same time: France and Germany. All the restaurants had great french wine and also excellent german beer. Plus they had the best of french and german cuisine. We were amazed by the variety of food what we found. For example we finally tried the Foie gras which is goose liver pate invented by the Strasbourg cook Jean Pierre Clause in 1780. We also tried the Spatzle which are thick noodles and we accompanied them with coq au vin. Delicious! And for the dessert we stick with some simple fruit and cheese tarts and frozen meringues. It was the perfect dinner combination!

In the city there are many must see tourist attractions, all of them very beautiful. We started by visiting the cathedral of Notre-dame. This magnificent piece of art was finished in 1493. It was super tall and we were astonished when we found out that up until the 19th century the cathedral was the highest building in the Christian world. 

After visiting the Cathedral we went to the picturesque Petite France Quarter. The quarter is a small area that is between the rivers. There are a lot of beautiful houses and the most photogenic streets and buildings I had seen in France. Most of the houses in the Quarter date from the 16th and 17th century. Overall it was a nice walk by the rivers with plenty of terraces, bars and restaurants to enjoy. 

While in the city we also found out that Strasbourg is home of the European Parliament, and we had to visit the building. It was a very modern and sophisticated building. In contrast with the rest of the city it had very contemporary architecture. The Building is surrounded by a nice green area, with lots of trees and flowers. 

At the end we were very happy with out last city being Strasbourg. It had an old town and new town. It had history, and it also had a little bit of France and German to it. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg

http://www.otstrasbourg.fr/article.php?id_article=74&lang=en

http://www.otstrasbourg.fr/article.php?id_article=155&url_ret=rubrique.php?id_rubrique=25&lang=en

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187075-d195748-Reviews-La_Petite_France-Strasbourg_Bas_Rhin_Alsace.html

Marseille

MARSEILLE Last week we visited the Alps, and this week we decided to change it up a little bit. We are visiting Marseille. Marseille is the second largest city in France, just a little bit behind Paris. Marseille is located on the southeast coast of France. It is the capital of the Provence-alpes-cote d’azur region, and it is also the largest mediterranean port. Personally I loved the city, it was the perfect size. It had so many different things to do, place to eat and stay and it also had the mediterranean sea right next to it which gave a nice touch. 

The first place we visited was the museum of mediterranean Archaeology. We never imagined that Marseille had so many museums. They had a museum for the fine arts, natural history, porcelain museum and also the Egyptian antiquities collection which is the second most important museum in France (right after the Louvre of course).

 We also visited the Vieux Port which is the main tourist area of Marseille. The port was small but very warm. There was a fish market, it has cafes and restaurants and a lot of sailing boats and small fishing boats. I heard that you could take ferries that can take you to different islands that are close to the city. Islands like Chateau d’if, Isles of Frioul, and the calanques. That same afternoon we went to the Palais Longchamp which has some beautiful fountains. This palais was built to celebrate the bringing of water to Marseille from the river via the canal. 

While we were in Marseille we had to try the Bouillabaisse, which is Marseille’s most famous dish. The dish consists in Fish soup and then you eat the fish that was used to make the soup. You can eat the Bouillabaisse with different kind of fishes. Also we tried this little but very cute things called Navettes, which are biscuits shape like boats and they taste a little bit like orange. One thing that I thought it was bizarre and I would like anyone who is going to travel to France to know is that the price of the fish is given by weight, so if it is a very fat fish is a very fat price you pay for it. 

The Alps

The Alps

After visiting the beautiful and warm Cote d’Azur we decided to go to a totally different place in France. We wanted to go see the mountains and the snow. Our next stop was The French Alps. The Alps are part of the large European chain of mountains. They are very huge tourist attractions. The French portion of the Alps are very famous! They are some very famous resort towns that had hosted the Olympic Winter Games, one time in 1992 and the other in 1968.

We stayed at a hotel called The comtes chateau is a typical French castle that was very close to Chambery. The hotel was awesome. It was built in the 1400’s. so there was a lot of history and it was very elegant. I felt like a princess. The hotel also had some hot springs and we could walk every day to the casinos. 

When we were in the Alps we took a cable car to the top of a mountain. The mountain  was 12, 600ft tall in the Mont Blanc mountain range. That same day we decided to go skiing it  was pretty impressive to see the views from the top and skiing in one of the most famous mountain in the world.  We also toured the village and we went to a fromagerie which is a cheese store where they make cheese. We tried a little bit of the local Reblochon which is the cheese specialty of the region. 

The trip to the Alps was very refreshing. It was awesome to see the nature, and  breath a little bit of fresh air. We were also tasting all kinds of local cheeses, chocolates, hazelnut oils and wines. Everywhere we went there was melted cheese also known as fondue. The french love to mix it with vegetables or tartiflette which are sliced potatoes baked with bacon, cream and local cheese. It was very delicious. They really love they cheese and its because its so delicious. Like good french we had some wine with our meal, and for dessert we chose some hot chocolate because it was getting very cold and some crepes with chocolate (kind of like Nutella) and fresh strawberries and bananas. It was a very good dinner. 

http://www.french-alps-tours.com/

http://wikitravel.org/en/French_Alps

Cannes

Cote d’Azur

This week we visited the Cote d’Azur otherwise known as the French Riviera. We stayed in Cannes. A city you might heard of before thanks to the Film Festival of Cannes, which is a huge international movie festival held every year in the Cote d’Azur. Cannes is on the shores of the Mediterranean and in the heart of Europe. It is also very small with only 2,100 residences. 

In Cannes we stayed at a place known “RUC HOTEL CANNES” which was a genuine manor house built in style reminiscent of the 18th Century. The hotel was very close to the beach and to the pointe Croisette. The Croisette was incredible. It counts with exclusive boutiques, palm trees, palatial hotels, this is by far Cannes’ main tourist district. According to the locals its a great place to “people-watch” during the Film Festival. La Croisette gets its name from a small cross that used to stand east of the bay. After we walked La croisetter we decided to have lunch in a restaurant called 

While in Cannes we did the Cruise to Corniche d’Or. It was a 2 hour, and we enjoyed the magnificent views of the red rocks of the Esterel. The only down fault to that is the the tour was only held in French therefore I couldn’t understand much of what they were explaining. But the views were very enjoyable. 

We also stopped by the Ile Ste-Marguerite. It was just a 15 min boat ride from Cannes. The minute we landed you could smell the fresh air and all the Eucalyptus trees. In the Ile there is a fort which was once a prison, and this prison was home of a very famous/unidentified character that you might have heard of known as the man in the iron mask. There was also a sea museum which goes over aquatic fauna and flora. 

For dinner we decided to go to a famous restaurant called “Gaston et Gastounette.” We chose this restaurant because of its views of the Marina. The restaurant serves two different bouillabaisses, a full-blown authentic stewpot prepared only for two diners at a time and a less daunting individualized version designed as an appetizer.(the portion for this dish was enormous and delicious). Other choices in the menu included baby turbot with hollandaise sauce; John Dory filets with wild mushrooms; and an unusual Japanese-style broth flavored with monkfish, saltwater salmon, and chives. Profiteroles with hot chocolate sauce made a memorable dessert.

Overall Cannes was beautiful and very fun, the water from the ocean was crystal blue, the beaches were clean and with a wonderful color of the sand, the locals were very nice. It had been the best experience in France so far (even though we couldn't spot any celebrities) But again who needs to see a celebrity when you can spot a beautiful sunset by the sea.

http://books.google.com/books?id=TLP_5UmSv7wC&pg=PA553&lpg=PA553&dq=%22saltwater+salmon,+and+chives.+Profiteroles+with+hot+chocolate+sauce+made+a+memorable+dessert.%22&source=bl&ots=t7Z2yL_1Nb&sig=9o6GtpuovdZcSyW-aQDAI6upVrY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZXc_UdLwKs-u2AX2yYHQCQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22saltwater%20salmon%2C%20and%20chives.%20Profiteroles%20with%20hot%20chocolate%20sauce%20made%20a%20memorable%20dessert.%22&f=false

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannes

http://www.cotedazur-tourisme.com/ 

Lyon

Lyon

After being in Paris last week we decided to travel to Lyon. The first place we visited was Cathedral Saint Jean Baptiste. The Cathedral dates from 12 century and is very imposing. Sadly when we were visiting the Cathedral was in the middle of 5 year restoration project, so therefore not all of the Cathedral was accessible at the time. We also went to the Parc de la Tete d’Or. This park is the largest green place in town in Europe. With Zoo and "un jardin botanique" (with hundred different types of roses,great trees like libanes pine, sequoia,giant magnolia tree)and an ancient carrousel from de end of 19 century. The zoo is surprisingly well equipped considering its free and the greenhouses in the botanical gardens were a good place to warm up on a cold day. This park would be good to run around or perfect for an afternoon stroll around the lake. After the park we decided to do something a bit more culture and we went to the Musee des Beaux-Arts, this museum is home to an impressive collection of paintings, both French and international. We loved this museum. It's beautifully curated and a pleasure to walk through. The audi guides are free, which is a major plus as all of the plaques are (understandably) in French. This is one of those galleries where, amongst some very ordinary artwork there are some real treats - a Gaugin, some Matisses, and some Courbets - to name a few

Paris

After spending couple days at Disney Paris we decided to start adventuring into Paris and get ready to learn a little more about the culture, the food, and the city itself. The first places we wanted to go were the La Tour Eiffel and the Louvre. 

La Tour Eiffel was magnifique. It was located on the Champ de mars in Paris. The champ de mars is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius, which is a tribute to the Roman god of war. 

At the ground level of the tower there are many souvenir shops. There is also a big buffet, and a petite sculpture of Gustave Eiffel. On the first floor, there are fascinating signs everywhere offering explanations about the history of the tower. There is also a little room called the “Gustave Eiffel room”.This reception room is set in a prime position on the 1st floor of the Eiffel Tower with a breathtaking view over Paris and its most remarkable sites. Then on the second floor there are plenty of restaurants. There is a champagne bar, another buffet and a couple of very fancy restaurants. We opted to go to the champagne bar and we decided to have a glass of rose champagne. Which was really good in the company of an amazing view. To get to the top of the tower we took one of three glass elevators that there are. It took forever to get to the elevator because there were so many tourist. But we did not want to take the stairs. We weren’t sure we could make it. It was 708 steps! At the top of the tower we got to see the whole city of Paris. It was an unforgettable experience. 

After our amazing tour of the Eiffel tower we decided to walk to the Louvre. It was about 2 miles, but it was very nice to get to see the city by foot. We got to see different stores, restaurants, and bars. 

The Louvre was also fascinating. There was an exhibition of Eugene Delacroix. He was a french romantic artist. The museum was full of art. There was also a loooot of people there but it was well worth it. We got to the the venus de milo, the Mona Lisa, The oath of the Horatti, and the Raft of the Medusa, just to mention a few. The museum was a very interesting experience. It was very emotional to get to see all the pieces of art that are such a valuable pieces of history in the humanity. 

Well that is it for today, I will let you know about our next destination. 

Au Revoir!