Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Be Our Guest



Well folks, Wade and I had some cabin fever, so we rented a car and drove out to Colmar! We got there Friday afternoon and just wandered the cobblestone streets looking at the colorful buildings. Side tangent here, sure cobblestoned streets are  cute to look at. Walking on these stupid streets is a completely different ball game! Cobblestone is awful to walk on, the stones are uneven and by the end of the day my feet and ankles are dead! Anyway, enough of my weird dislike of cobblestones. All the buildings were so cute and colorful it was hard not to feel like you were in a fairy tale. We decided we should probably get some dinner. We stopped at a Japanese place and decided sushi was the best idea. I know what you’re thinking, “You’re in France! Eat French food!” All I have to say is, you don’t know my life! Also I’m not really sure I know what French food is. We eat pizza and sushi a lot. Although one time we did accidentally eat frog legs! It was pretty good! After dinner we went back to the hotel and watched some “good ole” French TV.

       

The next morning we were up bright and early. We were headed to an actual castle, Haut-koenigsbourg castle, in the vineyard covered hills of Orschwiller! Folks, it was a real castle! It was built in like the 14th century! They restored it back to its former glory. It was a pretty awesome castle. I wanted to find a talking candlestick and clock and have them ask me to be their guest. We really wanted it to be The Beast’s castle! Let’s be real--you folks were totally thinking about Beauty and The Beast! A castle on top of a hill in France. I feel like that’s a pretty relevant reference right now. After our castle excursion, we went to two French towns in the foothills of this castle. I don’t want anyone to freak out, but these two towns were the inspiration behind Belle’s town! I know! I was basically in my favorite Disney movie! I guess that makes Wade the Beast… he does have a cool beard. I also need to give a shout out to my brother Matt. He made us aware of these two towns, so good job Matt! I’ll give you a high five when I see in a month!

     

The first town was Ribeauville, and folks, I wanted the town’s people to start singing! There was even a fountain that looked pretty similar to the one Belle sits on, you know, when she is reading the book to the sheep? Wade tried to make me sit on the edge, but I didn’t think it was a good idea. Like what if I fell into the fountain? Too much risk was involved. I was also missing a book, so I couldn’t really complete the look. Although I did see a dog sit on the edge, so maybe I could have. Oh well! The next town on the agenda was Riquewihr. It was much smaller than Ribeauville and so cute! It was literally just one street lined with all these cute colorful buildings and you guessed it--cobblestones! It was so fun to go to these two towns! I was living my favorite childhood movie!

               


After the Beauty and The Beast morning, we spent to rest of the afternoon in Colmar. We went to The Musee´ Unterlinden and saw all the amazing artwork there. Before I moved to France, I wasn’t much of a museum goer. I found them boring. I know, GASP! Don’t worry--I like them now… if I’m not hungry at the time. Then we walked around Colmar a little more. On the recommendations of Lacee, Wade’s sister, we got some macarons (French spelling)at a little patisserie. They were the best macarons I have eaten in France! So thanks Lacee! I’m sad we don’t have any more. It was the best day ever! Once we were good and tired, we headed back to the hotel. The next morning we did a short little boat ride in the canal. It was a fun way to end a short weekend!

           

Folks, here are some things to take away from the post. Cobblestones are literally the worst thing ever. I’m not sure what French food is, but Japanese food is really good in France. Real castles are really neat. There are two towns in France that are real life Beauty and The Beast! Museums are much more entertaining when you’re not hungry. Lastly, the best macarons reside in Colmar, France!


Ha! You thought I was done with this post… nope! I have a bonus story for you. This actually happened a few weeks ago but I forgot to share it. Okay, so I haven’t gone to the store alone in France. I know, I know, I’ve lived here for seven months and I’ve always gone to the store with Wade. I just get nervous that someone will try to speak French to me, and I’ll cry because I don’t understand them! Anyway, one day Wade was going to work and said that if I was bored, I could go to the store and buy a pack of Cokes for him. Now I’m sure he said it just to be funny, but I took it as a challenge. I was feeling feisty that day, and I was like, “Yeah, I’m totally doing this!” I couldn’t remember the pin for our French debit card. so I grabbed a couple of euros. I was thinking, “It can’t be more than three euros for six cans of Cokes.” Boy was I wrong. I got to the store, grabbed the Cokes, and headed to the long checkout line. Once it was my turn I was feeling really proud of myself. I was like, “That was easy.” Feeling smug when she rang up the Cokes, I slowly realized that it cost FOUR euros. Folks, remember, I only at THREE euros. I panicked.  The lady was looking at me, the people in line were getting annoyed, and I was in shock! I started to slowly back away. I was babbling, “Oh never mind.” As I backed away, I tripped over someone’s grocery bags. Like who just leaves grocery bags on the floor?? I ran for the exit, red-faced and wondering why I thought to only bring this small amount of change. Folks, I didn’t give up! I wanted to prove to myself I could do this! I went home and grabbed ten euros! I marched up to the same lady, handed her the Cokes, and then proudly gave her the ten euros! She didn’t seem to think I was all that heroic but hey, at least I did!


Thanks for reading folks!