As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.
Ever since reading (and doing a bit of cooking from), Jane Sigal's wonderful book (it more than a cookbook in my mind); Bistronomy: Recipes from the Best New Paris Bistros, I'd been wanting to try one of the places mentioned in the book. In case you're not familiar with it; think of it as "bistro + gastronomy", at its best; it is affordable food, made with excellent ingredients and technique, without over-wrought processes, in a casual environment.
After doing a bit of research; I'd managed to get reservations at Au Passage in the hip and trendy 11th Arrondissment. So, after a nice afternoon nap, we headed off….we actually walked to the 11th from our hotel in the 5th.
It was about a mile and a half from the hotel and while it was a bit of a hazy evening; it was still quite beautiful.
Located in a little side street (passage) Au Passage has a rustic, vibrant, somewhat hip, vibe to it.
The place fills up pretty quickly. The Missus partook of several of the wines by the glass; the listing is on the chalkboard.
The menu, on a single sheet of paper changes frequently….we immediately knew what we wanted to start with…..
The House Foie Gras (8€). This was well made, very smooth, quite balanced in flavor between the earthy livery flavors with a touch of sweetness. It was also quite a large portion.
Next up; "St Pierre" Sauce XO (10€). Basically, John Dory in a version of Chinese XO Sauce.
If you've ever had "matodai" at a sushi bar; you'd know what this is; a mild, lightly sweet, and tender "shiromi" (whitefish). The XO Sauce (which seemed to have quite a bit of lardon), while quite mild in terms of spice, was still overkill for the lovely and tender fish.
We particularly enjoyed the Endive Moutarde Oreille de Cochon (9€) – some really bitter and yet sweet endive, with a nice mustard based sauce and crunchy delicious fried pig ears.
The Veal Sweetbreads with a wonderful, lightly tangy, sunchoke sauce was also quite amazing.
The perfectly seasoned and cooked sweetbreads were wonderful, a light crust, gave way to a soft and creamy interior.
These Vielle Rouge; which I believe is grouper; was fine, moist, with a crisp skin.
Quite simple in prep.
The Beef was served "blue" and was on the tough side and under seasoned. The greens were quite good though.
Overall, a nice meal, quite solid, and a decent value. The service was a bit shakey as the place got busier we were kind of forgotten.
Still, it was fun trying one of these neo-bistros, the proclaimed "new wave" of bistros.
Au Passage 1 bis passage Saint Sébastien 75011 Paris, France
As we crossed the Seine, we stopped to watch the Eiffel Tower shine it's light on Notre-Dame de Paris, we stop to reflect on just how lucky we were to be able to enjoy the freedom of travel….the sights…sounds…and of course the food!
During our last full day in Paris, we made no plans, "réservations pour le dîner, oui", but really had no real plans other than that.
So, during our breakfast at the Hotel Monge, we came up with our plans for the morning.
Well, at least a place to start. We headed down Rue Monge, one block later we headed west on Rue Lacépède, then turning down Rue Mouffetard. Several blocks down starts the really well known part of Rue Mouffetard, known as Marché Mouffetard, the street that Hemingway dubbed as "A Moveable Feast".
Things were quiet on this morning.
It was still too early in the morning it seems. So when we got to the Paroisse Saint Medard, we decided to head back up to Place Monge. We'd return to Rue Mouffetard the next morning.
At Place Monge; we noticed that it was market day.
The entire square was taken over with booths selling prepared food, produce, meat, and of course fromage.
We always enjoy these markets, as we get to watch everyday life.
And having been to a couple of places in France, we had to smile at places that jogged our memory.
I did ask the Missus if She wanted some; but She wistfully told me; "I'm still full and it's too early in the morning". so perhaps we'll have to head back to Alsace one of these days.
From here we headed up Rue Monge.
Crossed over the Seine on Boulevard du Palais.
This was the busy 1st Arrondissement. There's a lot going on here; the Louvre, the Jardine de Tuileries, Jardin du Palais Royal, it's all here.
The Tour Saint-Jacques (Saint-Jacques Tower), once part of Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie ("Saint James of the butchers"), which was demolished in 1793. All that remains is the tower.
The tower indicated that we were getting close to our next destination.
A short turn right and you're on Rue Montorgueil; one of the most well known Market Street….as like we were often told; is "très différent du marché de rue"….the difference between a "street market" and a "market street".
There are businesses, like La Maison Stohrer to the right; established in 1730, that claims to have invented Rum Baba.
There's an interesting mix of tourists…..
And locals……
It's a wonderful miasma of sights, sounds, and smells.
I'd been told by some folks that people in Paris were quite rude. And while we had run into a few folks who basically didn't want anything to do with tourists……there were so many wonderful folks like the nice woman who saw us staring at the Rue Montorgueil sign and came up to us and asked, "Monsieur, Madame, are you lost, do you need some help?" We never forget these moments as it makes us better human beings. We are all more alike then we are different. It is much harder to be cruel and cold than it is to be kind.
We had done our exploring for the day and decided to head back to the hotel. We knew that lunch really wasn't in the cards. The Missus decided that perhaps we should continue our "croissant quest" on Rue Monge.
Maison Gregoire was a block away from our hotel. Of course we got the croissant "au buerre" (croissants made with butter, not margarine).
This one was a little light in the butter side of things and on the dry side. In terms of flakiness and lightness it hit the mark.
Maison Grégoire 69 rue Monge 75005 Paris, France
Catty corner from Maison Grégoire is another Artisan Boulangerie.
Same drill…except when I removed the croissant from the package….good lord!
Burnt, bitter,….incinerated. Dry as all heck. The lady in the bakery seemed detached and it seems that she just didn't care. This was horrible.
Boulangerie Teillet Philippe 66 rue Monge 75005 Paris, France
After exploring Ferrara for a bit and then a short nap, we awoke hungry. Since it was Easter Monday, a holiday, we were lucky to have been able to get reservations for dinner. Our B&B was right outside the city walls, so we left a bit early and just enjoyed sitting alongside Ex Chiesa Di San Romano, which was now the Cathedral Museum, facing Piazza Trento e Trieste. It was a beautiful night!
It seems that much of the crowd we saw during the day had left.
Soon enough, dinner time had arrived. Ferrara itself is an ancient city, the first recordings of a settlement in the area was in the 6th Century BC. Thus the city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has city walls and warrens of alleyways. Down one of these is Trattoria da Noemi. There was quite a line in place when we arrived and folks were being turned away. Like I said, we were lucky to have gone earlier in the day and snag some reservations. The only thing we had really eaten for the whole day was some salumi, so we were starved.
The Missus ordered the Fiori di Zucca fritti ripieni di mozzarella – fried squash blossom stuffed with mozzarella to start.
These looked fairly dense, but were surprisingly light, the breading nice and crisp. The cheese added a bit of density to things and just the slightest bit of milky acidity.
You know what I ordered as my primi, right?
Yep, Culatello of course! This was Culatello di Zebello, so tender, almost sweet, with a touch of milkiness. In case you don't know what part of the pig is used for this…think of the name…."culo". The torta fritta here was light and crisp, a perfect match for the piece of….ahem, you get it right?
We had noticed an entire section of "special" pasta on the menu. Can you guess what was special about these?
The Missus ordered the Fagottini ripieni di faraona al tartufo. These tender "little bundles" were filled with Guinea fowl, which was quite mild, we expected something more gamey. The hand made pasta was quite tender. And this is the way pasta is in Emilia-Romagna, it shines on it's own, not drenched in sauce and in this case, topped with fragrant black truffle. All the ingredients shine.
I had wanted to try pasta al zucca (pasta stuffed with pumpkin), so I ordered the Cappellacci di zucca burro e salvia al tartufo. Stuffed pasta in the shape of a "hat".
Of course I got it topped with truffle. The pasta is finished in sage butter; which wasn't enough to balance out the sweetness of the pumpkin….this was just too sweet for us. The pasta was quite tender, with the slightest pull.
We had enjoyed our meal with a couple of glasses of wine.
The meal was enjoyable and we attempted to make reservations for lunch the next day, but the place was booked solid.
Trattoria da Noemi Via Ragno 31 44100 Ferrara, Italy
We awoke the next morning and had a light breakfast. We went back to our room to relax until check-out time. Our train didn't leave until after 4pm and we didn't have to do anything other than return out rental car. The folks running the B&B kindly allowed us to park our car in their lot after we checked out. We decided to take another walk around the city.
Things were fairly quiet. We just wandered the various alleyways and streets taking in the charming cobbled streets and warrens that circled the town.
Things started picking up as the clocked edged toward eleven. Many places were closed; I guess to recover from the Easter rush, all the other were booked, and even take out panini places had an hour wait….for paninis to go!
We decided that lunch just wasn't in the cards for us and just decided to return the rental car. When determining our route and timing for the rental car return, I noticed that our rental office in Ferrara was just a ten minute walk to the train station.
The woman at the rental office was so warm and friendly!
As I walked back out to the street, I noticed this place next to the rental office.
We got a couple of Americanos and shared a sandwich to kill some time. What was really interesting were the three guys sitting on the other side of the al fresco "palette", they had obviously gone thru a couple of beers each. One of the guys had that "glow" if you know what I mean….his face was bright red. He finished beer number who knows…..got up…shook his friends hands….and got into a delivery van and drove off! Sheesh….
We got up, returned our cups and saucers…..and took the short walk to Ferrara Train Station.
We'd had a fun time in Ferrara. I'd randomly picked Ferrara because of an extra day we had between cities and noticing how close the rental car office was to the train station. Part of this was driven by some dinner reservations and other things. Ferrara entertained us and exceeded our expectations. We just might return some day…..though I'm going to make sure it's not around a holiday!
It was probably not the best plan on my part. I had thought Easter Sunday might be a problem and was kind of worried about finding places open. We did luck out with a gigantic meal at Osteria Carducci in an almost sedate Piacenza. Which pointed out two things I didn't know about Easter in Emilia-Romagna; folks in the big city head out to smaller towns; like Ferrara, to celebrate and enjoy life. Two, the Monday after Easter is a holiday and places would be packed. We searched for a decent place for lunch but every place was booked, or just served stuff like pizza and panini. We did manage to snag reservations for dinner.
Ferrara Cathedral dominates Piazza Trento e Trieste considered to be the center of the city. While there was a lot of restoration work going on, we decided to check out this structure which dates back to the 12th Century.
The interior is quite grand in a rather foreboding kind of way; as it is rather dark.
There were services going on; so we decided to just take a quick look around…..
It would be interesting to see the Cathedral after all the restoration work is complete.
As we slipped into the quite street behind the Cathedral we saw this place.
Like 583 years old! So now for the name dropping; Copernicus studied at the University of Ferrara in 1503. While matriculating, he actually had a room right above Al Bridisi.
So, if it was good enough for Copernicus; it must be good enough for us.
Being a bit later in the afternoon; we just decided on some Culatello (of course) and a couple of glasses of wine. A red for the Missus and a white for me.
Along with the Culatello, we were served the famous and typical bread of the city; Coppia, which means "couple" has a unique shape, two strands of rolled dough are connected like a cross, with four "legs".
This was fairly dry and crumbly, though very "yeasty"…..it's not something we'd search out.
The Culatello was decent, not quite melt in your mouth, but still satisfying.
There is a definite porky-cheesy flavor to culatello which I really love.
So, are you ready for our Al Brindisi story? It's about the Missus's red wine….first of all, it was turning a bit skunky to the nose….
It tasted like it was on its way to becoming a nice vinegar. We motioned our really nice Server over and explained to him that the red wine was going south. His response? He flashed us an uneasy smile and said "SOOO-rrreeee". And walked away never to be seen again! You couldn't help but laugh!
Oh well, we cut our losses…this red was really inexpensive.
And we now have a story about the oldest wine bar in the world, right?
Enoteca al Brindisi Via Guglielmo Degli Adelardi 11 44121, Ferrara, Italy
After our snack we headed out and stretched our legs.
Ferrara was indeed an "interesting" town…..looks like this fellow is trying to sell his books?
Just a few blocks from the center of town; things were a lot quieter. This is the Piazzeta Sant 'Anna
This was once the sight of the first hospital in Ferrara, dedicated to Saint Anne.
We headed away from the city center……just taking in some of the wonderful structures along the way.
That's the Chisea del Gesu above, a Jesuit church built in the 16th century.
You kind of get the idea that they measure time in centuries here. In need of a nap before dinner we headed back, past the Castello Estense di Ferrara.
We checked out of our lodge fairly early in the morning. The Missus really wanted to hit the road. We had some reservations to keep at 2pm and the Missus still wanted to enjoy the scenery.
While Denali National Park gets all the headlines; I have to say, for us, the unadventurous type, the views along Denali State Park are wonderful.
A couple of three hours or so later, we made it to Denali National Park. But not before watching this moose cross the road.
After wandering around the shops and displays at the visitors center; the Missus wanted to take a short hike. We chose the McKinley Station trail, which took us along Riley Creek, under train trestles, and down a really nicely groomed path.
It was a nice, easy hike.We got back to the visitors center and headed off to the strip of tourist shops called "Glitter Gulch" (Nenana Canyon), yikes! We soon headed on out to a pick up spot for our next stop for the day. We'd made reservations to visit Jeff King's Husky Homestead. A mini bus came to pick us up and take us to Jeff King's Iditarod Training Center……I'm hoping you folks know what the Iditarod is. Jeff King is a four time winner of what is called "the Last Great Race on Earth". I was looking forward to seeing the dogs, the training, learning about life and preparation for the Iditarod, learning about the Alaskan Husky. All of which was answered. But first….some puppies!
We were told that they have visitors meet the puppies to help socialize and get them used to being around people.
It became apparent quite quickly what great shape these dogs were in….they were athletes. They got so excited when the handlers came around….think of school kids going "pick me…pick me."
We quickly found out that "Alaskan Huskies" are not considered pure bred….they are not recognized by the AKC. These are dogs bred for their abilities to be able to pull, work as a team, run, lead….
They are also quite affectionate and each has its own personality. They also love attention…..
It was quite obvious that in the same way Frankie is made to eat snacks; these dogs are, well, to paraphrase the Bruce Springsteen song, they are "Born to Run". They seem most fulfilled and happy when working.
It was amazing watching them training on the custom treadmill pulling an ATV.
As soon as they were hooked up….they just wanted to go. Check out this video:
What was even more entertaining was watching the treadmill turned off. The team just pulled the ATV into the woods and then back around and up the hill. While all the other dogs just wanted to be part of the spectacle.
The outdoor presentation was wonderful; we learned about the breed, met the lead dogs, several of which were brought out to meet the audience.
We learned how the dogs were named….and yes, there was even a Sammy!
The indoor session was even more fascinating; at least for me….plus; the presenters, who have actually done the Iditarod; since Jeff King was out of town, had a pretty funny schtick.
Seriously though, topics like Vet care, how many dogs they take for each race, staging food……each dog consumes about 12,000….yes, twelve thousand calories a day during the race. Each musher is responsible foe feeding his or her team, with no help! They need to schedule the dogs time pulling, rest time, prepare their food…..I was told that to make the most of what time they might have to sleep; 3-4 hours, they'll often forgo shelter and just sleep in the sled…..rinse, repeat.
In other words; the dogs are noble athletes, it is about them….the mushers, well, they must be nuts…..
The average age an Iditarod sled dog lives to is 12-15 years….which is pretty amazing for a 60 pound dog.
There was so much covered in the time at Husky Homestead……regardless of your belief on the Iditarod, I learned a lot about the Alaskan Husky. The folks at Husky Homestead are great.
After the tour we were dropped off at our pick-up point and we headed to where we were staying for the night; McKinley Creek Cabins. Really nice, friendly folks…..
Originally, I wanted to have dinner at the nearby 229 Parks Restaurant, but they were still closed during our visit. So, instead we ate at the McKinley Creekside Café, which I read good things about.
This low keyed spot had a simple menu of basic fare…..
We ordered a couple of things off the menu. First up was the Reindeer Sausage Vegetable Soup which was on the greasy side.
It was also overly salty.
We also ordered the "Alaska Sampler" ($23); which was basically an appetizer plate.
So here's the deal; if you like basic, say, TGI Fridays fare, you'd like this. The calamari was tough, the halibut was fried too long and dry, the Reindeer sausage was also over-cooked, tough, and dry. The item the Missus thought She was not going to like; the Smoked Salmon Dip was what we enjoyed the most, smoky, almost crab like flavors; which went well with the nicely toasted, we were told, house made bread.
We also got the Bacon – Jalapeno Deviled Eggs.
The egg whites were too rubbery and the egg yolk mixture was very runny….not much bacon, nor jalapeno tones in this and the runny mixture just didn't look very appealing.
On the good side; the staff was wonderful…..
McKinley Creekside Cafe 224 Parks Hwy Denali National Park and Preserve, AK 99755
Still a bit unsatisfied, we walked across the bridge to Panorama Pizza Pub.
Went and ordered a couple of beers and a cheese bread. The young lady working the bar was amazing.
As was just sitting on the porch and chilling……
Though it seemed that our cheese bread was taking quite long….another round of beers….. I then went in and spoke to the young lady nicely, it wasn't her fault. I got talking to one of the guys sitting at the bar, who it turns out is a chef, for one of the nearby more fancy places……he told me, "things are kinda rough right now in these places……the season has just begun and the staff is getting used to things, but there's no excuse for cheese bread taking an hour".
We decided to take our cheese bread to go…….
Panorama Pizza Pub Mile 224 Parks Hwy Healy, AK 99743
We left the cheese bread in the room and went for a walk….it was nearly seven pm, but the sun didn't set until nearly ten and this is what McKinley Creek looked like.
We got back to the room….and there was no cheese on the cheese bread….whatever….we really didn't care. Would you have if this was right outside your door?
We got back into Paris at around 330pm. The Paris metro system is fairly easy to navigate and we got to what I consider to be one of my favorite hotels; the Hotel Monge in the Latin Quarter by 4pm. Check-in, as always with the folks here is a breeze. Hotel rooms are fairly small in Paris and I've learned to get the Deluxe Double Room. Which at first worried me because it over-looked the street, but the windows do a good job of muffling out the noise.
We aim for one blow-out meal when visiting Paris; the first time around it was David Toutain, the last time at Sola. Because the Missus loved Sola, I tried to make reservations for a revisit; but they were closed during this time. There was something about French cuisine with Japanese touches and sensibilities that really got to us. And I think many other folks as well as there seems to be a revolution going on where Japanese Chefs are running Michelin Star level restaurants in France. After doing a bit of research; I settled on Restaurant Alliance which is located a short walk from where we were staying.
We took in the holiday season sights at Notre-Dame de Paris, before crossing back to the very discreet location of Restaurant Alliance on Rue de Poissy.
There are only 9 tables in this discreet restaurant; only one of which was filled when we arrived.
The simple décor belies the nice spacing; comfortable seating, the sound dimming qualities of the place. As for the staff; they were amazing, not obtrusive, very genial, professional, and most of all they really knew their stuff. They Missus and I got the tasting menu, with one tasting, and the Sommolier, Shawn Joyuex, one of the partners, really made the Missus happy with our pairings.
We loved the pacing on the dishes; each looking pristine, not overly done, and to the point.
Starting with the Anchovy and Tomato. This amuse was wonderful; the savory-salty anchovy perfectly balanced with the sweet-tangy-acidic tomato paste.
The Brioche with Fennel Cream doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy; but the light, mildly sweet, buttery brioche found a wonderful dancing partner, one with a rich little anise kick to keep things moving along.
One of my favorite items of the meal was the Beignet Seafood. This was basically a Karaage, a pristine, perfectly fried, perfectly seasoned, karaage, the lieks of which I'd never had before.
A lovely crunch, nice seasoning, savory-sweet, with a very mild smokey spice, and I believe there was a light touch of shio koji or something similar going on. This was just amazing.
Caviar with Champagne was fine. A bit austere, but perhaps with something like this, simpler is easier.
Uni with Kampari Foam and Sea Asparagus was another amazing dish with flavors I would have never though would have gone together well.
I'm not the biggest fan of foams; but this light, tangy-acidic-fruity foam did so well with the rich, oceany uni. Really creative combination.
The Beets with Dulse was a good dish to bring us back to earth after the uni.
The almost salty "bacon of the sea" flavor of dulse was nice in really balancing out the earthy sweetness of the beets.
When we were seated; one of the Servers came around with a glass container….as soon as he opened it the entire room was filled with the fragrance of white truffle. So, being on vacation, how could we not order it? The container would make it to every table and we'd be assaulted with the intoxicating aroma of truffle. There was a table of four across the room, one of the young men seemed to be a regular. Everyone knew him and chatted with him. When the glass container started making its way to his table; he raised both hands in surrender and said "c'est bonne…c'est bonne"!
Not the biggest fan of the pasta per se; but you could have given me shoe leather and I'd have gladly consumed it with the truffle and that perfect funghi based sauce.
The Scallops, kaffir lime, and coconut milk was a symphony of familiar flavors that worked well together.
The scallops were as to be expected in a place like Alliance. Perfectly seared, perfectly rare, perfectly sweet and mildly briny.
The wonderful buttery texture and mild sweetness of the lobster was the star of the Lobster, kumquat, and spinach, in red wine sauce.
The dish could have used a bit more tannic-bitter flavors as it approached being perhaps a bit too sweet.
The desserts? Well, that's the Missus's department. I will say that I really enjoyed the Vanilla Mousses that was served with black olives, where the saltiness of the olives just balanced out the sweetness off the vanilla. The Missus loved the chocolates with jellies in the center.
This was a wonderful meal; perhaps the best we've had in Paris thus far. The Missus is still talking about this meal; not just in terms of single dishes; but mentioning the pace, the staff, and of course, the wine!
We awoke fairly early on our last day in Strasbourg. Our short trip here just went by in a flash.
Since our train wouldn't be leaving until around 130; we asked the folks who managed the apartment if we could pack and leave our luggage there until it was time to head off to the train station at around noon. As with most folks who run these properties, it was no problem.
Even though we had managed to walk around much of the Grande Île and even did a boat tour, there's a lot that we missed. Like the Église protestante Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune, which was basically two blocks from where we were staying.
These places would just have to wait until next time……
On this brisk morning; there was a produce market going on….so we stopped by to check things out.
So, in addition to all the ornament and other stands; many of which were already open at 9am…..
There were folks pulling along wheeled shopping baskets……
We did one more "tour" of Grande Île, walking through Petit France, and taking time to take photos in front of the Christmas Tree at Place Kléber. Which apparently was the thing to do….
This is a statue of Jean-Baptiste Kléber ,the square's namesake; a Military General and Architect who was born in Strasbourg.
A lot of the fun was just wandering around and watching the folks out and about on this morning.
Soon enough; it was time to grab a bite to eat before grabbing our bags and heading back to Paris. You know what the Missus wanted, right?
So we got back to Place Broglie…..
And while the Missus went off in search of more Choucroute Garnie; I found this rather enticing sausage stand.
The guy working here was a hoot. After a good bonjour…..basically using up all the French I knew. I pointed to the great looking sausages with caramelized onions in the tray. He smile and asked me where I was from. I told him "America"; he then said, "good, you want zee hot dog?" He cracked me up! I ordered one; and he actually went ahead and made one up for me fresh. really nice. Before he handed the foot long sausage in a baguette to me he asked: "you want zee ket-chup?" I laughed and said "non merci monsieur – my friends from Chicago would kill me if I put ketchup on my hotdog!" He laughed and said; "so monsieur….you are purist?" And we both cracked up…..the sausage guy….and yours truly; the hot dog "purist"!
By the way; this was delicious; the forcemeat style sausage had an amazing snap, was perfectly seasoned. The mustard added a mild pungency and those onions were really sweet.
But the most amazing thing about this was the baguette; light, crusty, yeasty….oh man; even the Missus, who ate half of this by the way, in addition to what She got, enjoyed "zee hot dog!"
Of course She got more sausages and sauerkraut. Man, I can't believe how much of this stuff She can put away. Oh well, at least She was having a blast.
We finished up our early lunch, picked up our bags from the apartment, and headed off to Strasbourg Station.
We had really enjoyed our stay in joyous, colorful Strasbourg. I'm hoping to return one day.
After napping off our afternoon wanderings and vin chaud, we awoke and relaxed a bit. The Missus watched Netflix, I worked on a post. By the time we headed out it was dark. We decided to head back to Place Kléber considered to be the central square of Strasbourg. As the sun set, the city seemed to awaken, everyone put on their warm clothes, the lights came on, and Strasbourg came alive.
The Missus was enchanted with all of the wonderful window displays.
Just like the previous evening we stopped at Place Kléber to enjoy the Christmas Tree.
So strikingly beautiful. It just put you in the holiday mood……
And this really good street musician helped to set the tone.
It just made for a wonderful moment in time.
Wandering around the side streets we found a little courtyard and this wine bar.
Named Terres a Vin. We decided to step in and have some wine and a snack.
We both started with wines typical of the region; a Riesling for the Missus a Gewürztraminer for me. While sipping on our wine, we decided to stick around for a while. We ordered some fromage and had another glass.
It was another nice little stop on a day of many wonderful vignettes.
Terres a Vin 1 rue du Miroir Strasbourg, France
As we headed back to the apartment; we decided to get something to eat. Guess what the Missus wanted?
Yep, more choucroute, this time with just some "knacks". That baguette was actually quite good. The Missus just couldn't get enough sauerkraut.
The Missus was in heaven.
There's a time for having things planned out when on vacation. But then again, sometimes it's great to not make plans at all. Not having to be anywhere made for a wonderful day, in a lovely city.
We were given a bottle of wine when we checked in. This evening made for the perfect moment to pop that cork…..
Move one of the chairs up to the window; throw back the curtains, and enjoy…….
We slept well after having a pretty busy day; hard to believe the difference between Paris and the Christmas Market in Strasbourg. The only real plans we made for our stay in Strasbourg was for the apartment and the dinner we had the previous night. We just wanted to relax and enjoy ourselves.
We stepped out into a brisk, but beautiful morning. The sun reflected its orange colors off the buildings.
We decided to head on over to the Cathedral to get a better look at it. There was also one item in the Cathedral that I really wanted to see.
So we headed out; down the pedestrian only alleyways of the Grande Île.
We strolled down Rue du Dome, which ended right at Strasbourg Cathedral; the sun reflecting orange rays off the bell tower.
It was quite a stunning sight.
Like I mentioned in my previous post; Strasbourg Cathedral was once the tallest building in the world.
There are also some interesting stories about the Cathedral; one of the most interesting, you'll find a version here; is of the Devil , riding on the wind, was drawn to a sculpture in the Cathedral, showing him in the form of "a tempter". Curious, he left the wind outside and entered the Cathedral and was imprisoned in one of the pillars. To this day; the wind still awaits his return outside the Cathedral. Which is why it is always so blustery in Cathedral Square.
The Apse is quite stunning.
As are other parts of the Cathedral.
But, as I mentioned, there was one main thing I had come to see. Since our visit to Prague a few years back; I'd become rather fascinated Astronomical Clocks like the one in the Old Town Square of that city. I'd only seen one other Astronomical Clock; this one in Olomouc, so I was interested in seeing another. This one is actually the third clock. The first had been built in the 14th Century, the second in the 16th Century. This one dates back to 1843. It is also one of the largest.
Satisfied we headed back out. There's a Christmas Market in Cathedral Square. The theme of this market is a different country every year….this year it was…..well we had a chuckle.
I still wanted to get a decent photo of the Cathedral, so I walked down the alley of Rue Merciere. Since it was early, there wasn't much traffic, of the wheeled or two-legged kind.
So I snapped a photo. Not sure if it it's especially great; but it would be the best I would get on this trip.
Walk across the street and you are on Place Gutenberg; yes, named after that Gutenberg. Johannes Gutenberg lived in Strasbourg for around faive years or so. It is said that during this time he presented his printing press to the world in a publication called Kunst und Aventur (art and enterprise). Naturally, a statue of Gutenberg stands in the square.
From here; we decided to hit up the TI and they recommended we take a boat tour around the Grande Île. Because of the green tinted windows; my photos didn't turn out well; but here's a short video clip.
And, I got a nice shot of the row of buildings where our apartment was. You can see it was quite a nice location.
The boat ride ended in the area known as Petit France. This picturesque and historic area is where the River Ill splits into four canals.
And is known for the covered bridges in the area; you can still see the fortifications for those bridges that date back to the 13th century.
It is quite touristy, but also very charming.
Because of the river and canals; this was where the tanners and other folks lived. In an interesting twist; the name "Petit France" is not named for its architecture, but because of a 16th century hospital that treated "zum Franzosel" (the French disease), aka syphilis while still a free city in the Holy Roman Empire. Apparently, the citizens of Strasbourg believed the disease was the fault of the French. Basically, the idea was to isolate those with the disease in a structure in this district.
On a totally unrelated (to venereal disease) note. Since we were in the area; we decided to finally try some Vin Chaud; mulled wine.
Basically warm, mulled wine…….
You know, we never developed a taste for this…..gaaack…it was really sour, warm, and in most cases spiced. One of our friends wade a video of all of our faces after drinking this stuff. On a positive note; it really did warm you up….but you had to swallow of course. As you can read yourself on this post: "Vin Chaud was originally made as a means of saving wine that had gone bad—by adding sugar and spices it often made the wine drinkable again" You did get some nice souvenir cups though.
By now, we decided to head back to the apartment. But after that vin chaud we were in need of some sustenance. We stopped by the Christkindelsmärik on Place Broglie just two blocks from the apartment. This stand looked quite popular.
Seems this fellow resented not getting his share of choucroute garnie.
The Missus got the Choucroute d'Alsace; She just can't ever get enough fermented cabbage it seems. The knack was nice and snappy and the smoked sausage quite nice.
The potatoes were tender…what's not to like….since She just loved the charcroute, who am I to deny Her access to this….we'd basically have it for every meal.
I decided to try the Munster en Baguette.
Very ripe smelling Munster cheese, but very mild and milky, almost sweet in flavor; on a nice crusty baguette….the ripe tomatoes added just enough acidity to cut through the richness and salty tones. This was quite enjoyable.
Then we made a mistake of trying more vin chaud! This was better, not as puckery….but we're not sold on this……
As this fellow seemed to say to me "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice……."
We must have both been exhausted. After a very nice dinner at Mourad, the Missus and I basically slept ten hours! We got up and with no real plans in mind, decided to take a stroll. Since it had been over a decade and a half since we'd been in the city, we thought a walk along San Francisco Bay might be fun; starting at the Ferry Building, ending near Fort Mason.
This brass fountain was a gift to the city of San Francisco from Lotta Crabtree, a well known Entertainer, you can read more about her here. According to Atlas Obscura, Lotta loved San Francisco and donated this fountain to the city in 1875. And that would be just a "nice story" if not for the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. The earthquake damage and fires left the city in ruins. Lotta's Fountain though, was still standing and became an important landmark and meeting place for survivors of that disaster. Even though the last known survivor of the earthquake died in 2016, a quake remembrance and ceremony is held at this spot at 512am on April 18 of every year. The exact time the quake struck San Francisco.
It had wonderful fruity tones and was just the pick-me-up we needed.
Blue Bottle Coffee Ferry Building, One San Francisco Bay Trail San Francisco, CA 94111
And caffeine in hand we were on our way.
It was a slightly hazy day, but the sun was out, and the temperature was fifteen degrees cooler than San Diego.
We wandered out to Pier 7, and enjoyed the view of the Transamerica Building.
We enjoyed a rather brisk walk up the Embarcadero……..eventually getting to all the tourists at Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf.
The haze had started to clear out and I finally got a decent shot of Alcatraz Island.
We meandered past all the tourist traps and got to Ghirardelli Square. Man, I don't recall it being so packed in like this when we last visited all those years ago.
As we neared Laguna Street, we noticed folks carrying bags filled with produce, so we followed the trail and ended up at Fort Mason Center where it was Market Day.
We spent a good forty-five minutes checking out the various stands and sampling the fruit….man, that yellow watermelon was so good.
It was a nice break….a little slice of life. If we lived in the area, this would truly be a weekly stop for us.
Fort Mason Center Farmers' Market Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94109 Sunday 930am – 130pm
From here; the plan was to grab an early lunch from one of the places on Chestnut Street, so we headed off in that direction.
But after sampling the produce at the Farmers Market and checking out the eating establishments on Chestnut Street, The Missus remained uninspired. So She told me; "let's head back to Chinatown". By heading back, She meant "walk". And then added; let's do it via Lombard Street. Yikes……
So I huffed and puffed my way up Lombard.
Instead of walking down that crooked one block part of Lombard Street we headed a few blocks over and walked down Filbert.
Eventually we made it too Columbus Street, then Jackson. Now the question was, where to eat?
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