Strasbourg, France

As we made our way down the beautiful, but extremely windy Black Forest mountain, we crossed the border and headed west towards Strasbourg, France. Once we arrived to the city, we were told that Petite France was the quarter to be in so we found parking and began our exploration of the city. We came to find out that this city has a rich history and that it was the Tour de France's starting point so, we got to see where all the bikers begin their long journey! The old parts of the city were so well preserved and at the same time there were lots of modernized shops and restaurants... it was the perfect blend. What a beautiful and quaint town Strasbourg was, we spent most of the day exploring the precious alleys filled with luxury goods, chocolates, teas, coffees, bakeries, restaurants, and patisseries.

I was most taken by this patisserie, with a French women standing in the window and waving a treat at us to try. As we stepped into the shop, I almost fainted with how delicious everything smelled and looked. Tea cookies of all kinds, meringues, an array of marzipan treats, and my absolute favorite...

Macaroons! Oh my gosh I was in heaven. I just wish I could of trapped the smell of these beauties baking and attach it to this blog for you! Flavors of pistachio, strawberry, lemon, chocolate, hazelnut, chocolate-chip banana (my personal favorite), coconut, vanilla, and rum raisin all found themselves in a bag and shortly there after in our tummies along side our cappuccinos.

After walking off all of the cookies, we worked up an appetite for a very traditional lunch that was customary to the region...

A Flambee Tart.. a super thin crusted-like pizza with a light cream sauce and veggies... we had two glasses of wine and soaked up the traditional Alsatian atmosphere... Strasbourg ended up exceeding our expectations all around!

After our lunch, we headed a little outside of Strasbourg to our castle-looking hotel... it was quite the experience! It was very old-world and our room was all pink and looked like a Queen's room from back in the day... definitely a first for us! We took it all in and after we got settled, we went for a walk around the little village... lots of foliage and a beautiful river... it was a nice walk before it was time to get back to get ready for our most special dinner reservation of the week... we had been waiting for this all along and could hardly wait!