EuroTrip: Strasbourg, France

Hello, blog friends! Long time, no see. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth! Summer has given me a new burst of inspiration (and a little more free time) and I'm ready with lots of fun posts for your viewing pleasure.

As some of you may know, Taylor and I just got back from a 3 week trip around Europe.  Taylor was studying in Strasbourg, France last semester, so I met him there and we travelled around France, Italy & Spain. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing some photos, videos and recommendations from our trip.  It was an amazing trip, so I am excited to share with you all.

Today I'm going to share some pictures from our time in Strasbourg and a few bits and pieces about what we did/recommendations, in case any of you ever decide to check it out! I will share the video we made from our trip soon.

After one of the longest, rainiest winters in France, the sun finally came out the week I arrived in Strasbourg. We spent most of our time wandering around, exploring the city--we walked along the canal, went to the park, explored "petit France." We ate our fair share of pastries, tarte flambe, café, and Alsatian beer (Alsace is the name of the region Strasbourg is in). While we were there we also got to have dinner with Taylor's host family--it was nice to be able to see what he had been experiencing over the last 5 months.

We stayed in a room in an apartment that we rented out through airbnb.com.  I would highly recommend using this site when you travel anywhere! We used the site throughout the trip to rent out rooms and loved every apartment we stayed in.  It was nice having hosts to give us advice (the people who own the apartments are also usually living there), and by only renting a room it was just as cheap as staying in a hostel. Our apartment in Strasbourg was a perfect little place with a tiny little kitchen, creaky floorboards, and windows looking down into narrow cobblestone streets.  Our hosts were wonderful and very interesting-- we shared a bottle of wine with them one night and learned about the man's job as a circus clown! 

We spent one day seeing a few of the bigger tourist sites.  We went to Rohan Palace where we saw a couple of impressive exhibits, and then we went to the cathedral and climbed to the top for a beautiful view. [Below: The view from the top of the cathedral, stained glass in the cathedral, and German style buildings lining the river]

With each of these posts I'm going to share our recommendations for things to see, places to eat/drink, etc. We stumbled upon some really fun places along the way that we want to share!

Strasbourg is a pretty small place and while there are a number of interesting (more touristy) sites to see, the best way to experience the city is by just walking around and getting lost...here are a few places you might want to check out along the way... 

TO DO AND SEE: Grab some bread and cheese and walk to the parc de l'Orangerie for a picnic. 

In the evening walk along the canal and stop by the boat bars for a drink on your way back.

 Climb up the cathedral for a beautiful view.  If you go to the cathedral at midday you can buy a ticket to see the astronomical clock at work. Be sure to go back and see the cathedral at night as well. 

If you are into museums, check out Rohan Palace, which has a few different collections to choose from, though nothing we found particularly exciting.

Walk around petit france for a little shopping and to see a nice part of town.

TO EAT AND DRINK: Taylor's favorite place to go for coffee during the day or drinks at night was a cute little spot called Jeannette's in Centre Ville.  They have delicious mojitos.

Try some Tarte Flambe while you are there (sort of like the French version of a pizza). 

Taylor also recommends a place called La Lanterne for drinks and tarte flambe.  He says they have a happy hour on Wednesdays that includes specials on both!