Strasbourg, France

The classic old section of Strasbourg, France.

We spent three days in Strasbourg, a lovely historic city on the French/German border, with our friends the Picauds.

Michele and Serge have five beautiful daughters, ranging in age from Myrtille (14 years old) to Flores (18 months).They were the perfect hosts, arranging for us to stay in the apartment of some good friends who were away for the holidays, so we had plenty of space to ourselves nearby.

We spent the first day touring Strasbourg, famous for its annual Christmas market. The decorations and lights were still in place all through the center of town, which made it seem especially festive. Michele helped us buy fashionable leather shoes for the girls, as their feet were freezing in American tennis shoes, and patiently spent a long time letting us watch an amazing 15th century clock in the cathedral.

 

Alex eats New Year's Eve dinner with seven French girls and his sisters (two of the girls didn't fit in the picture).

That night was New Year's Eve. Myrtille had two friends visiting, so Alex had a New Year's Eve dinner of potatoes and cheese with 9 girls, while we parents ate foix gras and lobster tails in the living room.

We finished dinner just in time for the midnight celebration -- one of the highlights of the trip for Alex.

Alex preparing to throw a lit firecracker (he kept a few unlit ones for later...)

The tradition in Strasbourg, as in many other European cities, is to set off fireworks -- big ones, from every street corner. We went outside in the freezing snow and spent more than 2 hours setting off rockets, sparklers, and firecrackers, as did most of the neighbors. The excitement of never knowing if a firecracker was about to whiz past your head or through your legs kept everyone wide awake.

After the fireworks, we had a special New Year's Eve cake called a King's Cake. A delicious almond cake, the very old tradition is to hide a small toy inside the cake. The person who gets the toy becomes king for the day (or night, in our case) and has to select a queen. Alex -- with a very red face -- got the toy and had to select a queen. He finally chose Flores, who made a beautiful 18-month old queen.

 

After a not-so-early rise the next morning, we continued our journey to San Sebastian. Michele arranged for us to stay with her parents in Montepelier, in the south of France on the Mediterranean, that evening.

Home

Amsterdam | Strasbourg | Montpellier | Lisbon | London | Desserts | Bilbao | Segovia | Vitoria

Donica Mensing
dmensing@unr.edu
Last updated May 1, 2002