Hidden gems from France : There’s no place like home

Hi everyone, how are you? Another sunday is here, and it’s time for us to hop on a new plane, train and car, heading to our next destination! Today, I’m going to talk about some places I hold close to my heart. Because, when you’re 500 miles away from home, well I guess it’s a little normal to feel home-sick. Especially when living where I do.

As a way to cure my homesickness, and hopefully to make you travel a little bit, here’s a little glimpse of the places I live, I know by heart, and love so, so much. I hope you’ll enjoy ! Thank you Joan @ Fiddler Blue for inspiring me for the title of this blog post. You’re the best ❤️

COLMAR. I think there’s a saying that goes something like, you don’t know how pretty a place is if you’ve lived there your whole life. Something like that, I guess. Anyway, my point is, I’ve never seen my hometown as pretty as I see it now, and I’m very happy for that. Colmar is filled with narrow, paved streets, beautiful, typical half-timbering, colored houses. I mean, the New York Times placed my hometown as one of the 52 places to go in 2016 !

COLMAR IN A NUTSHELL:

🍔 If you want FOOD COMA: Ready for your first French lesson in Food 101? In Colmar, specialties are Choucroute (=fermented cabbage, usually eat it with sausage and potatoes),  Bredeles (= small traditional cakes), Bretzels (=Pretzels, that one’s pretty easy), Flammkuchen (= also known as, Tarte flambée) , to quote a few.

📷 If you want to DROWN IN AN OCEAN OF TOURISTS: La Petite Venise. It’s absolutely gorgeous (see the first photo above). Queue for a picture. La maison des têtes. Translation: The heads’ houses. I promise you this is not as scary as it sounds.  La statue de la liberté. Can you translate this one alone? Time for a little lesson, History 101 : Bartholdi was the one who imagined the Statue of Liberty. Bartholdi was from Colmar. So, in a way, I feel like I made this wonderful architectural piece myself. Just kidding.

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There are tons of little villages, and they all have their own charm. Little houses, streets, and the vineyard are always there, everywhere, and, with the colors of autumn on a crazy-week-end back with a friend, they never looked so beautiful. There’s something about coming back home when you’ve been away for a long time, and I guess that something is happiness, and everything looks more beautiful every single second. But…tell me this isn’t beautiful ?!

Home isn’t just about the cute little towns and vineyard. Sometimes, if you know where to go, you can stumble upon wonderful little creatures… NO dragons or magical beasts, sorry, but there are…storks! I don’t know if you ever see those little creatures often -I certainly do, but I’m used to it, so I don’t really know, haha. Storks are so cute. I’ll let you be the judge of that.

If you’re looking for more exotic animals, well… you can find those, too. Kangaroo, anyone?

There’s one place I particularily love, and discovered only a few years ago, because it’s so new. It’s a spa, meaning hot water and lazy people in it, but the view is absolutely stunning. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, well I’ll let you see this for yourself.

Wandering outside of the big cities, it’s easy to get lost. They all say that not all of those who wander are lost, right? Well, as a traveller, getting lost doesn’t happen. We just discover. Home isn’t just one place, it’s the cities, and it’s the forest and the mountains, gorgeous looming all around. This particular picture was taken close to my grandma’s house. Seems like a world away.

OUTSIDE THE BIG CITY, YOU SHOULDN’T MISS:

🐘 If you’re a child at heart like me and LOVE ANIMALS: Le Centre de réintroduction des cigognes et des loutres, in Hunawihr. Basically this is a big, awesome park, with storks, sea otters, and other animals, living freely. There’s a great show with penguins, too! The Mulhouse Zoo is another great spot if you love animals. Kangoroos, tigers, lions, and…polar bears. Yes. Exotic, isn’t it?!

🏊 If you want to RELAX and chill out: Resort Barrière Ribeauvillé. There’s a casino, and a hotel, but what I’m talking about here is the spa. It’s cold, and you’re in hot water outside, but looking at a gorgeous view. Worth it.

🍃If you want some peace and quiet AWAY FROM EVERYTHING: Try out the Trois Epis, Labaroche, and some walks there in the forest. It’s quiet, beautiful and definitely ressourceful, just miles away from the city.

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I can’t go on a tour of Alsace without talking about Strasbourg, its capital. European capital, and famous for its beautiful houses, canals and obviously its gorgeous Christmas Market, Strasbourg is a must if you’re stopping by. Whether you love architecture or shopping…okay, I’m starting to sound like a tourist-guide, there, aren’t I?! Let me stop there, and tell you why I love this city. It’s absolutely gorgeous, obviously. There’s an english bookshop, but erm, okay, that’s a reason good enough, right? It’s not just because it’s home. It’s because it is, and it feels beautiful every step of the way.

STRASBOURG IN A NUTSHELL:

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📷 If you’re not sick of TOURISTS yet: The Cathedral. You can’t miss it, it’s just basically standing there in the middle of the city, in all of its glorious gorgeousness. And if it looks familiar, it’s because it’s at the very beginning of Sherlock Holmes 2.  La Petite France. The beautiful, historic quarter of Strasbourg shouldn’t be missed. You will love the houses and the canals and narrow streets.

💸 If you want to spend ALL of your money: La librairie du monde entier (BOOKS! IN ENGLISH! BOOKS! Need I say more?). Rue des Grandes Arcades and Les Halles if you feel like spending all of your money on clothes and other stuff.

🍦If after all that you are STARVING: Bagelstein does the most AMAZING bagels in the world, and giant cookies bigger than your hands. Enter really hungry. And, since you can’t refuse an afternoon snack, try Gelati Factory, on a cute little street. All the delicious ice cream flavors, and toppings that will make you want more.

* if you want to see these pictures, and more, you can follow me on @instagram!

 I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my home! Did it make you want to go there? Tell me everything! 💬

As always, since this feature is pretty new, I’d love to have your feedback on this! Thoughts, desires, needs?! 💬

Where are our plane tickets headed next?! That’s a good question…Any guesses? I can already tell you one thing, it’s going to be a long, long trip. And definitely worth it! ✈️