Having Fun in Al's Ass!

Okay, okay I'll explain! Last weekend I went to visit Florian's (my best French friend ;-) family in Fontenay, France! When Florian suggested this might be something fun to do while I'm in France, he explained to me that they would take me to Alsace, a nice area in the countryside of Eastern France. Well, Alsace sounds exactly like "Al's ass." So, the first time we spoke about the possibility of me visiting his parents, I couldn't figure out why he kept saying "Al's ass." So, there you have it.

Anyways...my weekend was so much fun!! I took the TGV train to Nancy where Florian's parents picked me up. Then we drove another hour or so to Fontenay, a tiny, little village where they live. It is so nice there! It is the complete opposite of the crazy city life, and it was so relaxing! On Saturday morning, after a GOOD breakfast, we headed off to Alsace. We first went to Strasborg, on the France/Germany border, which is a town with a definite German-touch. We had lunch at Maison Kammerzell, the oldest house in Strasborg. Afterwards, we drove to some smaller villages in the Vosges mountains. I totally felt like I was in a Disney movie! Everything was so quaint and had so much character!




Bastien & Me









Strasborg, France









House (left) where we had lunch







Village in Alsace









Village in Alsace











Francoise & Me










Village in Alsace





On Sunday, after another GOOD breakfast, we took a walk around the village of Fontenay. It was so peaceful, and best of all...the sun came out to play! Later, after a GOOD lunch...WAIT! Did I mention Florian's brother, Bastien, is a pastry chef!? Oh yeah...he made some seriously good desserts! Okay, focus. After lunch (including a fantastic cake from Bastien) we drove up into the Vosges mountains! WOW!! It was so beautiful! All of the trees were changing colors, and there were houses built right into the side of the mountain.




Francoise & Patrice








Yummy!!








Francoise & Patrice








Francoise & Me








Vosges Mountains








Vosges Mountains





All in all, it was a perfect weekend! Thank you to Florian and his family (Patrice, Francoise, and Bastien) for arranging this time for me to visit the French countryside!!

P.S.

***I'M SICK!!!*** That's why this blog is a week late, and why I'm in bed with a pile of disgusting tissues next to me. So, unless you want pictures of that (anyone?) then I probably won't have anything good to share for this weekend. :(