:: en alsace ::

We arrived home late last night after spending four days away. Three of which were in Alsace, a region in the north-east of France, for the wedding of one of Eti's cousins. It's a beautiful part of France and has always put on beautiful weather every time I've visited! We travelled up on Friday with Eti's parents - a small convoy of campervan and car - taking our time so that we could visit one of the many beautiful villages in the area.

Eti's dad picked out the village of Riquewihr for us to explore. They had been there during the winter to go one of the many Christmas market throughout the region (one of my dreams!) and remembered it as being beautiful. And it was! We arrived mid-afternoon and spent the next hour or so wandering around the cobbled streets, sharing bretzels, peering into shops and going through the most amazing year-round Christmas decoration store. Several trucks and tractors pulling numerous bins of freshly picked grapes passed us on their way to be made into wine, which this part of Alsace is well known for. Of course we couldn't leave without having a true tarte flambée and glass of pinot gris, both originating from Alsace itself. The three little people all enjoyed their "pique-y l'eau" (aka sparkling water). It was all very delicious!

The following morning we drove a little further north, past the city of Strasbourg, for the wedding. The weather was stunning, and the location was beautiful. It was great to see all of Eti's family. His mother grew up in Alsace and all of her family are there. We have always enjoyed each time we've visited with them. They are lovely, a lot of fun and great hosts. There have been some very memorable moments, including an "English evening" and an 'international' petanque competition with my brothers a few years ago when we were all on holiday in the south together! The wedding was lovely and it was a great way to catch up with everyone, though it was fleeting. With three very tired little ones to put to bed later in the evening, the time passed all too quickly. Hopefully our "next time" won't be too far away.

After camping overnight in the car park of the hall where the reception was held, we woke to a new day and a little girl with a temperature of 39.5. We've all been up and down with health over the last while and for the first couple of hours we questioned what was best to do. Thankfully after a dose of paracetamol she bounded back pretty quickly and declared that "I feel all better now, Mummy!" and was off running around and scootering outside. Our plan was to cross the border into Germany and spend the night there then the following day at Europa Park. Eti's parents offered to head off there early and get settled in so the girls could have a rest, while we went to visit the city of Strasbourg. Seeing that Amélie's temperature seemed to be responding well to the paracetamol, we decided to take up their offer and went off with Théo, Eti's brothers Nath, Tim and Fred, and Fred's fiancée to visit the city that I had heard much about and was eager to see for myself! I will give Strasbourg it's own post to save you from drowning in too many photos all at once! In the meantime, here are some more from our beautiful little afternoon in Riquewihr...