Fabulous France Dec 2016 (Day 13): Au revoir, France!

Early the next morning, we caught the train back to Paris, and headed straight to the airport for our flight home.

What a truly wonderful trip. Despite being last minute and all, we made the most of it, and the ultimate highlight was seeing how much the kids enjoyed themselves, and how much they learnt from the experience. All the prep we did prior to the trip (books, movies, in-depth research, etc) was totally worth it.  They survived museums and art galleries, and the heaps of walking we did every single day.

My heart is bursting with pride as I write this; the kids have really matured, and they are totally ready for more travel adventures!

Au revoir, France!

Cute play area in Doha airport (our stopover)

Fabulous France Dec 2016 (Day 12): Last full day in Strasbourg

We started the day bright and early with a boat tour on the River Ill, which was a great way to see the Strasbourg landmarks- not only the historic areas, but also the new areas where the European institutions are. The boat also goes through a few canal locks, which is of course interesting to experience.

Going through a canal lock

The old

The new

Next on the itinerary was to see the astronomical clock located in the cathedral. The main attraction was the procession of the figures of Christ and the apostles at noon, while the cock crows thrice. We waited a long time to see this- starting from the queue outside the cathedral, right up to the waiting in the area in front of the clock (a video was played to keep us occupied but the quality was fairly poor- so it sort of defeated the purpose). Was the wait worth it? Absolutely not. Skip this- what a waste of time! We could have done better spending more time at our next destination (see further below).

After lunch we caught a bus to Le Vaisseau, a really fun hands-on science centre for children aged 3-15. One of the highlights was a walk in the dark- which was really scary. It really helps one to appreciate what it feels like to be blind; and truth be told I almost had a panic attack doing this. Another good exhibit showed how canal locks work, and for some reason I could not get my head round this... I felt so dumb. Duh!

The kids had a whale of a time, and all of us wished we could stay longer. However, dinner with the rest of the family was waiting for us- our last dinner in France before our flight home the next day. It was a yummy home-cooked meal, a lovely end to a busy day!

Yummy!

Fabulous France Dec 2016 (Day 11): More Strasbourg adventures

We began the day with a visit to the Musée Alsacien- an interesting museum dedicated to aspects of daily life in 18th and 19th century Alsace. The interior of the museum is really unique, and it feels like stepping back in time into someone's home hundreds of years ago. There was also a rather fun activity sheet for the kids- which made the visit a great learning experience for them.

The view en-route to the museum

Inside the museum

Next up was a quick visit to the Strasbourg cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame), before we took a guided tour (with an audio guide) of the town. We had a nice walk, and it was good to see the town at our own pace. In fact, we took so long that we barely made it to the cut-off time to return the audio guides at the Tourist Information Centre! Hehe. 

Our walk covered the famous Petite France- the historical centre of the city. The buildings looked a lot like those we saw in Colmar- quaint, as you can see above. We also saw the Barrage Vauban- a defensive structure built at the end of the 17th century. Unfortunately, we got there too late and could not go up to the viewing terrace. Still, we managed a pretty decent photo of the Ponts Couverts from ground level.

Ponts Couverts

We moved to the incredibly charming Hotel Beaucour for our last 2 nights in France. It was really cosy, and in a fantastic location so close to the river. The kids slept in the bed seen here, and we adults had a bed in the loft above. Lovely, isn't it?

Fabulous France Dec 2016 (Day 10): Onwards to Strasbourg

We took a train from Colmar to Strasbourg on Christmas day (long story as to why we were travelling on Christmas day, hmmm); fortunately the ride was a short and easy one. Once we got to Strasbourg, we managed to lug our stuff from the station all the way to the hotel on foot.

Finding something to eat after that, however, wasn't that easy though (another long story there...)

Gare de Strasbourg

We walked around the relatively quiet town (it was Christmas day, after all!), and to be honest it was a bit of a bummer that the Christmas markets were already closed for the season. The irony of it all... this entire trip was premised on the idea of seeing the Christmas markets in Strasbourg. So all I can say is- DUH!

Checking out some cute window displays

Thankfully we managed to find a restaurant where we could have a nice Christmas dinner- Caveau Gurtlerhoft; where the food was really yummy!

Lovely plates

Yummy desserts, with the Kugelhopf in the forefront of the photo

Fabulous France Dec 2016 (Day 9): Christmas Eve in Colmar

We had a pretty relaxing Christmas Eve, wandering around the town again and checking out the Christmas markets. Check out the colourful photos below!

Koifhus- Old Customs House

We had a simple Christmas Eve dinner in the apartment- nice and cosy, as Christmas should be.

Merry Christmas!

Fabulous France Dec 2016 (Day 8): Charming Colmar

Colmar is such a pretty and quaint little town! No wonder it draws so many visitors- even locals. We had a lovely time walking around and exploring the charming little streets. Colmar really allows for some beautiful photos; coupled with the many Christmas markets dotted around the town, and Christmas decorations everywhere, it had a really different vibe compared to a big city like Paris.

Back on the Turenne Bridge, again

Isn't this pretty?

The famous Maison Pfister

We also spent some time visiting the Unterlinden Museum, home to the famous Isenheim Altarpiece, seen below.

Christmas markets

Isn't this a cute 'Christmas tree'?

Fabulous France Dec 2016 (Day 7): Off to Colmar

The next day saw us saying goodbye to Paris and hello to Colmar. Before we left, I took the kids for a quick walk by the river (the hubby was lying in bed as he felt unwell), and we also took a quick walk to see the famous Aurouze pest control shop featured in the movie Ratatouille.

Conciergerie

Dead rats hanging in the window- they have been there since 1925!

Yummy!

We took a train to Colmar from Gare de L'est and arrived when it was dark and drizzling. We had a bit of trouble getting a taxi to our apartment so that was a tad stressful. Our apartment in Colmar was really lovely though, and much more spacious compared to the one we stayed at in Paris. There was even a jacuzzi!

We met up with my parents and my sister and her family- and then headed out to dinner. We got a fright when my mum walked right into a glass door (!!) and fell backwards onto the pavement. Thankfully she was not seriously injured- even though she fell like a toy soldier and hit the back of her head. Goodness gracious.

Such a quaint and pretty town- check out the beautiful views below, taken from the Rue de Turenne bridge.

Can't wait to explore Colmar tomorrow!

Fabulous France Dec 2016 (Day 6): Catacombs of Paris, Musée d'Orsay & Seine Cruise

We started the day with a visit to the Catacombs- underground ossuaries which hold the remains of more than 6 million people- created as part of the effort to eliminate the city's overflowing cemeteries. It was pretty interesting, and not as macabre as it sounds. The kids seemed ok and did not freak out or anything.... Hehe.

Having audio guides helped, otherwise it would have been quite boring.

Fancy this Christmas tree?

We then made our way to the famous Musée d'Orsay to check out the beautiful building and of course, the famous works of art inside. Housed in a former railway station, it certainly stands out as a museum- as you can see from the photos below.

Such a lovely building!

We capped the evening with a Seine cruise. It was quite cold so we could not sit out on the deck. Nevertheless, it was still lovely to see all the sights, and we got a few decent photos. Paris is such a romantic city!