Every so often, I document a day in my not-so-average life. Last time, it was a whole week in NYC. This time, it’s time to show you how utterly lazy I am on vacation and what I mean when I say I travel slow and give myself plenty of space to do nothing.
6:30 / For some, this might seem like an early wake-up time, but since I’m typically up between 5 and 5:30 these days, this is me in vacation mode, sleeping in.
I get up and do all the usual morning things. Take Luna out and feed her. Have breakfast. Do my hair. And as I eat and dress, I turn on some Coffee Break French in my headphones, as I’m slowly attempting to learn the language with the eventual intention of living in a French-speaking area.
Luna’s having a great morning and romps around with her toy.
7:18 / I spend my morning attempting to make reservations at a two-Michelin-star restaurant for lunch before we head back to Switzerland and writing up some thoughts on our Paris food experiences from last week.
8:24 / It’s almost time to head to the train station and catch our train to Strasbourg for the day, so I grab my shoes, strap Luna into her harness, and head out the door. The walk through town is a pretty one full of the characteristic timbered architecture and quiet green spaces.
10:30 / We’re in Strasbourg and it’s time for our food tour with Eating Europe. We meet our guide and another tour attendee in a park called Place de Republique before heading out into the best food shops Strasbourg has to offer.
Our first stop is a popular pastry shop known for its kugelhopf – a lightly sweet, bready breakfast cake sprinkled in powdered sugar.
After that, it’s off to the butcher for blood sausage, pork sausage, smoked ham, etc., served with a light, summery, dry muscat wine and potato bread from the local bakery.
Then, it’s onto cheeses (Munster is the local thing to get), tarte flambée, thick, soft gingerbread, and beer (in that order and not all at the same place).
This is probably a good place to pause and say that we love food tours. We try to take one in each new place we visit, especially if we’re staying awhile. They’re a great way to orient yourself to a new city’s food scene – what to eat, where to shop for cheese and meat and bread, where to book restaurant meals.
We found our favorite restaurant in Prague on a food tour. We fell in love with Rome’s Prati neighborhood on a food tour. And just a few days before this Strasbourg tour with Eating Europe (which has tours all over Europe), we took a very fancy food tour in Paris and were introduced to a butcher so good he’s been literally knighted (review coming soon).
If you’re at all into food, food tours are a really good way to get to know a place. (Plus, bonus: it’s always fun to meet other foodies and the people on all our food tours have always been delightful.)
15 / Stuffed and happy, we bid our tour guide and group farewell and wander slowly through Strasbourg’s charming old town (with a quick stop to feed Luna some baby food – her go-to on travel days when we can’t get back to the apartment to feed her a proper meal).
15:46 / We decide to head back to Colmar and call it a night. Because the truth is that go-go-go days that start early and reach late into the night just aren’t our thing. We’re not the kind of travelers who plan every moment of our day and rush from one thing to the next.
We typically plan one big activity and then everything else is a bonus. If we feel like wandering some more, great. If we want to spend our vacation lounging around our superbly charming Airbnb, also great.
17:10 / On our way home, because apparently we haven’t had enough gluttony for one day, we stop for ice cream. The place in Colmar isn’t worth writing home about, so I won’t mention the name, but it’s good enough for something sweet and cool in a pinch.
I order strawberry-mint-basil and peach sorbet in a cone.
17:30 / Everyone is home and clean and mellowing out around the apartment.
Chad’s sprawled on the couch excited about a new YouTube channel about architecture. Luna is wrapped in a blanket on the bed with only her nose and one eye peeking out. And I’m listening to a new-to-me podcast called Root of Evil while eating leftover sushi from last night.
19:52 / A bit too much sun and rich food means Chad and Luna pass out early sprawled together on the bed as I sit up and type up this record of the day, edit photos, and watch a few episodes of Veronica Mars.