An Afternoon in France

Our family had the wonderful fortune of crossing the border into France last weekend. I have always wanted to see France, and even if it was only a short jaunt across the border I was exceptionally excited about it ! Some of my distant relatives are from the Alsace Lorraine area, so the trip had added excitement. We started our adventure on the Autobahn..... and yes there are still areas with "no speed limit" however, if there is an accident over a certain speed your insurance won't pay for it and you will recieve a ticket...... and our car has a govern, I won't mention how fast we discovered that(98 mph). Well below the danger speed for the insurance.






We drove north to Landstuhl ( a short visit to Raimstein Air Force Base) .....We were seeking a couch. The saga of the couch had begun 2 weeks earlier ( see future post) We had hunted high and low in Stuttgart for a couch at countless and nice furniture stores. It is really a tale of Goldie locks and the Three Bears .... I digress.







On our way to Landstuhl we crossed the Rhine river, it was really fun to see the famous river at last even if it was only a fleeting glance. After our short detour we headed to Saarrucken Germany, a town right on the border. No, still no couch. I had mentioned to Sam that since we were so close to the border we might as well just cross over and take a peek, after all we are so close ( 40 miles). I mean how many can say they went to France for the afternoon...... it just sounds glamourous doesn't it!



Once we reached Saarbrucken, I was sure I could nudge alittle further, I mean after all there is no town right there on the French side...let's venture in just a little further and see a town called Sarreguemines.....

oh and just a smidge further...since we are there anyways...is a town called Saint-Avold.....and well since we are in this far it seems that we could actually drive south further and be closer to home rather than turn around and go home the way we came. What would be the fun in the same route anyway.....and then we could go through Strasbourg...... Yes I see I am in a If you give a mouse a cookie situation.......really more like if you give a girl a passport and a car situation......








One hour later we were in Serreguemines France.










































Serreguemines was a delightful town with a busy city center, a beautiful river walk, and a Boulangerie to snack at. I was so excited I could actually understand about 60% of the signs and the conversations ( I speak a little broken French, but I read it fairly well) It was wonderful to feel like I was finally out exploring. We wandered the river walk, where the boys discovered that yes indeed France has ducks like we do.




H admired the boats and insisted that someone would let him go for a ride,











S sat and watched the ducks, P collected leaves, and T chatted away.

The river was serene the perfect fall setting, what a lovely place to see the afternoon sun.
















We walked the croweded city shopping area....







yes we actually parked the Seqouia on the narrow streets. The shops were delightful and full of treasures, about a 100 I could have brought home. Then off to the Boulangerie for an afternoon snack, I ordered all in French very pleased with myself that for once I could actually speak a sentence! Oh were the treats wonderful. Alas, it was a short trip over the border, dinner was coming and children were drooping, the sun was setting......Off we went to drive home and good fortune ! Sam's navagon was going to take us to Strasbourg to go home !!!!! I had to secretly smile that I had chosen the route based on a map..... and Sam was convinced it would be different on the navagon :) I have to tell you ...that 14 KM before Strasbourge they divert you to another road to head to Stuttgart......C'est la vie maybe next trip we'll find hidden treasures in Strasbourg. Moments from the German border we stopped and found a market in a tiny tiny town and had our last taste of France in a dinner I foraged through the market to find for the 4 kids and Sam while they waited not so quietly outside. What trip to France would be complete without a bottle of wine? Of course we didn't get to drink it until sunday but it was worth the wait.

By 8 the day was done , the kids were home, darkeness had come and we were back in Germany to find new adventures. One Saturday afternoon though we had a lovely trip to France......