Toddling around town

When people would ask where in France we'd be moving, we'd tell them Strasbourg.  Most people would give me a pretty blank look so I'd add "northeastern France, near the German border".  Usually that was enough to let people have a general idea of where we'd be living.  Here's a map just in case anyone wanted to know for sure...

Truth be told, we are not actually in Strasbourg.  We are living in a village called La Wantzenau some 20 minutes north of Strasbourg where Jean grew up.  Since arriving, I've had to go into the city a number of times and its amazing how different the scenery changes in those 12km.  Strasbourg is a wonderful city - old buildings, beautiful architecture and an incredible amount of history.  But it's a stark contrast from the somewhat quiet, suburban feel of La Wantzenau.  

I decided to explore the city on perhaps the last warm day of the year, just myself and Audrey - a sort of mom and daughter morning out.  We unfortunately haven't had enough of those since Thomas was born. I think Audrey was most excited about the train ride there so I played that up quite a bit to get her psyched about this little adventure (which worked marvelously!).

I knew I had to intersperse in enough fun things for her to not make this outing a complete disaster.  So after arriving downtown we took a short walk to find a little morning snack.  I don't know a 2 year old who wouldn't behave knowing that a brioche au chocolat was coming their way.  

  

Somehow getting lost in the winding city streets wasn't as appealing to her as it was to me.  We made our way to the cathedral - a Strasbourg landmark and the second most visited cathedral in all of France (Notre Dame of Paris being first).  Jean tells me it's worth noting that at 142 metres (466 feet), it was the world's tallest building from 1647 to 1874. Today, if Wikepedia is correct, it is the sixth-tallest church in the world and the highest still-standing structure built entirely in the Middle Ages.  It has an unmistakable look with its single tower; the second tower was never built. Somehow its unmistakable charm grabbed Audrey's attention and she remained mesmerized as we spent a good 20 minutes inside.

Yeah...that spell sort of wore off as we left the cathedral and she became a normal 2 year old again.  Luckily I was able to entice her a bit with some window shopping.

Then the pièce de résistance!  A merry-go-round that I had been telling her about all morning.  Somehow it the sight of it shook her out of that getting-tired-of-walking mood.  Yes, it was the perfect way to end the mom and me morning (well at least for her, for me it was the nap that ensued when we arrived home!).

  

One final picture before we headed back on the train...

Although I enjoyed the morning in Strasbourg, it was nice to leave the hustle and bustle of the big city and head back to the burbs.  We'll be back for sure though if Audrey has her way, it'll be a train ride/brioche au chocolat/merry-go-ride event without all that boring in between stuff.