Summer Vacation and Back to Work!

I've been quiet for a few weeks. We went on vacation for two weeks in the Alsace region of France. I'm not one of those people who can blog while traveling. I do put up quick posts on Facebook though. We flew to Strasbourg, France, rented a car, and spent time in the beautiful villages along the wine route.

Our first stop was 4 nights in the village of Ottrott, about 40 minutes from the city of Strasbourg. We ended up back in Strasbourg for 3 nights before flying home. I'm now prepping for fall classes and thinking about making work. I have a show coming up in March that I don't think I've mentioned on this blog before? I will post about it soon.

We stayed at a lovely little country hotel just outside the village. My first peek out the window on my way to breakfast showed me these beautiful moss covered tiles. It was quiet at night, with only the sound of rain on the roof and in the morning we would wake to the sound of birds.

We'd seen the weather reports before we left, made sure to bring good rain coats, and were determined to not let the rain stop us!! The weather was a bit cloudy and sometimes there were showers during the first week. Our first day was actually quite wet and windy.

Here are a few photos of our little village.

This part of France has belonged to both Germany and France over the years. That is evident in the style of buildings and the food. Many people also speak both French and German.

Uh huh, there was a world class pastry and chocolate shop right in our little village. Jennifer Scherer's chocolate is probably the best I've ever eaten.

Even on days when we had showers, the sun would usually shine for a few hours.

We also took a drive to Mont Ste. Odile on our first day.

Situated on the mountain is a convent/monastery founded by Ste. Odile in 1692, although the sight also has buildings and ruins dating to the 12th and 11th centuries

This is a sculpture of Ste. Odile.

Some sights inside the convent/monastery.

The convent/monastery provides terrific views of the Alsacian countryside.

There is also a pagan (pre-Christian) wall that stretches 10 km through the woods near the convent. While I had planned to do the walk (OK maybe not the full 10 km) we decided to wait for a nicer day but never did make it back once we moved to our next accommodations further away. Stay tuned as I continue to blog about this adventure.