It feels like home to me

For some unknown reason, I had heard of Alsace long before I went to Europe the fist time in 1979.  So, it was on my list of places to visit back then. Immediately I fell in love with the charming, colourful villages with their inique houses, the undulating Vosges Mountains and, of course, those fabulous vineyards - and wines!  Now, it is 35 years later and I keep coming back, again and again. Of course it helps when two of your closest friends live there.  No wonder it feels like home to me!

Yesterday, I left CH and took the train to Offenburg in the Black Forest where I met up with neighbours from Victoria and picked up a rental car. Jo Ann and Jeff will be staying with me until Friday while I house sit until Sue and Keith get back Sunday. Lucky me, I get to play tour guide and share some of my favourite places with friends who are new to it all.  We started it in French syle with a morning visit to the boulangerie for pain au chocolat (Jeff) and croissants amandes (Jo and me).

After the boulangerie and breakfast, Day 1 of their visit started with seeing the beautiful church in Ebermunster followed by a stop in the very pretty village called Itterswiller where we dropped in to taste wine at Domaine J. L. Schwartz.  I've been there enough that M. Schwartz now recognizes me. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing!  Some of his Reislings are now getting high praise in Guide Hachette. Also, his wines are organic although that can't be put on the label until they've been produced that way for, I think he said, 8 years.  Needless to say, we bought some wine. Next we drove slowly north on the Wine Road through more villages until we got to Obernai to meet up with Marilyn and Sheila, friends of the Dubneys, who will meet up with them again later on their trip. After a lovely lunch, with three of us having the tarte a l'oignon which Alsace is famous for, we walked around the town and the ramparts, a first for me. We ended the day with a visit to the Maginot Line Memorial in Markolsheim. Now, back "home", it is time for some Cremant d'Alsace. I'm so happy to be back here and I'm sure the weather has something, but not everything, to do with it!