Weather Sunny but cooler
Euro at $1.335!
OK, from yesterday... lesson learned, but worked around it. When you buy the on-line fares for the TGV using the lowest fares (iDTGV) they are non-refundable, non-changeable and they cannot locate them in the system so you must have your copy with you when you board.
OK, so I wanted to extend my time in Alsace so I could visit another city. Instead, I just got up very early (8am) checked out of my hotel, took the Tram to the Train station and bought a round trip regular fare from Strasbourg to Colmar... (21.80 euros RT) A 30 minute ride each way. This allowed me to see Colmar and come back for my ride back to Paris in the early evening.
Colmar is a town locked in time. It was the last town to be freed from Germany in WWII. They pretty much left it alone. It is so very Bavarian!
OK on to the train ride, not as fast as the TGV, I took the TER which is the local train for Alsace. Alsace is an odd piece of France. Back and forth with Germany and France and then in the end, French with twice the number of people per square kilometer than any other region of France. The culture is still French, but with an odd twist of German. The buildings, the clothes, the food... it is all just a little bit German. But with French flare. I was amazed to see all of the old castles on the ridge and churches forever for the entire ride down....
I got into Colmar at 9:30am. The train station is an old Victorian station, very nice. It is not that close to the city center. I had to walk north on the main road about 1/4 a mile to come into the main square. It is pretty big. A lot of churches. Some fine middle age buildings, lots of public squares and water ways every where. They do call Colmar the "Venice" of France. The nice thing about France is that there are public maps everywhere and the road signs fill in the blanks. They want you to know where you were and where you are going. Also like every city in France for the most part there are a few local Tourist Offices handing out free maps of the city.
One of the things I love about eastern France are the tiled roofs, usually in orange and green. Colmar has many great examples of this. I sat in the sun at the main Cathedral and had a coffee and an almond croissant, a little cheaper than Paris! I decided to wander a bit, there are some great statues, Frédéric Bartholdi is from here (Statue of Liberty Artist). He did many of the statues and fountains in the town.
As they have these great canals I did something so not like me... I decided to take a boat tour! Tiny boats, 5 euro a ride. The tour guide spoke only French and to my surprise I got 90% of what he was saying. The river we were in was the transportation route, the old market had doors so the fish could be delivered right from the water. Each house had a pipe running to the river for poop-ie... OK, wait.. really they ate fish from the water that they dumped their shat in? Hmmm no wonder they use a lot of sauce....
OK times have changed... and now they use sewers not the river. The water was clear to the bottom and the city was just too precious... I want to retire here!
Ate lunch at Les Bateiers right on the water on Pont Turenne. 40 euros got me three courses Block of Foie for a starter with a glass of that sparkling wine they make, Cremant. Wild Venison and chanterelle mushrooms in a stew with grilled cauliflower and a bowl of spaetzle in a heavy pan gravy with a small pitcher of local Pinot Noir, A nice Munster cheese plate (Munster is from here), a glass of local Marc and then a coffee. I ate right on the water and here too met another older couple from Paris... They were gabby gabs, a bit tipsy, but we had a fun conversation and actually sang a song together. I made the mistake of telling them I was from San Francisco and then chimed in with the Maxime LeForestier song that all of the older French LOVE...
Stumbled back to the train... Got on no problem, got to Strasbourg in 30 minutes to connect with the TGV and now I am sitting in my apartment in Paris.... Showered and getting ready for bed..
Here are some links and photos to follow:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colmar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Bartholdi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDtXXlD98kw
(L-R: TER, Castle, Gare de Colmar, House of Heads??) 
(L-R: Tiled Roofs, Narrow Streets, Gorgeous....)
(Duck - 3 ways!)
(L-R: Lunch, More Lunch, TGV, Windmill on the way home)
