Whit Monday Weekend: Alsace

Market in Ribeauville

Coffee stop with Gertine, Tjis and Martin

Castle on the hill outside of Ribeauville

Walk from Ribeauville to Hunawihr

Buddies: Camilla, Anna, Kate and Anne-Marie

Lunching at the Stork Sanctuary

The bold and hungry stork

Christie and Amelia

Steve's morning walk to the castle with a view of Ribeauville below

More of charming Ribeauville 

Dinner at Sylvie's family's restaurant in Hunawihr

More of the Castle in the sky

Yummy lunch at Mark and Sylvie's lovely home

On their deck

Dessert, cheese, and wine....

Hope to see you soon!

Our local favorite

Kids 'playing goat and cow' in Burgundy

Hosts Armand and his wife

Always a leisurely breakfast in the Hostellerie's sun room

We packed a lot in this holiday weekend, and we knew it was getting close to our last trip before having to say goodbye to Switzerland. So, we asked a few additional friends to join us. Our dear Dutch friends from Swiss: Gertine, Tjis (kids Martin & Anne-Marie) plus our old friends from Dubai times: Scott & Christie (Owen, Thomas, and Amelia). The original reason for this trip was a culinary extravaganza put on by the cousins of our Alacian friends Mark and Sylvie. Sylvie's cousin is a wine-maker (note the wine label) and his wife is a professionally trained chef. They host a quarterly dinner at their home in the vineyards honoring local foods and their wines. It was an interesting mix of nationalities, fun conversations, and a very special meal to remember (sadly, we all forgot our cameras.) We spent Saturday at the Parc des Cigognes (storks) in the village of Hunawihr. They are lovely birds who don't mind human attention or our lunch! Later that evening, we dined in this village at Sylvie's family's restaurant on traditional Alscacian foods- yum. After a stroll through the markets on Sunday morning, we were off to long and luxurious lunch at Mark and Sylvie's (and their daughter, Charlotte) house. Then the five of us (Camilla included, of course!) made a final stop in Burgundy to our favorite Hostellerie de Vieux Moulin in the small village of Bouilland. The owners were always gracious hosts- so one last picture of them was in order. Plus, we had to pick up a few more bottles of wine to take back to the US.