Strasbourg

Floating our way out of Basel on the Rhine we docked at the shores of the German town of Kehl, where we boarded a bus that would take us a short distance to the border town of Strasbourg France. Yes France. Strasbourg sounds like a German city but is in France. Still, one could easily walk to Germany as Strasbourg is a French city on the border of Germany.

Strasbourg’s 2000 year history and its multi-cultural blend positioned it well to become the current capital of “peoples of Europe”, the center of the European Union. Here we visited the famed gothic cathedral sits in the middle of the town. Its huge doors are worth the visit alone.

After our short tour, some of us just roamed the streets, had a Baileys coffee at a local coffee house and then returned to a designated meeting spot to meet our bus for our return to our boat.

Back at the boat we did what we do best – went to the lounge for our afternoon martini and enjoy the shoreline sights and, later, dinner with our entire group.

Paris

The Le Marias District of Paris ( which means "The Marsh" in French), is the coolest and most historic part of the city. Long the aristocratic part, it hosts many upscale shops (that we tried to avoid), and is a popular home to much of the LGBT and Jewish population, making it a most diverse and eccentric neighborhood.

Le Marais is the closest you will get to the feel of medieval Paris and has more pre-revolutionary buildings and streets left intact than any other area in Paris. A glance at some of the beautiful buildings and houses indicates the wealthy status of the former residents. After the revolution, much of the area was abandoned by the rich, and poor bohemian types moved in. The area was considered so squalid at this point it was nearly destroyed by city officials who wanted to modernize Paris. (A huge avenue cutting through the center of the Marais was only avoided by the start of WWI.) Before Napoleon showed up the Marais is what most of Paris looked like--- a labyrinth of cobblestone alleys.

This is where I wanted to be privy to the small and approachable Paris of the past, the place where I could wander around and never find my way.
The Marais is also the most famous Jewish quarter in Paris and in much of Europe. It still maintains its strong traditions.
Here we would find the most beautiful architecture, great (and inexpensive) bars & restaurants.

We chose an Airbnb flat on the second floor, on an active avenue. It had three bedrooms that would accommodate the five of us staying there, a kitchen and a nice living room where we could safely view a couple of the famous protest marches that Paris is so well known for.

We were within walking distance of the Louvre where we spent much of one day. But the highlight was celebrating Ramona's birthday in the wine cellar of Chef Pierre Sang, a highly awarded French-Korean Chef, who has a small cafe near our flat. Here, Chef Sang presented us with a 6 course meal (of his choosing), two meats, two fish, some cheeses and a dessert. It was fabulous but don't ask me what I was eating. Served with some of his fine wines, life could not be better. Chef Sang then brought out a strange, unfamiliar dessert with a lighted candle. As we sang happy birthday to Ramona, the other two tables joined in, giving us a nice mix of a variety of accents. Four days in Paris is not enough.