Le temps des choses B&B

Well we made it! 26 hours of traveling 1.5 hours of economy section airplane sleep, which is the same type of sleep the good guys get after they are stuffed into the trunk of a sedan by the Mob prior to getting a pair of concrete boots.

Rented a itsy bitsy thing of a Renault which zips around just fine. We were directed to the Autobahn at which point we were introduced to an entirely new level of engine noise which sounds more like a high speed drill than a car. Somehow we drove right to our B&B, passed it, turned around, passed it again, one more time, saw it, passed it again, pulled over to let the people who didn't realize they left the Autobahn 10 miles ago go around us and finally found a spot to park. Looked up to see the main cathedral in town 18 feet in front of the car. There were no smiling duos of young men dressed in black approaching us and I realized we had escaped Utah and finally made it to France!!!

Joelle (like noel but with a sh sound at the beginning) welcomed us like old friends into her home. Joelle is the most fantastic hostess you could imagine, her house is 400 years old this year, built in the classic style of Alsace which is the name of this region of France. Timber framed mortise and tenon is the style with some sort of cement mixture filling the voids in between the timbers. Joelle says they chose this style long ago so the wooden dowels could be driven out, the timbers taken apart and the entire house moved to another location. It is BEAUTIFUL inside. Joelle and Claude remodeled it 12 years ago and she has been renting out a couple rooms and making wonderful breakfasts for the last 10 years. She bakes all the bread, all the sweets, made the 3 types of jam on the table, made the rice pudding, made the applesauce served it all on 100 year old dishes from Alsace and placed the entire show on a 200 year old dining table. All the while talking, laughing and goofing around in a crazy American accent that sounds like Morgan Freeman with a mouth full of socks. Joelle is great.

We visited several old towns today and realized Sunday and Monday are the days of the week many shops and restaurants are closed so we walked around Obernai for a couple of hours being medical tourists and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. We found a chocolatier, I had some espresso and an eclair, a very very good eclair. Spent the next half hour trying to keep my hands from shaking while I took 45 pictures of the same door knob. Too much chocolatier. I need some charcuterie. Closed on Monday. We did find a place to eat and Kelly devoured some steak and fries while I choked down a puff pastry filled with chicken and mushrooms in a cream sauce, yummy.

Now we are home. Snacking on Joelle's sweet treats, painting, writing, laying around.