Strasbourg, France...Viva La France!

On a very turbulent weather day in May... I was invited along on a quick trip to France with my writer friend Laurie.

I forget how close we are to France living here in the Heidelberg area. The French boarder is only about 40 mins away, and we really should travel there more often. Though it is only 40 minutes...it is a completely different world.

When I was about 14 years old I was lucky enough to live in the beautiful city of Strabourg, it has been way too many years waiting for my return. Clover, my friend Laurie and I wandered it's many beautiful streets talking with it's warm and friendly residents....trying to recover my memory. Not an easy feat. I have to say Laurie was very patient with my ramblings.

I have memories of playing in the huge park in the city called the Orangerie. Renting small row boats and discovering the many grottoes in the HUGE lake at it's center...(child's memory). The grottoes were evident, but the huge lake....was not so huge. ;)

I was baffled by my memory of the downtown area...nothing seemed right until we hit the section called "Petite France". Here my memory came alive. I remembered many Summer days with my kayak club, paddling through the many waterways by-passing it's many locks by slinging the light weight kayak over my shoulder....hearing the American tourists calling out to each other about "How lucky these French kids are..." The shrugs and up turned eyes of my young French kayacking companions...little did the the Americans know that I child from their own country was represented in the group. How lucky I was. Even today we found many people enjoying the river by kayak.

On our walk we found a stuffed rabbit sitting patiently along the way with a hand written note saying in French..."I am a lost Easter bunny, I do not have my papers...please adopt me". We were tempted but decided there might be a better person still waiting to come upon the lost bunny.

I found a poster saying this Sunday is a festival of bread....perhaps we shall return sooner than I thought.