I awoke in a charming Parisian apartment . . .
And went to sleep after midnight in Strasbourg, the capital city of the Grand Est region, in northeastern France. It’s also the formal seat of the European Parliament and sits near the German border, with culture and architecture blending German and French influences.
We were up late because we had to watch to the very end of the very exciting World Cup Final!
The weather was beautiful that morning! We got packed up to go by 11am and then went to the crepe place Bo and I had loved for a big breakfast to fuel our travel day. The food was decadent—between Sean’s super savory raclette crepe and River’s sweet fried banana with caramel sauce.
We all like the Gare de l’Est station. Corgis in backpacks only add to the charm.
We got on the train and settled in for a 100 minute ride through the flattest part of France we’ve seen yet. We were pretty sleepy from our late night. But Sean and Jesse chatted for much of the ride with a grandmother bringing her two granddaughters on the annual trip to the Black Forest so they can practice their German.
The Strasbourg was striking too, so airy.
We walked 10 minutes to our hotel and were all immediately enamored of the place. Great attention to details, comfy, cool (I mean it has a make-your-own Italian soda bar and 24-hour espresso machine in the lobby), and a surprisingly amazing view we weren’t expecting!
We promptly took a delicious nap.
When we got up the kids wanted to continue hanging out in the cool room, while Sean and Jesse took a romantic walk around the neighborhood.
We got back to the room and all watched Triplets of Belleville (Sean might’ve had a second nap).
We had 9 pm reservations for “the Clubhouse” area of a local sports brewpub in order to better enjoy the World Cup final with some soccer-loving Europeans. And lucky for us, the crowd was largely rooting for Spain (as River was, and the rest of us joined the Spain bandwagon as the mood in the room was catching, and Argentina starting being a bit of a bully).
We had tasty brewpub game food (some universal, some with a German flavor), lots of beer (a flight in fact), and so much yelling and cheering!
But I mean, that halftime show!?! I couldn’t get enough of! I mean muppets!? And Dudamel?! AND Beiber and BTS and Madonna and Shakira AND Ted Lasso!? It was the best.
Link to my videos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ioDPUATU2PAZ2B7g8
It was a blast. At one point, Bo turned to me while everyone was erupting in cheers and mouthed “I love this!”
We walked out happy and exhausted. People were still celebrating in the street as we walked home.
Another late night. We were noting our very European schedule, eating dinner at 9pm!
Still, we couldn’t quite go to sleep. We watched the awards in our hotel room and sang “ole ole ole ole”from the balcony until all the revelers had turned in. Epic.
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