Postcard Pretty

We've had a nice lazy day here in Strasbourg, starting off with a walk to a close by park to lay about in the sun and kick the footy. We are staying on the central island, so in each direction we walk there are canals and bridges and the locals get about on bikes and trams in the main. We have to keep the kids close especially in the narrow lanes as bikes hurtle through.

We stopped for a quick lunch at The Academie de la Biere- the drinks list ran to about 8 pages long including fruit beer, local beer, Trappist monk beer and so on. Great flambé which is a local take on pizza with a light crisp base.

Our plan was to try a boat trip but queues of tourists melting in the sun us off that, so we just wandered the busy streets checking out the sights and shops.

The central cathedral is visible from most spots and is incredibly detailed. It would have taken years to put together, and is currently undergoing renovation.

The following photos show the area of Petit France, where small canals crisscross each other and lots of touristy restaurants and cafes sit along the edges. It looks like gingerbread houses!

We've taken to stopping for the kids to play and burn some steam off before dinner, it's nice to see that kids of any language can just interact with a smile. This little girl the kids are playing with was quite taken with the kids and even tried to join the chasey game on toddling legs.

I took this next pic across from the restaurant where we ate dinner tonight (Japanese as we needed a lighter meal the carbo loading has been intense). It looked like a fruit and veg shop, but when I peeked in the door the shelves were lined around the walls with spirits and liqueur. Bizarre combo.

Still no space invaders, but I did find a funky piece of street art.

In all we had a nice day, but a city of canals and cathedrals has left the kids (and us) a bit less than inspired. Paris is truly a hard act to follow.