Strasbourg

My apartment is located in old city Strasbourg, located on an island edged by the L'ill River, just around the corner from "Petit France". My street, Grand 'Rue is a pedestrian street, open only to taxis and delivery vehicles, bicycles, and people. Some buildings are ancient and half-timbered with leaded glass windows made up of tiny circular panes, and other buildings are more modern.

After breakfast on Tuesday I walked to the end of my street, onto a connecting street, and into the square, Place de la Cathedrale, containing the cathedral called Cathedrale Notre dame de Strasbourg. It is a large cathedral in dark reddish-brown brick, covered with carving, and accessed through gothic arched doors, and is the 4th tallest church in the world. It was also the tallest building in the world for several hundred years. There is no charge for entry, although there are many signs warning about pickpockets. One good thing about wearing really tight pants is that being the victim of a pickpocket could provide a secret little thrill. I entered through a towering wooden door and walked slowly through the cathedral taking pictures of the altar, carved stone pulpit, altar, and an interesting astronomical clock. The red and gold pipe organ was mounted on the side of a wall overhanging the pews.

I did a bit of shopping at the overpriced souvenir stands near the cathedral and bought a small plaque with a gold fleur-de-lis on a cream colored background to hang over my front door. It's only about 4 inches square, but seems to weigh about 4 pounds! A fleur-de-lis is a stylized lily or iris, similar to the Giglio Fiorentino of Italy, and remains an enduring symbol of France.

The streets of this tiny section of Strasbourg are filled with shops, stores, boutiques, cafes, banks, travel agencies, and gelato shops. One could literally shop for hours and hours....if one had the money, that is.

Strasbourg is just over the German border, yet the people on this side of the Rhine have a completely different set of physical features and characteristics. The men generally have much darker skin, hair, and eyes, and narrower features, often with a hawk like nose. Younger men tend to be lean and fit. Very attractive, all in all. I do see larger women however, and I have located six large-sized clothing stores, four on my street alone. The shops have some very attractive clothes, with most shirts being embellished with some sort of decorative element, however the items are quite expensive and I haven't found anything I loved enough to justify such a large expenditure. I will stick to inexpensive clothes at H&M and C&A, both of which have a retail store in the mall located on the far side of the river.