SuperDave's Adventures in Eastern France's Wine Country

[SuperDave]

Nice, very nice, really enjoyed the canal photos & that lost shot of the storks. Very cool.

Much obliged Paul.

[SuperDave]

This looks like a quite quaint and peaceful cafe with it's courtyard.

Well it was time for lunch with a busy morning. A nice sunny day and quite warm so it was time to find a place to eat outside. Unfortunately, the cafe above wasn't open for lunch. Found a place near the main square and across from Saint Dominican's Cathedral. Nice area with several cafes, but quite busy.

This is where I decided to have lunch. Jupiter Cafe is the name.

They were quite busy, so it took a bit of time to get waited on and the service was pretty good after that. Had a mixed green salad with tomatoes, croutons, various Alsatian meats, smoked salmon and smoked duck with a honey mustard vinaigrette. This was accompanied by a half bottle of white Alsatian wine. Can't remember what kind. May have been a dry Riesling. Finished it off with an expresso. Food was very good and reasonably priced.

Headed back to my hotel after walking a bit more of the town. My hotel is about a five minute or so walk from here. Makes it convenient to the center of Colmar. Took a bit of a nap when I got back, after being in the warm sun for most of the day. I'm sure the wine contributed to it as well!

This is a local wine bar/store near my hotel. Unfortunately, it wasn't open during my stay. There were a couple of French holidays while I was there, so they were closed, but most businesses were open.

[SuperDave]

Well after napping for an hour or so, it was time for our little happy hour get together with my group downstairs in the lounge.

Not everyone showed up, but most did except for a couple. It was a fun time as the hotel bar has a number of Alsatian wines. I had a Cremont, which is an Alsatian sparkling wine (can't be called Champagne as it's not from that region). Also had a Muscat wine too. Both were quite good, but probably liked the Cremont a bit more. This lasted for about an hour and soon after, it was time to head out to dinner.

Some of those in our group decided to eat in the hotel restaurant again and said it was quite different from last night. The restaurant is some what high end, but they said it was worth it as everything was good with many Alsatian specialties.

In my France guidebook, a restaurant in the Petite Venise part of town was recommended and my tour director Toni did as well. So I decided to give it a try,

I posted this photo earlier, but thought it would be good to use again. The restaurant is JY's and is the large orange building at the end. The outdoor seating in front of it is for a restaurant across the street. The outdoor seating for JY's is around the corner to the right of the building on the canal.

Since it was a pretty nice evening, I dined outside. Nice views of the canal and could watch the ducks go by. The weather was a little cool, but comfortable. After about a half hour or so there it started to rain and quite hard so, the canopies came down as well as some outdoor heating. Was never unpleasant and this was one of the best meals of my trip.

It was a prix fixe meal with several courses. It was fairly expensive, but worth it Started out an appertif of a Kir with cassis and white wine. There was plenty of bread accompany the meal as is standard in France. Next was an amuse bouche with five different selections. Each were served on those Japanese soup spoons. I can only remember three of these, but there was a tomato that was stewed and seasoned, smoked salmon and duck. Hope the latter didn't come from the canal!

I did order some red wine with this meal, but can't recall what it was. It was a medium bodied wine, so probably not from this region as it's mostly white produced here and the reds are Pinot Noir. Next course was Goose Foie Gras with green apples and followed by Hake Fish in a white wine sauce. The main course was a trio of pork with a filet, ribs and belly. Especially liked the ribs and belly. For dessert was a strawberry tart. Finished off the meal with an expresso and a vanilla Grand Marnier. That wasn't it as they brought some hand spun cotton candy to the table. That was an unusual spin to the meal as I wasn't expecting it.

It was a bit expensive, but well worth it. Glad I dined here. Had a bit of a mix of Alsatian cuisine as well as other French specialties. Headed back to the hotel after about a 15 minute walk in the area. It was around 10 or so and headed back to the hotel.

[SuperDave]

It's been a couple of weeks since i added new posts from my trip to this. I haven't forgotten about this, but been quite busy with other things lately. Hope to add some posts and photos shortly! I'm looking forward to it for sure as I hope all of you are! My sincere apologies!

Well, decided with the Elvis emoticon, just a day after the "alleged" 36th anniversary of "The King's" death. TCB All!

[Strider]

Well, decided with the Elvis emoticon, just a day after the "alleged" 36th anniversary of "The King's" death. TCB All!

Haha, do you know something we don't, Dave?

Enjoying your travel diary very much.

[chillumpuffer]

Great stuff Dave. Sounds like a gastronomic trip all right. Mrs CP picked grapes in Epernay, which is Champagne country many years ago. I assume that is very close to Reims?

We had friends who lived near Perpignan. One evening we had a historic meal in the village where they lived. 5 Courses all with a different wine of the region to accompany the food. Great value it was.

[SuperDave]

Great stuff Dave. Sounds like a gastronomic trip all right. Mrs CP picked grapes in Epernay, which is Champagne country many years ago. I assume that is very close to Reims?

We had friends who lived near Perpignan. One evening we had a historic meal in the village where they lived. 5 Courses all with a different wine of the region to accompany the food. Great value it was.

Glad you liked it. I haven't been adding much to this thread of late, but I plan to soon. Just gotta get myself to do so. Epernay, I think is only about 20-30 minutes from Reims.

[BUCK'EYE' DOC]

Hi SuperDave,

I love your thread. Thanks for posting your travel log and great photos. I am enjoying them very much.

My husband and I were in Paris for just one day on the first Saturday of August, saw many of the same sights as you did, have a lot of similar photos. We had lunch at a nice restaurant called Chez Jenny's and spent most of our time at the Cathedral Notre Dame. We visited the Eiffel Tower where the grounds were over run by pickpockets and gypsies, very intimidating, we witnessed an incident there. We travelled from the port at Le Havre to Paris and back in one day. It was a whirlwind trip. We would like to go back to France and explore the wine regions in more depth. Thank you for all of your information and details about your trip.

[SuperDave]

Hi SuperDave,

I love your thread. Thanks for posting your travel log and great photos. I am enjoying them very much.

My husband and I were in Paris for just one day on the first Saturday of August, saw many of the same sights as you did, have a lot of similar photos. We had lunch at a nice restaurant called Chez Jenny's and spent most of our time at the Cathedral Notre Dame. We visited the Eiffel Tower where the grounds were over run by pickpockets and gypsies, very intimidating, we witnessed an incident there. We travelled from the port at Le Havre to Paris and back in one day. It was a whirlwind trip. We would like to go back to France and explore the wine regions in more depth. Thank you for all of your information and details about your trip.

Glad you enjoyed my Trip Report. A lot of the tourist areas have a lot of pickpockets and gypsies. Just need to keep your eye out and know your surroundings. I witnessed someone in a group I was traveling with get pick pocketed in Paris about 15 years ago. This was in the Montmartre area near Place Pigalle. The Red Light district area. Areas to look out for in Paris are the tourist sites, Montmartre, Pigalle, Les Halles and the Metro and buses. And of course you need to be more aware at night and anywhere there are crowds. I always wear a money belt when I travel to be a bit safer.