Travel with Julie

The Alsatian Bretzel

Don't mistake this beast of twisted dough for a pretzel. No!  It's a bretzel, a traditional Alsatian buscuit made of dough precooked in boiling water then sprinkled with sea salt and caraway seed and then dried in an oven.  In Alsace, the bretzel is mostly accompanied by beer.

During my visit to Colmar, I found bretzels for sale in bakeries and special bretzelleries.  They come salted or unsalted, and occasionally sweet bretzels dusted with sugar.  The bretzel is just another reflection of the German influence that infiltrates the Alsace region of France.

As you might imagine, there is a stiff war of whether or not the bretzel is the same as a pretzel. Those who argue they are not the same say it is because the recipes differ.  Me? Well, if it looks like a pretzel and tastes like a pretzel, then it's a pretzel!

Les Ponts Couverts - Strasbourg

I am still pinching myself in disbelief that I was actually standing in this spot taking this photo!  Beautiful, isn't it?

Le Pont Couvert -- covered bridge -- is one of the most photographed sites in Strasbourg.  In the middle ages, a covered bridge made of wood was here, thus the name.  The bridge was used to protect the town. Four towers still exist from the bridge, and if you look close enough, you will see the holes at water level where guns were housed.  The bridge was the entry into what is now known as Petite France (more to come on that) and led to canals that helped supply tradesmen and industry.

Today, this is mostly a pedestrian area surrounded by parks, restaurants and shops.  I found the area quite lovely and picturesque as you can see from some of these photos:

What is a Paris Arrondissement?

Map courtesy of Beau Paris

I know.  For you well-seasoned travelers, the question of what is a Paris arrondissement is like asking what color the sky is.  But I work with a lot of newbie travelers who have never heard the term.  Without an understanding of what an arrondissement is and how it plays into navigating Paris, they would be lost.  So, for you who may be traveling to Paris for the first time, I will explain.

An arrondissement is a city district.  The pronunciation is "ah-rohn-dees-mawn."

The city of Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements.  They spiral from the center of the city outwards in a clock-wise direcion.  The arrondissements are encircled by the peripherique, a ring highway (or loop, as we might say in the U.S.).  Outside the peripherique are the suburbs of Paris.

Arrondissements 1 through 8 are where most tourist attractions are located. Take a look at the map above. You see the Eiffel Tower is in arrondissement 7; the Louvre is in arrondissement 1; and Notre Dame is in arrondissement 4.

Paris' arrondissements are identified by the last two digits of an addresses zip code.  This is helpful to know when locating a specific address, say for a hotel or restaurant.  For example, if an address has the zip code of 75003, the "03" tells you the address is in arrondissement 3.  Arrondissements are also written in two other forms:  3eme or 3e arr.

 

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Notre Dame, Cathedral of Bayeux

You can't miss it.  The centerpiece of Bayeux is its magnificent cathedral, Notre Dame.  The 1,000-year-old church towers over every other construction and is probably the second most visited attraction in Bayeux.  Oh, if these walls could talk!

The church was consecrated in 1077 in the prescense of William the Conqueror. It was also home to the Bayeux Tapestry for nearly 400 years. The crypt, located beneath the choir, is decorated with frescoes of angels playing bagpipes and trumpets -- feel free to take a look.

While the church itself is worthy a visit, I find a story involving the church to be most fascinating.  The story was told by the innkeeper of my hotel, passed down from her father who lived through the Nazi invasion and D-Day liberation:

During the Allied invasion, the people of Bayeux feared bombing and destruction of their town. The townspeople gathered in the cathedral's crypt for safety.  As the Allied forces moved into town, the town's priest ran outside the church yelling to soldiers, "There are no Germans here." Thus, the Allied forces marched on leaving the town safe from ruin.

I haven't found anything to corroborate this story, but it makes visiting the church even more special!

 

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The Bayeux Tapestry

Photo courtesy of Bayeux Tapestry

Besides being near the D-Day beaches in Normandy, Bayeux boasts of another attraction, the Tapestry. The embroidered linen cloth is 230 feet long and about 19 inches high.  It tells the story of the Norman Invasion of England in 1066.  There are 58 intricately woven panels that take you through the journey from start to finish, giving a portrayal of the conquest led by William the Conqueror.  For all of you embroidery aficionados out there, only a "couching" and "stem" stitch were used.  Admittedly, that means nothing to me, but it sounds cool!

Originally, it was believed that Queen Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, created the piece.  This theory was discredited because she was, afterall, the Queen of England.  When would she have had the time to embroider such a piece?  And, the Queen never appears in the tapestry -- we all know a queen would never let that happen!  Now, it is thought to be of later origin and possibly constructed by English embroiderers shortly after the battle in 1066 to celebrate and record the events that took place.

The tapestry was put on display in Bayeux's cathedral for 400 years but didn't hold much interest until the French Revolution broke out.  During that time, there was a shortage of cloth.  Since the people of Bayeux used cloth to cover their wagons, someone remembered a "cloth" in the cathedral.  The tapestry was removed and used to cover a wagon.  A man by the name of Lambert Leonard Lefrestier (don't you just love those French names?) saw this happening and saved the tapestry by replacing it with another cloth. That's when Bayeux established a fine arts council to protect its treasures.  Even with the councils protection, the tapestry endured several more attempts of demise. During WWII, it was kept out of the hands of Nazi Germany by sneaking it into the vaults of the Louvre in Paris.  Today, it is behind glass and on exhibit for public viewing.

Although I'm not crazy about artistic renderings of war scenes, I do admire the talent and work put into this piece.  It's hard to believe that panels of linen and thread have survived time and war.  Such a remnant of history deserves at least a few minutes of your time in Bayeux.

The tapestry is on view in the Bayeux Tapestry Museum.  It's easy to find as signs are posted throughout town directing you to the museum.  Be sure to pick up an audioguide.  It's a little dry, but at least you will better understand the story that is being told through each panel. 

 

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