Colmar

Last week our friends Lisa and Matt joined us for a night in Paris, and then the four of us headed east to Colmar and Strasbourg, both in eastern France. Lisa and Matt were in the middle of a two week honeymoon in France and hence we felt very lucky to be invited to spend any time at all with them. Saturday we rented bikes and rode from winery to winery. We shared some excellent meals and had a fabulous weekend! Pictures for you if you'd like to see what it was like...but overall it was kind of like Napa, but in my opinion much better because the bike paths are in such great condition (only on the road next to cars at the very beginning), and no need to drive. The scenery was breath taking and Saturday was a perfect day, not too hot, not too cold, and somehow we missed the downpour of rain that Paris and London got. Clearly, the wine is one of the main attractions, but the region is known for other things as well.

The new president

As of tonight Jacques Chirac is out, and Nicolas Sarkozy is the new French president. Steve and I have loved following the election and learning more about the French culture in the process. This is our absolute favorite (albeit American) commentary on the French election process. I really recommend you watch it.

May Day

Steve and I have the day off today for Labor Day. It’s a beautiful spring day, and lilies are being sold on every corner. We spent the afternoon at the famous cemetery, Pere Lachaise. To me, it is part park, part art museum, and part cemetery. The cemetery holds 1000s of gravestones, some belonging to very interesting and famous people.

The first picture is Oscar Wilde's grave, full of lipstick kisses. The second picture is the lilies Steve gave me.