Saturday in Eckbohlsheim- April something or another! One day has blended into another so that I lose track of the actual date. I know tomorrow is Palm Sunday, so today must be April 4. Today, I woke about an hour later than normal- an absolute blessing in itself! We breakfasted as always with beautiful pastries, farm yogurt, fresh orange juice, and coffee. Then Cathie and I set off on our grocery shopping experience. This was the largest grocery story I have seen outside of Wal-Mart! The vast majority of her groceries are bought almost daily- the baguettes, cheeses, and vegetables that she prepares every day she stops and gets everyday. Milk, smoked meats, and things that keep easily, she buys like we do- in a regular grocery store. But not so often as we go. And I forgot to mention that before we went in, their was "une marche" (a market) outside. There are bunches of these things, and are the equivalent our of River Fest type street fair. They pop up everywhere, and you can get anything from fresh fruits and vegetables to underwear! Handbags, shoes, jewelry, just tons and tons of interesting stuff to look at. So we browsed through the market a while before going into the grocery store.

When we had gotten our cart, (and here you have to pay for your cart- 1 euro coin in the little slot to release the lock, then when you are finished, you lock it back, and your coin is returned to you. A little "insurance policy"!) we took off into the building. It was not your average grocery store- this was a regular mall-type place. Many shops, pharmacies, even a post office. It was a while before we actually got into the grocery store itself. And a quick word about shopping carts- the French drive them like they drive their cars! You must keep a sharp eye out, because every step you take (or every block you drive) is one near miss after another. And yet, they do not seem to mind, and are quite polite if they bump you. It took about an hour and a half to gather everything we needed. Later this week, I will be making Sebastien's favorite thing when he was with us- enchiladas!

It is fairly crowed in the main city of Strasburg, and it was a beautiful day today; so many people were about. One other thing about this trip- we took our own bag and basket. Cathie has a VERY large plastic "sac" and a large woven basket she takes to the market. I was absolutely amazed at how much food these held! I have discovered that the people of France are very concerned about not wasting resources. Everyone here uses things more wisely than I usually see at home. Gas is more expensive (best I can figure converting Euros to dollars, it was about $2.80 or $2.90. I'm really not good with math) but their cars are much smaller, and more efficient. When we got home, it was lunch time, so Cathie and her daughter Anaise, made crèpes! I have never had a true crèpe, so this was a serious adventure into home cooking. I helped Cathie with the batter, (7 eggs!) then after it had rested 30 minutes or so, Anaise got out the crèpe pan, and just watching them in the kitchen was a real treat. Anaise did most of the cooking, but even Sebastien took a turn, and showed off by tossing the crèpe in the air to turn it. No small feat, either- these crèpes are about 18" across- the size of our crash cymbals!!!

They were filled, one at a time, with a savory filling of les champignons, le frommage du chevre, le fromage Cammembert, et lardons- or in english; mushrooms, goat cheese, Cammembert cheese, and a pork product very much like pancetta. These are cut into very tiny pieces, and are not smoked. A sort of fresh bacon. I even took a chance on making a crèpe. Anaise thought it would make a great picture, but she took it with her own camera, and mine was upstairs on my bed, so you'll hqve to use your imagination.

I finally got a chance to just rest at bit after lunch; which turned out to be a great thing. There is a beautiful cemetary beside their house. After I got up from my nap about an hour later, I asked if I could take a walk through it. This is such a very old community; I thought it might be interesting to see the dates on some of the stones. Cathie readily agreed, but suggested a bike ride instead of walking. OK, folks, here's where it gets real interesting. I couldn't quite understand why we needed to ride a bike through such a small cemetary, but I certainly didn't argue. I haven't ridden a bike in nearly a year, and I'm no little kid anymore, either. But I thought it would be OK through this little cemetary.

I have NO IDEA what I'm about to do!

So, I borrowed Seb's bike, adjusted the seat VERY much lower, and off we went. Right around the corner and smack into this beautiful cemetary.

A grand total of less than about 50 yards. I stepped off the bike to take a few pictures. Like all the tiny villages around this area, the community starts with a central Catholic church. (You can see it's spire in the distance.) There are very many crucifixes, religious icons, or sacred arts all over the place here. And right now is a truly beautiful time- Joyeaux Paques! or Happy Easter time. There are flowers on nearly every grave- and not just one or two arrangements- some of the raised graves are literally covered with beautiful fresh blossoms. Potted plants, engraved stone, marble, or polished granite remembrances are also present on most. Cathie has grandparents and one aunt buried here.

After a few photos, we got back on the bikes, turned around, and I THOUGHT we were headed back to the house. Mais non! But no! We took off in the other direction! Remember how these folks drive??? I will tell you plainly right now I was scared to death to ride with the cars whizzing so close on these tiny little streets you can change their mirrors if you wanted to! But it was of no concern to Cathie, and I dutifully followed. And followed. AND FOLLOWED!! We rode through at least three villages, up and down hills like crazy (this is NOT our flatland; peeps!) past vast farmland; dense woods, and over our little River Brusche from last night.

Le cygnet on the River Brusche

We finally pulled up about an hour later into a friend of Cathie's front garden. He daughter was saddling her horse, and Cathie, knowing how much I adore horses, popped in for a visit.

This is Laurie, and her horse whose name I can't pronounce.

Check out the size of the street compared to the horse or the car!!

That's a fly bonnet, by the way, covering the horses's ears and eyes.

A good thing; too; because I didn't think I could go much further. I got to pet her horse, and her horse-sized dog got to pet me!! This shaggy dog would stand on his hind feet with his front feet on your chest and gaze into your eyes begging for a hug. Who could resist that? So it didn't take much for me to oblige. The dog and I, like the wonderful people I have met, were immediate friends. The daughter left on her horse, and we all sat down for a drink of water. Conversation with French people continues to be an amazing thing to me- most people know a tiny bit of english, and together with my little bit of French, we manage pretty well- a sort of "pigeon" English or French. Maybe "Engrench" or "Frenlish". Voilà! Immediate esprit d'corps! After about 30 or 45 minutes of chatting and laughing at my muddy shirt from the dog, we left on the bikes. I thought we would surely head home. Nope- wrong again! We kept going in the SAME direction. But, I had rested; so I thought I would be ok. I am riding a fairly heavy 10 speed bike, and thankfully I know how to change gears or I would not have survived. Cathie, in much better shape and a bit younger than me, never changed once. But she slowed down about 10 minutes later to point out a particular house to me, and before I knew it, I was on my back in the grass. We were riding on a very narrow road with the river on one side, and this beautiful little Alsatian house on the other. I looked where Cathie pointed, but not where my bike was going! But- at least one good thing- I did not land in the river! We were riding through very crowded rual roads, just because they are so small and because it was such a beautiful day, many people were out for exercise. So when I decided to get off my bike in such an unorthodox way, there were quite a few who got to see the spectacle. At least I wasn't hurt at all; and could get up and laugh and dust myself off. Ca vas bien! I shout to her. I'm well- no problem! And we're off again. We passed a little circus with ponies, llamas, and tents. We didn't go in, but I got a few pictures for memories.

After at least 30 minutes more of pedalling my heart out, we arrived at the home of her parents. The same ones who took me to dinner last night. A little fear and trembling here, please! I learned a lot about these folks last night, and quickly have learned here that hospitality begins, ends, and revolves around FEEDING one's guests. I was really afraid that I would be offered a meal here, as it was past 5 PM. And there was absolutely NO way I would be able to pedal home (however far that was) after consuming another enormous meal. But I have learned to trust my host, and I had forgotten that here dinner is almost never before 8:00 PM, so I got off light with les glaces- or ice cream. But- I'll bet you've forgotten we are in the region of Alsace, and nothing is plain or ordinary here. Ice cream turned out to be a PLATE with an enormous 2 inch thick slice of something akin to a frozen parfait. There were many layers of sweet vanilla cake, raspberry sorbet, vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream and frozen fruits. And as with everything, it was astonishingly beautiful to look at before I ate it. But by now, I had been biking for nearly three hours, and it was indeed welcome. I realized, too, that her parent's house was fairly near hers, so we had made a circle.

Cathie and her parents.

Later on I asked Cathie how far we had ridden. Cathie described our circtuit to her husband, Joel, and he said it was more than 8 kilometers. I very nearly fainted. I don't know the conversion; but I KNOW I've never ridden my bike that far- at least not in the past 20 or 30 years!

I had about an hour before we went to dinner, so I sat down to check my e-mail. To Eddie- remember I told you we were going out for "pizza"? Well, I was absolutely right. Nothing plain or ordinary here. This little tiny restaurant (like the others I have been to here) required reservations. Imagine that! Reservations- for PIZZA!

And, just like the others, the servers here are extremely eager to please, and the food was unbelievable. Joel and Seb had their own individual pizzas (Aha! You're thinking little 8 or 9" personal size pizzas, right?) I hate to say I told you so, but you really do have to think completely differently here. Their pizzas were EACH the size of our ordinary large ones- covered in various things they had ordered. Seb's had an over-easy egg on top. But I haven't told you of ours, yet! Cathie, Annaise, and I shared something whose name I can't remember; but what ended in "trois" or 3. Yep, got you again. You're thinking one really large pizza to share with three people. Try to think outside the proverbial pizza box, folks! In this place, the pizzas for us girls were served on charred wooden planks about 15" by 24". Cathie had ordered her and Annaise's favorite- Les lardons avec frommage. The tiny pieces of non-smoked bacon and tons of cheese on an extremely thin, brick oven crust. Cathie cut it into 6 football-stadium-sized pieces, and explained that I had to fold and roll it like a crèpe to eat it. She truly wasn't kidding. And as the last crumb disappeared numbly into my mouth, our server popped up to the table with another one. Aha- the name just came to me! Torte Flambé a trois, or Fired torte for three. The smokiness of the brick oven crust and the creamy melted Cammembert simply blew me away, and I was completely done after two pieces. But here we have yet another one?? Cathie explained to me that here, the pizza will keep flowing until she tells them to stop. Pizza Happy Hour!!

We went through THREE of these, with me stopping after just one more slice, and Cathie and Annaise finishing off every last bite. You know what? She wanted to know if I would like dessert!

So tonight, I'm home, sighing with très contentment, and blogging at a fairly early hour- it's 10:45 PM here, ane if my photos upload ok, I might be in bed before midnight. What was that- a cheer??? Thanks bunches- keep 'em coming, folks!

Blessings and Peace from chez Amhrein, the home of my French family.

I love and miss you all!

Bonnie