Colmar's Easter Markets

Originally, I planned to visit my friends in Dijon this weekend... but it turns out that none of them were there! As the three of them voyaged through Sweden or Luxembourg or wherever else in Europe, I was left in Strasbourg without a clue of what to do. 

My weekend was far from wasted, however!

On Friday night, Laeticia took Emma and I to the cinemas to see Avis de Mistral, which completely exceeded all of our expectations. It's a little French film starring Jean Reno among others, and it was set in the beautiful Provence region of France. I fell in love with the scenery and with the characters, and I am proud to say that even though some of the vocabulary escaped me, I understood basically all the dialogues and jokes in the film! After Avis de Mistral, the three of us went out to dinner at a local crêperie for some delicious galettes and desert crêpes. 

Saturday was the first rainy day that we've had in a while, and I mostly stayed inside to do homework. Saturday night, though, I went out to dinner with Kat and Ariana. We ate at a fantastic little tapas restaurant across the river from Petite France. The three of us split 8 or 9 dishes (including guacamole, calamari, a charcuterie plate, and toasted bread topped with a sweet pepper-tomato-eggplant sauce) along with a liter and a half of sangria! It was a really fun night, and we've promised to have another tapas dinner together before leaving Strasbourg. 

Strasbourg at night! Reflections with the Cathedral in the background

And finally, Kat and I spent the afternoon in Colmar. It was my fourth time in the charming town, although the last time I visited was with my mom in chilly, Christmas-y December. Now, Colmar has blossomed into a medieval spring village, the ancient timber houses decorated with rabbits, colorful crêpe flowers, and paper streamers. Everything looked so much brighter in the warm afternoon sun (mid-70's!) and it really did feel like Easter!

The Easter markets are much less crowded (and much less well-known) than the Christmas markets, but they were lovely all the same. Everything sold had an air of spring about it: from the bunny- and lamb-shaped chocolates to the floral scarves to the candles with crocuses and tulips painted on them. I treated myself to a beautiful egg made of wood and painted with cherry blossoms outlined in delicate gold paint--a memento that I am already quite fond of. 

Kat and I spent the afternoon strolling around Colmar, seeing the canals of "Little Venice," eating ice cream, and soaking up the sun. In one of the parks there was a free concert, so we lay in the warm sun and listened to music for a while, it was absolutely lovely! 

Next weekend is sure to be more action-packed, though: Malou is taking Kat and I to the south of France for three days! I'm extremely excited, but before that, I have to get through this week... Honestly, university in France hasn't been too stressful so far, but as the semester (and our year abroad!) is winding down, I have found myself bombarded with projects, essays, exams, and random tasks in preparation for my senior year, not to mention trying to secure a summer job or internship! So... until next time!