Wednesday – 11 July 2019.

We left Chateau Thierry early as we had a big day of driving ahead. Rob had booked us in at Ribeauville for the night and as fortune would have it the Tour de France would be going through Frapelle and Ribesuville; both on our way today, so we just had to get to Frapelle, the first spot to see it, 382 kilometres away before 1;30pm!

As we drove I was able to catch those wheat fields I mentioned in my last post and a bullet train, though not quick enough to snap the front aha!

We arrived at Frappell with 20 minutes to spare and with just a few minutes walk to the road closure. We even had a brief chat to a local that knew a smattering of English.

When they came through they were so close and so fast! It was all over in a few seconds.

Awesome! Great planning Rob.

We then jumped back in the car and headed for beautiful Ribeauville. Near Strasbourg, this picturesque town has many charming medieval houses and is surrounded by the ruins of three castles.

Our BnB on Rue de Chateau was just off the Grand Rue (main Street) and very charming it was.

At the top of the street and above the BnB on the nearby Rue de Temple the church bells rang on the hour which was really charming.

The town was like a postcard at every turn. This picture shows St. Ulrich castle high on the hill in the background.

Rob and I checked in, had a quick lunch of banquet, salad and terrine, stowed our gear and then headed out to catch the next leg of the Tour.

Once again it was an invigorating experience so I bought Rob a T Shirt as a souvenir and we headed back to the flat so that he could watch the end of the days race.

Meanwhile I headed back out to torment the local shopkeepers with my dreadful French! I had a wonderful hour wandering the shops and exploring the town. I only bought one thing – a lovely Tisane for Rob’s Sia (Aunty) Irena and all of the shops attendants were very kind to me.

Later in the evening we went out for dinner, again we opted for local specialties. This time – snails to share, charcuterie for Rob – 5 meats with Sauerkraut and a flambeau (bit like pizza) for me but we shared both.

After dinner we had a last walk around beautiful Riveauville which also has some rather amazing crane nests, complete with Cranes! One of which was a top this house.

And another had it’s own spire, no birds in this one thoughand we also saw a second one just like this which was also empty.

Beautiful Pinot noir vineyards embrace the village which has a long history of winemaking.

I couldn’t have asked for more from my first day in France. A real beauty, and on the way back up the Grand Rue we spied some very cute Mud Swallows.