Yes, the Bugatti was nice, but I have to admit I was probably as relieved to hand the keys back as I was excited to get them in the first place.
I was less ambivalent about the food I ate in Alsace. That was pretty much all-round fantastic. No down sides.
The first of many, many choucroute garnis I stuffed down during my week:
Extraordinary cured meats in the market at Selestat:
Some escaped roesti which had crossed the Swiss border and were heading north:
If you are looking for a place to stay in Selestat, I heartily recommend the Abbaye de la Pommeraie
From Selestat I was magnetically drawn to the gorgeous Alsatian wine route. One of the most beautiful in Europe, I'd venture:
Other attractions with a mysterious, almost occult, magnetic appeal:
Hard core investigative journalism such as I was engaged in is awfully tiring: luckily there were several opportunities for refuelling: spaetzle gratin with Munster.
Spaetzle is my kitchen nemesis - I have never been able to make it at home. When I have tried, it always ends up resembling some kind of by-product from the construction industry, so I always order it when I see it on a menu. I owe it to myself, I feel. Not sure what that green and red stuff in the bowl was doing there, but happily they took it away when I was finished...
The weird, faux-Disney Daniel Stoffel chocolate warehouse (actually the chocolate wasn't bad):
A true 'only in France' attraction: Munster's Maison du Fromage visitor centre. Must have cost a fortune:
Here's the great tragedy of contemporary food writing: I would dearly love to write a 3,000 word piece about the many varieties of Munster cheese and the stories of the people who make them, but who would pay my expenses (or the medical bills)?
The horror of the provincial French one-star restaurant:
This 'miso soup' was the absolute low point of my trip, I'd say. A salutary lesson on eating in Alsace:
Name that offal!:
The schmaltziest shop in Christendom in, I think, Riquewihr. Remarkably, the whole thing was made out of gingerbread and staffed by dwarfs:
As I mentioned in my piece for the Indy, I was constantly astounded (in truth, I became more than a little obsessed) by the Alsatians' exterior colour choices. Sit back and enjoy. No further words are necessary:
Emergency: Calling Pantone!
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