The Alsace Wine Route is blessed...not just with delicious wines & stunning castles, but also with the prettiest of old villages. Our friends took us to one, Ribeauville, which has won awards for being the prettiest village in France.
It is very pretty, but having visited a few pretty villages now, I know that I would NEVER be able to judge one over another! Being a judge for 'the prettiest village' must be sooo stressful!
Every turn of the head was so pretty. The Villagers take great pride in their hanging baskets, & pots of flowers, making the village alight with colour.
Ribeauville was an enjoyable place to walk off a delicious lunch of tarte flambes. A gentle meander was perfect in this setting.
Beyond the rooftops & into the distance we saw old castle's dotted along the peaks of the Vosges mountains.
On ground level we saw wonderful expressions of creativity, even the roof tiling was treated to some decoration.
On we walked, along with other visitors down the narrow cobbled streets.
My friends, the storks were also in evidence, whether painted onto plant pots...
...nesting on rooftops...
...or flying down to say "Hello" to me.
We had time to visit the next village as well & Riquewihr was just as pretty as Ribeauville in my opinion. Surrounded by vines & walking past medieval houses was like stepping back in time.
A treat was in store...we'd had a little wine tasting session in the last village, it was cheese tasting time in this one! It was interesting the range in flavours we experienced from a small selection of cheeses.. We opted to buy a sliver of a Comte, which has been aged for 18 months, consequently it has a fruity flavour. A perfect addition to our evening repast of baguette, cheese & wine!
The houses were quite colourful & they even had a multi-storey Christmas shop in the village. OF COURSE we went in....& had a little spend!
In both villages, we encountered some stunning fountains, this is just one of the many I took photos of.
The visit had given us an insight into another region of Alsace & it was of course, pure delight. There is so much inspiration here for my own artistic endeavours, I feel somewhat overwhelmed!
No complaints though!!
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