Friday, May 13, 2011, Strasbourg, France

Friday morning we were in Strasbourg, France. We were taken by Canal Boat through the canal system to see the Old Town and some political area including the consulate buildings.  It is right on the border between Germany and France, and throughout history had changed hands between Germany and France numerous times. So almost eveything was in both German and French. It didn't really look that much different than the German towns we visited other than the French in the stores and on the signs. 

After the canal ride, Christie and I wandered around in the shops and found a cute little candie store that had some great nougat and caramels, among other goodies. We bought some candy and then later a pretzel from a little bakery and made our way back to the bus, to return to the ship for lunch.

 

Ann, our cruise director gathering us up for the bus ride back to the ship

 There was this one lady from Canada that was also traveling alone and she was sitting by herself so we asked if we could join her, thinking maybe she would like some company. She answered but neither of us really understood what she said, so we asked again, if it was ok for us to sit with her. She said no one was sitting there, so we sat down and Christie started eating her salad, and I went to get something from the buffet. As soon as I sat down, she literally threw her napkin on the table, got up and raced off. Christie said she just sat there with her head down, eating her salad as fast as she could; and she tried to talk to her but she wouldn't answer. So we don't really know what her problem was... apparently she wanted to be by herself, but she could have just told us. She was also eating alone at dinner that night, so I guess she just wanted to be by herself because there were lots of tables where she could have sat, and everyone was very open to people joining them at dinner so we could all meet new people.

After lunch it was time to pack... ugh I wasn't looking forward to the journey home. Although I was ready to be home, the thought of the long flights and hours in airports wasn't very appealing. I was worried that my luggage would go over the weight limit because of the things I bought, so I had been getting rid of things along the way that I didn't need. I dumped my "Germany for Dummies" book at the Ausburg train station, and a half empty box of peanut butter crackers at the train station. I also left Mrs. Loeffler's coat, my old curling iron, a couple of half-empty tubes of various hotel lotions, an expired container of tums, and tons of papers in my bags. I was able to fit everything in my suitcase and carry-on plus a small canvas bag that I had taken along. 

They had a Pastry demonstration in the lounge in the afternoon where the Pastry Chef and the head chef showed us how to assemble a Black Forest Cake. They had a passenger from the crowd come up and help her. After putting the cake together, the cut and served it to us at Tea Time. 

Dinner was the Captain's Farewell Dinner and they served filet mignon and shrimp with some vegetables and potatoes. For dessert it was their version of Baked Alaska. After dinner we went to the lounge to chat for a bit and then it was time for bed.