ALSACEZ-VOUS

We like the sound of Alsacez-vous, the slogan for the 2012 publicity campaign to promote tourism in Alsace, and take it to mean "experience Alsace."  Above, nesting on a rooftop in Eguisheim is a white stork, not only the symbol of a newly arrived baby, but also the symbol of Alsace. Although the legend that storks deliver babies wrapped in a sling to families is generally claimed to have northern European origins, it is an Alsatian custom for children who want a baby brother or sister to place a piece of sugar on a window ledge to attract a stork carrying the hoped for bundle of joy.

The medieval village of Eguisheim, built with its streets in concentric circles, is on the list of the most beautiful villages in France. It is also there where one of the first parks to reintroduce and to protect storks, whose population had been seriously declining, was created in 1983. 

Vocabulary
une cigogne:  a stork
un nid:  a nest
un toit:  a rooftop

©2012 P.B. Lecron

EASY DOES IT: BAIE DE SOMME

For best land-side views around northern France's exceptional estuary: foot or bike it

A laughing gull or mouette rieuse, sitting on the dock of the bay, Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme.

Near Cayeux-sur-Mer.

Shifting sands on the north side of the bay,  Plage de la Maye.

A family of swans or cygnes along the road outside of Le Crotoy.

Majestic dunes near Le Hourdel.

Peace and quiet around Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme.

Cattails or quenouilles in the Marquenterre bird reserve.

Tide's up! Mallards or colverts noodling for grub on the shoreline of Saint-Valèry-sur-Somme.

View across bay looking from Le Hourdel.

Adorable lapwings or vanneaux huppés.

Expect to see storks or cigognes. 

Do as the Saint-Valéry locals do.

Each sunset or coucher de soleil a marvel or merveille.

Vocabulary

une balade, une promenade: a walk

une balade en vélo: a bike ride

Though it's easy to get around the bay by car, opt for more environmentally friendly bipedal locomotion,  or even a guided field tour. See Maison de l'Oiseau as well as Parc Ornithologique du Marquenterre. For information about bike tours and rentals around the Baie de Somme see Baiecyclette. Or consider discovering the site on a fastidiously restored 19th-century steam-powered train, classified as a historic monument, which in addition to its regular schedule offers sunset dinner rides around the bay on certain dates of the year: Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme. 

Click on photos to enlarge them.

©2011 P.B. Lecron