Sunday is now my favourite day. This may be because today is a Tuesday, the antitheses of everything Sunday represents, but it is mostly because the French do Sundays so well. Everything closes, and the pace of life slows. People here sleep in, go for walks, have long lazy meals, go for bike rides, hang out in parks, go to the cinema and stay home and read. Basically this is one day of the week when it is completely acceptable, and somewhat expected, to do a whole lot of nothing at all.
If you could get your hands on my search history you would see that within my first couple of weeks of being here I legitimately googled “What to do in Strasbourg on a Sunday”. Obviously, I didn’t quite understand.
Now my state-sanctioned sleep in is my favourite part of the week, coupled with the relief that I can then follow up that exhausting effort with another couple of hours spent sipping my tea and getting lost in a youtube loop (guilt-free!).
Other things that the French do really well?
Markets- there are weekly markets for everything here. Mostly food, which makes my soul happy, but also antiques, clothes, flowers and even touristy trinkety things. There is something really fun about seeing the faces of the people who grow your food and being able to talk, ask questions and wander around, taking your time to decide between all the beautiful produce.
Plus, the markets in Strasbourg are usually outside, in the old town near the quays. These areas are beautiful in their own right and equally worthy of a leisurely weekend stroll (if not just to work off all that cheese and bread…. mmmm).
Last week my family visited me here (yayyyy!!!) and this is what we did. We visited markets, went for long walks, and spent time lazing around on Sunday. It was great.
Photos courtesy of my big sister, who has much more talent with a lens than I.
Ça va être une année interessante 