Vive la différence: a long weekend in Strasbourg and Paris
Two cities just a few hours distant, yet miles apart in terms of culture, crowds, and metropolitan swagger
Would you like to meet Arthur?” asked the well-groomed American tourist in the scalloped booth next to ours. We felt perplexed as the man seemed to be sitting on his own, but then we realised that perched on a soft cushion and gently lapping at a saucer of organic yoghurt, was an elderly poodle. “Arthur loves Strasbourg,” he explained. “This is his 16th visit!” The dog stared unblinkingly at us, his pink tongue licking a spot of white yoghurt from his black whiskers. “Really,” I said. “What does he like so much about the place?” The man looked at us with amazement: “Well, the breakfasts, of course!”
I also like breakfasts – and the city of Strasbourg – but this is only my third visit. This time, my wife, Juliet, and I are here for the weekend as surprise guests at a close friend’s 60th birthday (somehow we managed to keep our visit a secret until the moment he and his French wife entered the tiny restaurant we were waiting in).
