One month ago almost exactly, my sweet little family and I packed up and headed across the pond to Ribeauville, France! My husband has family in this quaint little town and has been wanting to visit with me since we first met. Unfortunately, COVID caused the trip to be postponed in both 2020 and 2021, but we finally made it – and let me tell you, the wait was well worth it. Obviously two years ago we didn’t have little Wesley with us when we planned our initial trip, but bringing him along made the whole thing that much more special. He was happy as a clam the entire time, eating french baguettes and smiling at everyone he came in contact with. Honestly, I feel so blessed to have a little one who is so well adapted in different environments.
We left for our long journey around 3PM on Thursday, 7/09, and headed to the airport. I was sooo stressed about flying with Wes. Luckily, it wasn’t our first rodeo and he had already been on a few flights. I was still nervous though because none had been this long and none of them had been red-eyes. We boarded our flight at 9PM, said our prayers, and we were off! Wesley slept almost the whole entire time. I couldn’t believe it. I’m going to do a post soon on flying with an infant… I’m certainly not an expert but every little tip helps when you’re that mama.
It was 10AM in France when we landed and then the fun really began! We settled into the hotel we were staying in for night one and then ventured into town. We were absolutely exhausted but were committed to making it through to dinner time in order to combat the jet lag.
My first impression of Ribeauville was that it was absolutely beautiful and that it felt like a Disney scene. It was amazing to see that the people there truly live that way. Everything was clean. Most of the women wore dresses or skirts with fashionable shoes, even just while running errands around the town. Flower boxes were on every window overflowing with vibrant colors and fragrant blooms. It was really just perfect and lovely.
My photos absolutely did not capture the beauty of this little town at all.
My happy guy venturing out on Day 1! A side note – I absolutely LOVE my colugo compact travel stroller. I will do a review of it soon, but hands down it has been one of our very best purchases for traveling with Wes.
After this photo things did start to go downhill a bit. We were all so exhausted and the time change was difficult on Wes. We managed to make it to a wonderful dinner hosted by one of Tim’s cousins before heading back to the hotel for bed. Night one was tough on Wes with the time change, but luckily every night after was completely fine. He slept through the night on 6 of the 8 nights we were traveling – which was even better than the norm at home!
The next morning, we moved from the hotel to an AirBnB down the street as the rentals in Ribeauville typically run Saturday – Saturday. After a quick run to the marche, we were off to visit family. During our time in Ribeauville, we spent most of our time visiting with Tim’s family in their homes. It was a really great way to see the true Alsacean culture.
There were the most beautiful sunflower fields along the way scattered between huge farms. We couldn’t resist stopping for a quick photo while Wesley napped in the car.
I unfortunately didn’t take many photos during the meals inside of their homes, but it was absolutely lovely. They were so kind and welcoming. We loved our visits!
At the end of our first full day, we finished out with a meal at what became one of our favorite restaurants. We ended up staying there for almost 4 hours having wine, cheese, and dessert in true French fashion.
The next day started off in my absolute favorite way – with a cappuccino, pain au chocolate, and this little blue eyed lovebug.
I honestly wish that I could start every day like this!
After breakfast we headed out for an hour-long ride to meet some more family at a Ferme Auburge on the mountainside. It was basically a big farm to table meal that leans mirrors the traditional Alsacean culture. I wish that I had taken a photo of the food, but there was a lot going on! It was very meat heavy (which is not typically my favorite) but the wine was delicious and so was the bread. It was lovely to meet Tim’s extended family. They were so excited and greeted us so warmly, complete with tons of both American and French Flags!
They also surprised us by bringing a little Alsacean outfit to dress Wesley up in! LOL. They had one for his little cousin Charlie as well – so we had a lot of fun having a photo shoot of these two little cuties. I can see these pictures coming back to haunt them someday in the future! haha! They were so adorable.
Once we returned to town we went for an evening stroll and popped in some of the little gift shops. My sister-in-law, Jen, was taking a picture of the town and happened to capture the perfect moment between Tim & I. She didn’t even know that was us until we went through the photos later!
The next day was my favorite. It started off, once again, with a capuccino and pain au chocolate. I have been craving these since we returned home!
After strolling around for a bit, we headed to the marche to grab some food for a vineyard picnic.
We packed up some cheese, jam, baguettes, and fruit and drove a few miles down the road where we found a spot with the most breathtaking views to set up. It was so simple and spur of the moment, but it was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip.
Our final day in France was also Tim’s birthday! We celebrated in the morning with croissants and pastries before packing up and heading to our next destination…. Edinburgh, Scotland!
Our visit to Alsace was wonderful. I wish that this post did it justice, but it just does not at all. I already can’t wait to return someday.
Keep an eye out for part two of our trip!
xo,
Jaclyn
