Today was almost a carbon copy of yesterday - explore Colmar in the morning, go wine tasting in the afternoon.. First stop was the Marché Couverte, or covered market down near La Petite Venise. It wasn’t open yesterday so we wanted to make a point of visiting it today. It is much like most markets in Canada - lots of yummy produce, baked goods, meats, cheeses and prepared food. There are no artisanal stalls during the week, but apparently on Thursdays there are stalls outside and perhaps they are of the more artsy/crafty variety.
After the market we strolled down to the main area near the cathedral and sussed out the Chocolate Museum. Well, at least Pam and I did! The boys decided they would just hang out and do more exploring.The museum was very interesting - well laid out, very informative and with a great setup for doing a self-guided tour. We had been to a chocolate factory in Ecuador where they explained how chocolate is harvested and made, but this place went into the historical aspects of chocolate, which I found fascinating. It didn’t hurt that along the way they had dispensers where you could help yourself to as much chocolate as you could handle. Also part of the museum is a display of objects made of chocolate, including a fancy hat, a bust of Louis the IV, clothing and the Statue of Liberty. At the end of the tour you get a cup of hot chocolate, which is actually frothed steaming milk into which you drop the chocolate of your choice and stir till the chocolate is melted. The gift shop has displays of other chocolate sculptures, including a character from Avatar, Indiana Jones, Han Solo and Princess Leia, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and a replica of a Bugatti race car that took 400 kg of chocolate and some 380 hours to make. While we were there, there were school groups doing the tour, part of which was the opportunity for them to make their own chocolate. Now why didn’t I go on any cool field trips like that when I was teaching?!!
When we met the boys outside, they decided that, since they hadn’t been filling their faces with chocolate, they would like to grab some lunch. So we found a sidewalk cafe where we could get a tapas plate to share.
Back to the flat to regroup before heading out in search of Maison Pierre Sparr, a winery with which Irv was familiar from selling their wines at Vines. Finding the place proved to be an adventure in itself. Our GPS took us to one town where we found a Charles Sparr, but no Pierre. We finally figured out that it was at another location and headed there, only to find out that, no, it was at a different location. We finally did manage to find the right spot and it was well worth the effort.Irv had tried to connect with them through one of the agents he knows in Edmonton, who for some reason was ghosting him so we didn’t have anything set up. However our host, Louise, was most accommodating and gladly poured us samples of nine of their wines. We tasted their regular riesling, sylvaner, pinot blanc, pinot gris and gewürztraminer, as well as some of their grand crus. We purchased a few bottles to consume here and also to take with us to Norway, since we figure there won’t be an abundance of wine available there!
Unfortunately when we got back, Irv realized he had left his phone there so he and Geoff went back to get it while Pam and I headed back to the market to buy dinner, then to the Super U to pickup a few grocs. A sumptuous dinner of a variety of homemade quiche, salad and a Kugelhopf cake and ice cream for dessert, all washed down with the yummy Pierre Sparr wine. A game of dice ended the evening and our second day in Colmar.