After Friday night’s dinner fiasco, Bill and I were determined to enjoy Saturday.  The morning started off with beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures.  We enjoyed some very fresh croissants for breakfast, strong coffee, orange juice, and fresh eggs and ham.  Then, we put leashes on the dogs and took them for a walk in some local vineyards.

Those who have been to Alsace already know that the area is practically littered with vineyards, where grapes are grown for the local wines.  Bill had found what he called a “trail”, but was actually a road that led up the side of a hill.  Below are some pictures from that little adventure, which culminated in Bill’s falling on his ass and sliding down a hill.

In Ribeauville, if you get caught not cleaning up your dog’s poop, it’s a 35 euro fine.  Having looked around, I don’t think this is a rule that is regularly enforced.  However, I do like the sledgehammer imagery.

Despite the occasional landmine, Ribeauville remains a lovely place.

I hate climbing hills, but will do it for a good view.  We got a few yesterday after panting in the heat.

A few dramatic views of the castle ruins over the town.

As pretty as this was, I fretted about walking back down.  We had the dogs with us and they were eager.  Zane almost pulled me over a few times.

We tried to walk down the side of the hill, rather than going back to the road we walked up.  Unfortunately, we found it an impossible endeavor.  There was no legal way to access the town from where we were in the vineyards.  In fact, I’m not even sure if we were trespassing…  

Finally, Bill slipped and slid down the hillside on his butt.  So we sucked it up and walked back down the way we came.  By the time we were finished, we were both hot and sweaty.  The dogs were worn out for the rest of the day.

But I did get a picture of this interesting building, right before a local walked out of it and gave me a dirty look.  There was a pile of feces nearby… wonder if he thought our dogs were the culprit.

 

We took a brief rest in the apartment.  I hosed off in the shower with cool water and we all rehydrated.  I had to change clothes thanks to all the sweating I did.  But on the bright side, I get the sense that maybe all this exercise will help me burn off the beer gut I’ve been growing.  According to the health app on my phone, I walked 4.6 miles and 20 floors.  Not bad!

At around 12:30pm, we decided to have lunch at Brasserie de la Poste.  It was another restaurant we hadn’t yet tried and I was curious about it.  This time, we had a mostly excellent restaurant experience.

Obligatory menu shot of Bill.

But once again, the waiter misunderstood me and brought me a small beer instead of a big one.  

I had a delicious Quiche Lorraine with a salad.  Bill had a cheese tart with a salad.  Service was friendly and the food was splendid.

Bill’s cheese tart.  He said it was made with mild cheese.  I didn’t try it.

Brasserie de la Poste is right next to Chez Martine, which has the best quiche I’ve ever tasted.  I was tempted to eat lunch there, but decided to try a different place just for the sake of experience.

We walked around some more after lunch, then visited the local bottle shop to pick up some wines.  Last time we visited Ribeauville, we stopped in to La Bonne Bouteille and bought some really nice vino.  This time, the same guy who helped us before was there.  He was quite a salesman, speaking excellent English with a gorgeous French accent.  I could have listened to him speak all day as he demonstrated his vast knowledge of wines from the Rhone region.  We left there with six bottles– four reds and two whites.  I probably shouldn’t spend so much time drinking wine, but it’s such a pleasure.  Especially in France!

Case in point… the nice local Riesling I had at a bar on the main drag…

But then I switched to beer, as we listened to French, English, and American pop music and watched our bearded barkeep flirting with the ladies sitting outside on his terrace.  At one point, a friendly local came in and tried to talk to us, but our French skills and her English skills were compatible enough.  Maybe it’s time I learned basic French.  I spend a lot of time in France.

These guys looked pretty friendly.

The outside of the bar was more charming than the inside.

 

Next, we stopped in a pottery shop… same place we went to last time we were here.  I bought two more pieces, a casserole dish and a plate for escargot.  I don’t eat a lot of snails, but I thought it looked cool.  Besides, I can always come up with a creative way to use it, not that I ever entertain anyone.

I got a kick out of this sign, which basically reads “Don’t let your dogs piss on my wall and clean up any droppings.”  This doggie toilet habit seems to be quite a problem in Ribeauville.

 

Every time we’ve visited Ribeauville, we’ve noticed a large restaurant on the corner of town called Auberge Au Zahnacker.  Bill wanted to try it for dinner last night, since they have a beautiful terrace with a vine covered roof.  I was game, so we went.  It turned out we were there at the same time several large groups were.  One group was from Denmark and they loudly asked for English menus, which were both available and welcome.  They had one server who spoke heavily accented English.  She apologized that she only knew a little.  Actually, her English was quite good.  She was very helpful and very busy last night!

Bill looks for a bottle of wine.  Last night, it was not held hostage.

The all important English menu!

He made a good choice!  And from start to finish, this was a much nicer experience than the one we had on Friday night.

C’est bonne!

 

We decided to have grilled beef rib, which is a dish reserved for at least two people.  Frankly, I think it would have served at least three.  We brought about half of my serving back to the apartment with us, along with a lot of fries.  It was priced at 27 euros per person and was very good.  They also brought out the uncut version to show us before they plated it.

My portion was huge!

They gave Bill the bone.  It looks like he should have gotten more meat.

Frites!  They were kind of average.

The dish came with Bearnaise sauce.

Bill very sensibly had vegetables, which included cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, and wax beans.

This was what I couldn’t finish.  Maybe I’ll get to it today, but I probably won’t.  We’re going to venture out of Ribeauville for awhile.  The total bill came to 89 euros.

The outside area is very nice, especially at this time of year.  I would go back to Auberge Au Zahnacker.

A couple more photos of the area.  Ribeauville is so charming.

We didn’t do that much yesterday other than eat, drink, and walk.  Today, I’m hoping to do some more specific activities… and maybe drink less.  But we’ll see what happens!