Bob and I like to go for each new offering from Untours, and we've never been disappointed. We both agree that the Millennium Untour was the best; a real mountaintop experience! But then, Alsace pleased us in ways we hadn't expected, even though we had enjoyed Provence (and Paris).

We stayed in Beblenheim in the Sonnenglanz apartment with Francoise and Robert Bruppacher and our contacts with them added a dimension, as personal contacts do. Francoise had some English---Robert not a word. But he talked loud French! We were determined to use our rusty high school French and Robert kept coming back---with more vino, his own delicious brew with no sulfates. One day he took us up to their other property in Thannenkirch and to the old farm he and his son are restoring. Francoise and I talked flowers and grandchildren. I was to tell Virginia Knueppel that the new baby is thriving! We astonished them when we gave them a printout from the Alsace website that listed their winery.

As members of "The Greatest Generation," W.W.II came back to us with a realism we hadn't expected. We struck up conversations (sort of) with other old people we met in churches or in restaurants---the ones whose towns were destroyed by our bombs. And when they learned that Bob had been in the Air Corps (but not over Alsace) they hastened to say that it was the Americans who had liberated them from the Germans. Nobody told us about all the cemeteries, French and German from both World Wars, that we stumbled across in our wanderings. We usually stopped to read some of the names and to absorb the peace there now. There was even a part of the Maginot line.

We had a wonderful little blue Renault "Twingo" with stick shift---a joy to drive. We tried to avoid tight traffic areas; too hard to read the signs, though the signage and roads were very good. We tried not to let the fast tailgaters bother us, just got out of their way. And there were plenty of other sightseers in our part of Alsace on the wine road. I took Brian's advice and frequently walked through the vineyards on the endless paths, especially in the cool of the evening. "Downtown" Beblenheim was a short walk down thru the vineyards, and we especially liked it because it is a quieter and smaller town, with good restaurants (of course) and grocery store.

We enjoyed our really great terrace, partly covered, shaded and surrounded by flowers. Always we had breakfast outside, and usually supper. The sunsets and storms and clouds over the Vosges in the distance beyond the vineyards gave us great pleasure. We made a point of eating out midday at some of the wonderful restaurants in the area. Because the exchange rate was so favorable, we could scarcely not take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy Alsatian cuisine. True, we didn't always know what we had ordered, but we were always rewarded.

Actually, every day we went somewhere, tho we never made it to Strasbourg! We knew we both wanted to go to Baden Baden and check out the Black Forest. I had Rick Steve's book, but traffic in Baden Baden thwarted my plans. But we did go to a spa---Caracola Baths---and had a wonderful afternoon there, inside and out. Information had directed us to a delightful and reasonable inn just outside of town where we also had dinner and breakfast the next morning. (Auerhahn in Geroldsau.)

We were on the route into the Black Forest. It did indeed remind us of Grimms' fairy tales---saw mills, woodcutters, birds and breadcrumbs to lead lost children. And cuckoo clocks.

Colmar another day is a must. Great parking garage in the center of town---just follow the signs. Allow plenty of time for the fine and varied museum, Unter Linden, and take the "little train" for a narrated tour of the old town.

On our trip to Munster we found storks nesting on the top of every roof and tower. The cheese from Ferme Heinrich in Stosswihr was not so mild as the American variety. We found a park for our picnic lunch. And on the steep hills we were passed by a bicycler practicing for the Tour de France which used that route. Another day we found the concentration camp at Struthof near Rothau for French resistance, political and intellectual prisoners. Grim! Thousands of graves, a necropolis and a beautiful commemorative monument with an unknown French prisoner.

Untours' wine tasting party at Sipp Mack in Hunawihr was hosted by Laura, an American ex-pat who was great. Even greater was our meal the next day at the Ferme Restaurant in St. Alexis---on a dirt road out of Kaysersberg! Not to be missed. And Kaysersberg is a beautiful town with a great Monday market, and the home and museum of Albert Schweitzer.

We found a Sunday afternoon concert of Baroque music in a modern Catholic Church in Selestat, and we enjoyed meals at Le Caveaux in neighboring Zellenberg. The Michelin map and green guide and the purple on-site guide, all from Untours were excellent. It's a temptation to keep going, but we did stop to smell the flowers and to enjoy the wine on our terrace. Maybe we'll go to Strasbourg next time!