visiting Strasbourg

at peak gingko time

This time last year, I went to visit my son and his girlfriend around this time (it’s Tristan’s birthday on the 13th November) and was astonished at the autumn foliage of the trees around the city, but particularly the four large gingko trees in La Place de la République which look absolutely magnificent with their buttery-golden leaves carpeting the ground. I was there slightly earlier this year and some of the trees were still turning from green to Bird’s-custard-yellow, but it was wonderful to see them again. The park is really well maintained and the residents seem to really appreciate the trees, with lots of people enjoying their company.

I wrote about my trip last year here, and I did virtually the same thing this year, although I took a slightly earlier train out meaning I didn’t have to navigate my way across Paris during rush hour and in the dark; it’s only a 10 minute walk from Gare du Nord to l’Est but it was a little hair-raising, so this time I arrived at lunchtime, and had the chance to explore a few of the streets before getting my train south to Strasbourg. Admittedly the area around the station in Paris is pretty grotty as is the case with most mainline stations, but it was Remembrance Day (a bank holiday) so pleasantly quiet, and as with many cities now, the prevalence of electric cars and buses, and proliferation of bikes means it was pleasant enough for amusing myself for the hour or so between my connections.

On arrival, I cautiously greeted my Coviddy son before heading out to see some of the sights. It’s the most beautiful city and I love nothing more than just walking round, taking everything in. It was starting to get dark so we weren’t out for long, and Tristan’s paracetamol was starting to wear off so we headed back for dinner at their flat, via the big trees:

The next day we went to my favourite stationery shop, Monogram, where I decided to buy some inks for my new Ellington pen; a tricky decision as they have the most amazing range so it’s like trying to choose the cutest kitten. I was busy rummaging when an impossibly handsome chap crouched down and asked if I needed any help, at which point I lost all composure and tried to remain coherent. We discussed the colours and he showed me which were his favourites (be still my beating heart) and I managed to narrow it down to two colours, although frankly by this point I’d have bought a blind donkey from him without any question.

Here they are: Rouge Opéra and Metropolitain by Jacques Herbin, a Parisian ink company.

I recovered from my swooning enough to manage an oat milk latte from a wonderful vegan cafe where we’d also had breakfast.

I headed home the following day, enjoying a fantastic ride on the top deck of the TGV with a pair of seats to myself, so I could gawp out of the window as the glorious autumnal rural landscape raced by at 300kph. I’m planning a trip out in the spring to see the magnolias which grace the same park as the gingkos and look similarly impressive.

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I have been watching a great creator called Carlo Pavan who makes travel journals, so I made a retrospective one for my visit last year using a sketchbook I bought from Monogram, and this year I took a homemade journal with just a few pages in it so I could use it to make another journal entry on my return.

It will be a lovely way to reminisce about my visit, and I enjoyed having a no-pressure way to be creative and jot down some thoughts while I was away. I took my regular leather pen-fold with the everyday essentials, plus a tiny watercolour palette. I’ll give you a tour once I’ve completed it, but I won’t be rushing!