Colmar, France ~ 6-7 September 2015

We had a long weekend because of Labor Day so we took a trip just a couple of hours away to the beautiful little town of Colmar, France.  We knew it was where Frédéric Bartholdi, the man who designed the Statue of Liberty, was from.  Aside from that, we knew very little about it.  We were very pleasantly surprised to find such a beautiful and quaint little town.  It was full of  gorgeous half-timbered houses and it had an area known as Little Vinice that was so beautiful.  

So, as we arrived in Colmar, we were coming up to this roundabout and saw this huge replica of the Statue of Liberty.  It was really quite impressive.  Over here, I love anything that reminds me of the USA, so it was a nice site for us. 

Walking through the town was fun.  Street after street looked like it was taken right out of a fairy tale.  The cobblestone streets, half-timbered houses and beautiful flowers everywhere.  

The Dominican Church (built between 1283 and 1346).

Elly is such a good little traveler.  She's pretty easy to enjoy ☺

There was a band playing so Elly was peeking at them from this walkway and getting a picture. 

Saint Martin Church (built between 1235 and 1365)

The Koifhus or the former customs house (construction ended in 1433)

Little Venice

Down a little alley we saw this rhino statue.  I told Elly to go stand by it, but I love the second picture because I think she was worried it might have been real. 

We stopped by this beautiful enclosed carousel so Elly could take a ride. Later I looked it up and read that it was from 1900 and was the largest wooden built carousel in France. 

Playing in the fountains after the carousel ride.

We stayed in a hotel that was very close to the Statue of Liberty that we saw as we came into Colmar.  That evening we went back and parked then ran across the roundabout to get some pictures. 

Our first day in Colmar we took a ride on the canal in Little Venice, but we were at the back of the boat and so I was unable to get pictures.  The next morning we were up early and decided to go back into the old part of town.  We were so glad we did because there was no one else on the streets. It was such a different experience from the day before.  We really enjoyed walking along and being able to get pictures without so many people around.  Sam knew I was frustrated the day before with not being able to get good pictures so we went back and took another ride.  This time it was only us and no one was blocking my view ☺ I was happy.

This building used to be a prison and this little part that sticks out from the building was the toilet which emptied right into the canal.  

Before heading back to Stuttgart we did a little detour to a town close to Colmar which has a Monkey Mountain that we wanted to visit.  We knew Elly would enjoy it and were pretty sure we would like it too.  This is a sanctuary for monkeys.  As you enter, they give you a handful of popcorn that you can feed the monkeys.  They warn you to not get too close or try to lure the babies away from the parents.  It was a fun little adventure.

We didn't know until after this picture was taken that this one was actually being aggressive toward Elly.  There are workers all through the park and they told us to move away from this one. 

And finally...our cute little monkey :)