Day 14, Saturday, July 18, 2026

 After two exhausting days we decided not to watch the Tour, which meant we did not have to get up at 4:30.  Today's stage of the Tour, #14, was going to pass over some of the same roads as yesterday's stage, so we wouldn't be experiencing anything very different.

After a relaxing breakfast at the same café where we ate on Thursday,we drove to the Avis location which is located at the Colmar railroad station.  I had to wait at least 30 minutes to speak with an agent and report our accident, but regrettably they had no extra cars and cold not give us another.  So we'll just have to continue with this one, a DS 4, which is a high end cousin of Citroen.

By the time we left Avis, it was already lunch time so we headed to the Lucas & Chris restaurant, just outside city. which Joni discovered while researching things to do and places to eat in Colmar.  Her research paid off, we had a fabulous meal

An amuse bouche in a sushi roll.

Prawns and mussels

Scallops

pistachio creme brûlée with chocolate

strawberries with strawberry ice cream 

The creativity in the cuisine was matched by the decor as demonstrated by the corks glued to the ceiling and the labels on the men's and women's toilets.

I'not sure the French define sexism the same way we do.

Two of the things we wanted to do in Colmar were ride the tourist train and take a boat ride on the canals.  Every video on YouTube about Colmar says these are both a "must do", so that was where we headed. 

Some people resist these activities as being too touristy, but we have loved such experiences no matter where we've traveled:  Charleston, or Asheville, or Edinburgh.  They are a great way to discover the history of a city.  

 It was market day in Colmar, so the despite what their website says, the tourist train does not run on market days.  So we headed for the Pont Saint Jean where the boat tours begin. We're slowly discovering that Colmar isn't that big; we made it to the boat dock in a matter of minutes, and along the way we got to take in more of the incredible architecture in the city.

This is Saint Martin's Church. It is Colmar's largest church and the city's most recognizable Gothic landmark. Construction took place between 1235 and 1365 using distinctive pink and golden Vosges sandstone.

This statue which reminds me of the old Templar knight who was guarding the holy grail  in the Indiana Jones and he Last Crusade film.   it is actually Jean Roesselmann, who died defending the city in 1262.  The statue was the work of Auguste Bartholdi, who designed the Statue of Liberty.

Our dinner restaurant

Tickets for the boat ride were sold by the bartender in this bar.We had to wait almost one hour for available seats on a boat, so we decided to have a drink while we waited.

Joni ordered a Virgin Hugo and I order an Alsatian beer.  Both were very good.

Notice the umbrella along the top right in the above photo, and look at the water.  For most of this trip it rained...really hard!  So we spent most of our boat ride under umbrellas.

Our clearance under some of the bridges was so minimal that we had to take down our umbrellas. We were completely soaked by the end of this trip, but it was still fun.

This wasn't our driver, but I think he was celebrating that he made it back to the dock without tipping over.  These boats had only an inch or two of free board, so if passengers shifted too much, the boats could easily swamp.

We made it back to our apartment with enough time to dry off, nap, and watch the end of the 14th stage of the Tour de France.  Tadej Pogacar won by a convincing 45 seconds.  He was neck and neck with several riders until the last 7 km, but then he took off and no one could keep up with him.  He's too good, and certainly looks like he'll be the winner even though there are seven stages left.

We walked to our dinner spot, checking the menus on display, and stopping when we found an appealing one.  I ordered beaf bourginon with spaetzel and Joni ordered a salad with goat cheese medallions on pretzel bread.  The salad was really good, but the beef was tough.  In general the French do a great job with salads, but not so with beaf.

Walking back to our apartment we enjoyed the glow of the setting sun and stopped for an ice cream.  

Saint Martin's church in the glow of sunset. A beautiful way to end a fun day in Colmar.