Category: France

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JY’s in Colmar, France

Housed in an elegant 17th-century residence in the heart of Colmar’s Little Venice, Jean-Yves Schillinger’s canal-side restaurant impresses with its style and substance. This Michelin two-star restaurant delighted us throughout every course.

As for the food, Schillinger’s style marries whimsy with technical brilliance. Every course was a delight, first for our eyes and lastly in our bellies.

Our amuse bouche was an array of stuffed olives presented on a olive wood tray with an olive branch hanging over it. Yummy and pretty.

The soup course was almost too pretty to eat. Tomato broth, olive oil, and vegetables and edible flowers…melt in my mouth.

What appears to be an egg in an egg shell was not. The bite of creamy custard was the perfect palette cleanser.

As a complimentary dessert tray, these bites disappeared quickly.

This experience was our highlight of the day. Be sure to check out JY’s if you are in or near Colmar. By the way…reserve ahead and arrive hungry.

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Colmar, France

Our trip took us to Colmar, a town in the Grand Est region of northeastern France, near the border with Germany.


Spices at the market in Colmar.

Like most towns, Colmar has a Saturday market. This one is indoors, in a building designed by architect Louis-Michel Blotz in 1865. Local products, fruits, vegetables, meats, and more are only part of the attraction. Located inside and spilling outside to the Lauch River is a bar and terrace.

Shop for your produce and stop for a drink. Coffee, wine, or both…

The market building is located at 13 rue des Ecoles, in Colmar.

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Reims, France Cathedral

This church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and acclaimed as a Gothic masterpiece for its sculptural decoration and architecture.

Parts of the building are much older than the gothic period, as the romanesque nave and transepts are from the 1000s.

Later gothic additions like the choir ambulatory and facade are masterful in the way they help form a unified whole.

The historic relics of Reims’ patron saint are inside: Saint-Remi was the bishop noted for baptising Clovis the King of Franks around the turn of the 6th century.

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Reims, France Cathedral

At the site of 900 years-worth of royal coronations, it’s almost mind-blowing to think of all the historical figures that have passed through.

Before you enter see if you can find the Smiling Angel in the north portal of the west facade.

It’s a 13th century sculpture with its own story to tell, as it was beheaded during the German bombing in 1914 and the fragments became a famous piece of anti-German propaganda within France.

The Smiling Angel is one of a small army of sculpted figures on the facade, more than any other cathedral in Europe apart from Chartres.

And finally for art lovers, in the apse you can find stained glass windows designed by Marc Chagall to replace those damaged in the war.