#sheep thing.. with aircraft themes

[squishyfuselage]

fursona !

[on-stardust-wings]

Findings from watching the season two opening. Here be spoilers if you haven’t seen it, begone all who seek to avoid those.

Crowley climbs up the rock (and does not look like he enjoys climbing much). Does that mean demons can’t fly? Crowley in particular can’t fly?

There is a moth (butterfly) that starts flying with Crowley and Aziraphale when Crowley lights the match. It’s the first creature that accompanies them. Is it important?

The fuck is this thing. I thought it’s an elephant first? With a trunk? But it’s on fire. Could just be a rock? Whatever it is, the angel with the box (Gabriel?) spawns right behind it. I would say portal to Hell, but angels don’t commonly come out of those. Or do they now? Anyway mysterious fiery thing.

There’s also a bunch of animals in the background of this setting. They seem to be mostly sheep and goats. And there’s huge bones/skeletons. Dinosaurs are fictional in the Good Omens verse, though. (Something about the dinosaurs are a joke thing? Please let it be something about dinosaurs being a joke, I love this bit.)

It’s raining fire and the poor goats and sheep get torched. :( Looking pretty apocalyptic for a season that (maybe) isn’t about the end of the world this time!

There’s the pickled herring from the spoiler/bts pics! And this person looks like Hastur IMO. “Everyday” apparently already died; it’s on a tombstone. What is the person in the back (behind the herring barrel) carrying? A miniature airplane? A rocket launcher? A big camera?

And THEN there’s the lamp with a face and feet guy, walking in front of the person with the headscarf. WTF is with lamp with a face guy. Lamp with a face guy even has a smaller lamp attached to his arm. I do not want to meet lamp with a face on a dark graveyard!

There are some more spooky characters joining the procession as it goes underground. What’s up with red head and a lamp on a stick guy for example?

Lovelovelove Hell with the magma and the giant spider and the office chairs on rocks (some of them upside down). Giant pentagram in the background that seems to be spinning! I loved the basement office hell vibe they used for Hell in S1, but this fiery Hell looks so cool. Creature with bat wings perching on top of a rock! Great vibes, very hellish.

London during the airstrike has a cool blimb, a tank, lots of wreckage, is apparantly a 30 zone, so no speeding, and there’s an ad for Stairway to Heaven. Seems like a play or a movie maybe?

Aziraphale and Crowley with their wings out walk in front of a bus with “wings for victory” written on the side. And then an aircraft throws a bomb on them.

It is raining rabbits in the entryway to the magic show theatre, and there’s person sized and shaped rabbit in the audience. Is it Harry the Rabbit?

Lots of interesting head dresses in the people following after Crowley here, and there’s Beelzebub. They’re being led to meet Aziraphale in his magic uniform, now upgraded with a cape! (He should have worn the cape to Adam’s party, capes are cool.)

Space! Spacespacespace! Look at the planets and stars! Also the tank, it’s still here. And there’s... a rabbit astronaut? With glowing eyes?

Little UFO crossing in front of that moon/planet! Looks a bit like the flying saucer from season 1.

Thy kingdom airways lol! And it’s raining hearts! On Aziraphale and Crowley on the bookshop roof.

“Give me coffee or give me death” is a very metal slogan for a coffee shop. And there’s lots of music themed stuff in the street. There’s a jukebox, a pile of records behind it, that decoration between the street lamps looks like vinyl records cut in half strung up? And the Bentley is there, probably blasting Queen. :D

The skycrapers are elevator shafts. The one in the middle has an angel in it, riding down. Down to Hell? Ding!

It’s the Dirty Donkey! And the movie theatre is called “The Arrival”. It’s screening today! That’s very clever, wonder if the opening will change with the different episode titles? :) Also, there’s the image from the box the angel is carrying again, on the film posters for The Arrival. Can’t tell what it is.

Look at them all walking into the light! They’re going to be enlightened! Or something. But it is a very bright light! Lighthouse! It’s also covered in scrap and  junk nearly to the top. Whatever that may mean. (Guys don't walk into the light, no!)

My friends, I am really looking forward to stop waiting and see what this is all about!

[nyc-uws]

Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince

The Little Prince (French: Le Petit Prince, pronounced [lə p(ə)ti pʁɛ̃s]) is a novella by French aristocrat, writer, and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the US by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943, and posthumously in France following the liberation of France as Saint-Exupéry's works had been banned by the Vichy Regime. The story follows a young prince who visits various planets in space, including Earth, and addresses themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss. Despite its style as a children's book, The Little Prince makes observations about life, adults and human nature.[8]

The Little Prince became Saint-Exupéry's most successful work, selling an estimated 140 million copies worldwide, which makes it one of the best-selling and most translated books ever published.[9][10][11][Note 2][13] It has been translated into 301 languages and dialects.[14][15][16] The Little Prince has been adapted to numerous art forms and media, including audio recordings, radio plays, live stage, film, television, ballet, and opera.[15][17]

Plot

The narrator begins with a discussion on the nature of grown-ups and their inability to perceive "important things". As a test to determine if a grown-up is as enlightened as a child, he shows them a picture depicting a snake which has eaten an elephant. The grown-ups always reply the picture depicts a hat, and so he knows to only talk of "reasonable" things to them, rather than fanciful.

The narrator becomes an aircraft pilot, and, one day, his plane crashes in the Sahara, far from civilisation, where he is unexpectedly greeted by a young boy nicknamed "the little prince". The prince has golden hair, a loveable laugh, and will repeat questions until they are answered. The narrator has an eight-day supply of water and must fix his aeroplane.

The prince asks the narrator to draw a sheep. The narrator first shows him the picture of the elephant inside the snake, which, to the narrator's surprise, the prince interprets correctly. After three failed attempts at drawing a sheep, the frustrated narrator draws a simple crate, claiming the sheep is inside. The prince exclaims that this was exactly the drawing he wanted.

Over the course of eight days in the desert, while the narrator attempts to repair his plane, the prince recounts his life story. He begins describing his tiny home planet: in effect, a house-sized asteroid known as "B 612" on Earth. The asteroid's most prominent features are three minuscule volcanoes (two active, and one dormant or extinct) and a variety of plants.

The prince describes his earlier days cleaning the volcanoes and weeding unwanted seeds and sprigs that infest his planet's soil; in particular, pulling out baobab trees that are constantly on the verge of overrunning the surface. If the baobabs are not rooted out the moment they are recognised, its roots can have a catastrophic effect on the tiny planet. Therefore, the prince wants a sheep to eat the undesirable plants, but worries it will also eat plants with thorns.

The prince tells of his love for a vain and silly rose that began growing on the asteroid's surface some time ago. The rose is given to pretension, exaggerating ailments to gain attention and have the prince care for her. The prince says he nourished the rose and tended to her, making a screen or glass globe to protect her from the cold wind, watering her, and keeping off the caterpillars.

Although the prince fell in love with the rose, he also began to feel that she was taking advantage of him and he resolved to leave the planet to explore the rest of the universe. Upon their goodbyes, the rose is serious and apologises that she failed to show she loved him and that they had both been silly. She wishes him well and turns down his desire to leave her in the glass globe, saying she will protect herself. The prince laments that he did not understand how to love his rose while he was with her and should have listened to her kind actions, rather than her vain words.

The prince has since visited six other planets, each of which was inhabited by a single, irrational, narrow-minded adult, each meant to critique an element of society. They include:

A king with no subjects, who only issues orders that can be followed, such as commanding the sun to set at sunset.

A narcissistic man who only wants the praise which comes from admiration and being the most-admirable person on his otherwise uninhabited planet.

A drunkard who drinks to forget the shame of drinking.

A businessman who is blind to the beauty of the stars and instead endlessly counts and catalogues them in order to "own" them all (critiquing materialism)

A lamplighter on a planet so small, a full day lasts a minute. He wastes his life blindly following orders to extinguish and relight the lamp-post every 30 seconds to correspond with his planet's day and night.

An elderly geographer who has never been anywhere, or seen any of the things he records, providing a caricature of specialisation in the contemporary world.

It is the geographer who tells the prince that his rose is an ephemeral being, which is not recorded, and recommends that the prince next visit the planet Earth. The visit to Earth begins with a deeply pessimistic appraisal of humanity. The six absurd people the prince encountered earlier comprise, according to the narrator, just about the entire adult world. On earth there were:

111 kings ... 7000 geographers, 900,000 businessmen, 7,500,000 tipplers, 311,000,000 conceited men; that is to say, about 2,000,000,000 grown-ups.

Since the prince landed in a desert, he believed that Earth was uninhabited. He then met a yellow snake that claimed to have the power to return him to his home, if he ever wished to return. The prince next met a desert flower, who told him that she had only seen a handful of men in this part of the world and that they had no roots, letting the wind blow them around and living hard lives. After climbing the highest mountain he had ever seen, the prince hoped to see the whole of Earth, thus finding the people; however, he saw only the enormous, desolate landscape. When the prince called out, his echo answered him, which he interpreted as the voice of a boring person who only repeats what another says.

The prince encountered a whole row of rosebushes, becoming downcast at having once thought that his own rose was unique and that she had lied. He began to feel that he was not a great prince at all, as his planet contained only three tiny volcanoes and a flower that he now thought of as common. He lay down on the grass and wept, until a fox came along.

The fox desired to be tamed and taught the prince how to tame him. By being tamed, something goes from being ordinary and just like all the others, to being special and unique. There are drawbacks since the connection can lead to sadness and longing when apart.

From the fox, the prince learns that his rose was indeed unique and special because she was the object of the prince's love and time; he had "tamed" her, and now she was more precious than all of the roses he had seen in the garden. Upon their sad departing, the fox imparts a secret: important things can only be seen with the heart, not the eyes.

The prince finally met two people from Earth:

A railway switchman who told him how passengers constantly rushed from one place to another aboard trains, never satisfied with where they were and not knowing what they were after; only the children among them ever bothered to look out the windows.

A merchant who talked to the prince about his product, a pill that eliminated the need to drink for a week, saving people 53 minutes.

Back in the present moment, it is the eighth day after the narrator's plane crash and the narrator and the prince are dying of thirst. The prince has become visibly morose and saddened over his recollections and longs to return home and see his flower.

The prince finds a well, saving them. The narrator later finds the prince talking to the snake, discussing his return home and his desire to see his rose again, who, he worries, has been left to fend for herself. The prince bids an emotional farewell to the narrator and states that if it looks as though he has died, it is only because his body was too heavy to take with him to his planet. The prince warns the narrator not to watch him leave, as it will upset him. The narrator, realising what will happen, refuses to leave the prince's side. The prince consoles the narrator by saying that he only need look at the stars to think of the prince's loveable laughter, and that it will seem as if all the stars are laughing. The prince then walks away from the narrator and allows the snake to bite him, soundlessly falling down.

The next morning, the narrator is unable to find the prince's body. He finally manages to repair his aeroplane and leave the desert. It is left up to the reader to determine if the prince returned home, or died. The story ends with a drawing of the landscape where the prince and the narrator met and where the snake took the prince's corporeal life. The narrator requests to be immediately contacted by anyone in that area encountering a small person with golden curls who refuses to answer any questions...

The Little Prince: Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

[vacationsoup]

New Post has been published on https://vacationsoup.com/top-things-to-do-in-kent-if-you-love-flying/

Top things to do in Kent if you love flying

UK holidaymakers could well associate Kent with orchards, castles, cliffs and beaches. But did you know that England’s southeasternmost corner is also the birthplace of British aviation?  It may come as a surprise that this beautiful county has a wealth of exciting aviation-themed attractions to appeal to enthusiasts of all ages. Here are some top things to do in Kent if you love flying or want to explore the county's rich aviation history both on the ground and above.

Plane spotting

Photo credit: Headcorn Aerodrome

One place that is sure to fascinate every member of the family, whatever their age, is Headcorn Aerodrome in the High Weald, just 12 miles from Barnfield House Kent. This historic airfield has a fascinating aviation history reaching back over a hundred years. It is the last grass wartime air field left in Kent, and the perfect setting for an enjoyable few hours of plane spotting. The place is usually buzzing, with classic planes soaring overhead, and pilots and parachutists milling about. The grass parking area overlooks the runway, offering a good view of vintage aircraft, microlights and helicopters. You may even catch a glimpse of Spitfires taking off and landing – something of a rarity in other regions of the UK, and sure to bring a lump to the throat. Make a day of it and take a picnic! More information here.

Scenic flights

Photo credit: Headcorn Aerodrome

If you want to take your experience up a notch, why not take to the skies and book a pleasure flight. It’s a fantastic way to see the Kent countryside from a different perspective, and a chance to enjoy a bird’s eye view of the county’s historic castles, rural villages, coastal towns and rolling farmlands. Headcorn Aerodrome offers pleasure flights for up to three people in a Cessna light aircraft; prices start at £150 for 30 minutes. If this sounds like the perfect excuse for a day out for your group, click here for more info and to make a booking. And if you’re bitten by the flying bug afterwards, consider booking in for a trial flying lesson before you leave.

Fly in a Spitfire

Photo credit: Aero Legends

“The experience of being flown in a two seater Spitfire across Kent to the white cliffs, over the Battle of Britain memorial, to experience victory rolls and a 360 loop and most of all to be in control for part of the flight, is without question one my life's great experiences.” This enthusiastic Trip Advisor reviewer sums up the extraordinary experience offered by Aero Legends: the opportunity to relive the flying experience of WWII pilots in an authentically restored wartime Spitfire. In this Spitfire Flight Experience you will be paired with an astonishingly experienced pilot – perhaps from the Red Arrows – who will fly you into the same airspace that was the stage for the decisive Battle of Britain 75 years ago. The company offers an excellent choice of experiences ranging in price from £295 for a Standby Spitfire Tour to £5,395 for the Ultimate Spitfire Package. Aero Legends also offers other experiences such as trial lessons in a Tiger Moth (from £139)  or in a T6 Harvard (from £449) where you get to take the controls yourself. For more information, and to book an experience, click here.

Wing walking

Photo credit: The Wing Walk Company

If you're a thrill-seeker, why not take to the skies in a different way —this time not from the cockpit, but alfresco, strapped to the wings of a biplane. Operating out of Headcorn Aerodrome, the Wing Walk Company can perhaps be described as a 21st Century equivalent of the barnstorming pioneers of the 1920s and 1930s who would buzz into rural towns and dazzle the residents with aerial stunts. Thankfully these days you won’t be literally walking on the wings, but securely harnessed to the top wing.  It’s a sure way of getting an adrenaline-fuelled ‘I’m flying’ feeling! And as you’re hurtling through the air, you might just spot Leeds or Bodiam Castles…or the White Cliffs in Dover in the distance. Prices start at £350 and include a certificate and the option of a video of your experience. Read about them here or visit their website here.

Hot air ballooning

Photo credit: Skybus Ballooning

Sitting on the deck at with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc or a steaming mug of tea, our holiday renters sometimes see hot air balloons gently gliding across the countryside towards Barnfield House; one time we even witnessed one making a landing in the field adjoining the garden. With such spectacular countryside, it’s hardly surprising that ballooning is popular in Kent, and you’ll find many companies offering flights. One of the most experienced is Skybus Ballooning which operates out of Headcorn Aerodrome and was set up some 30 years ago by one of the UK’s few female commercial balloon pilots. With them, you can choose to take off from the grass airfield at Headcorn, or from the picturesque setting of Bewl Water, or Bodiam Castle in East Sussex – both just ten minutes from Barnfield House. Their early morning and evening flights in the summer months are popular, but Skybus offers balloon flight all year round; just imagine seeing the russet-turned forests of  the High Weald from high up in the Autumn! There’s something so special about taking to the air in a balloon; no deafening engine sound, nothing but the occasional puff of the burner firing up or the bleating of sheep as you float over farmland or drift above ancient castles. Prices start at £115 per person and you can get more information or book online here.

Skydiving

Photo credit: UK Skydiving Adventures

If you are the type that feels like risk-taking, revel in a surge of adrenaline wherever possible, or want to conquer a fear of heights, then skydiving is for you; it’s the closest you’ll feel to flying. The nervous build-up to lift off, seeing the airfield recede into the distance as you climb to 12,000ft, and preparing for the heart-thumping moment that you leave the plane and launch yourself into thin air — it’s all thrills from the word go. Then once the parachute unfurls, enjoy being on cloud nine as you gently glide earthwards, taking in the literally breath-taking scenery below your feet; on a clear day you might even see France. If skydiving is on your bucket list, you don’t have to stray far from Barnfield House for the experience. UK Skydiving Adventures offers tandem jumps from Headcorn Aerodrome (and static line jumps, accelerated free-fall and indoor diving at other locations). Click here for more information and easy online booking. Prices start at £310.

Vintage plane and aviation museums

Photo credit: Kent Battle of Britain Museum Trust

Coming back down to earth, you’ll find that Kent has more than its fair share of aviation-themed museums that will particularly appeal to history buffs. Not to be missed is the Kent Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge an hour's drive from Barnfield House, which showcases the world’s largest collection of aircraft, weaponry, flying equipment and memorabilia from the Battle of Britain. Among the aircraft on display are Hurricanes, Spitfires, Messerschmitt Bf 109Es, Defiant, Harvard, Tiger Moth, Magister and, a rebuilt Bristol Blenheim. The museum – info here – is open daily (except Mondays) from 4th April to 1st November 2020. Adults £10, children £4. Closer to home is one of the oldest, the Lashenden Air Warfare Museum at Headcorn where you can see a German Fi-103-R4 – a crewed version of the V-1 flying bomb, and one of just six remaining across the world. For more information on the museum, which opens weekends and bank holidays, click here.

Other than the Battle of Britain Museum, the above are all just a 20-minute drive from Barnfield House, which is conveniently located for all Kent-based aviation-related activities. If you are a group of up to 10 flight enthusiasts and would like to book our holiday rental for your aviation-themed stay, click here for information and online booking.

[linuxgamenews]

Baron: Fur is Gonna Fly has action for the community

Baron: Fur is Gonna Fly the action game will release for Windows PC but has attention on Linux. Thanks to the creativity of the two person development team, Dogmelon Games. Coming to Steam this March. Fight for the skies against up to seven other players. While using gatling guns, freeze rays and anvils. So you can take out rival pilots. All while the wind blows through your fur, feathers or scales. Spin, dive and loop through cascades of bullets. Since you want to avoid severely crashing to the ground. And hopefully, become ruler of the skies. Baron: Fur is Gonna Fly the high flying party showdown from Dogmelon Games. Which will barrel roll onto Steam, March 4, 2020. Due to release on Windows PC, but there is Linux interest as well.

Linux Support

Theoretically, most of the game should port well to Linux. It's our own engine, and consequently it's very simple and doesn't contain anything we don't need - very lightweight. It's written in C++ and Lua, builds with GNU makefiles. It has an OpenGL renderer which we use on Switch. We also have a strong regard for Linux. Our issue, as always, is resources.

Does this mean we will have a day-one Linux release? That will depend on development going forward. Since the duo are developing Baron: Fur is Gonna Fly with their own game engine. And while confident in the port, there are "probably a few other things would need some work." Yet this comes down to the mentioned resources. And the dev team may be looking for another developer to help port the game. Since they are eager to "pay our respects to the Linux community." So be sure to Wishlist on Steam. Responding to the call to arms. Animals have taken to the skies. Sporting cutting edge early 20th century aviation technology - biplanes. Fulfill their solemn duty by taking each other down. While you battle it out in wacky Baron: Fur is Gonna Fly combat. And bring glory to your species in literal aerial dogfights. Choose between eight cartoony critters. Such as Baron von Fluffe-Botte, a high-flying sausage dog. Colonel Hock, a motherly pig following her dreams of flight. These heroes each come with their own style. Including their own voice and old-timey victory theme.

Baron: Fur Is Gonna Fly Official Trailer

Looking fly in styles of the period choose from four, semi-historically accurate aircraft. Each has its own stats balancing weight, handling, speed and armor. Empowering ace-pilots or budding flyers. Above all, select the perfect plane for their aerial antics. Further customization comes from upgrading the biplanes stats between rounds. So things like changing up equipped special weapons. While the aircraft may be historically accurate, animal pilots excluded. The weapons in Baron: Fur Is Gonna Fly are hilariously not. If the basic barrage of bullets isn’t enough. Equip one of more than 13 outlandish weapons. Blow other critters out of the sky. Get explosive with the colourful Balloon Bomb. Maybe spew forth hot victory with the Flamethrower. Or simply repulse away the competition with the Stinky Fish. Crashing is only a minor setback. Since pilots return to the sky mere moments after their defeat. Then continue the aerial hijinks. The variety of multiplayer and singleplayer modes might call for a bigger couch. Create an alliance to take down agile foes in team co-op. Or embrace aerial chaos with in free-for-all. Solo ace-pilots can hone their skills in training mode. Or compete to get the highest score in Sheep Attack by rounding up flying sheep. Putting an end to their aerial menace. Baron: Fur is Gonna Fly will release for $20 USD. Coming to Steam for Windows PC. And hopefully Linux as well. Languages include English, Chinese and Japanese for Steam. With more to be added post launch.

[tripstations]

Alsace: Take it In | tripstations

the troubled past of Alsace, located on the banks of the Upper Rhine and neighboring Germany and Switzerland, has been heavily influenced by historical decisions, invasions, wars, and strategic politics. But despite its sometimes painful past, one need only travel the highways and bi-ways of this somewhat undiscovered part of France to discover her charms. Take in those valleys and medieval towns. Those steep, sloping vineyards around Thann-Guebwiller. Take in Cernay and The Grand Ried. Make a tour of the capital of Strasbourg, the quaint medieval town of Colmar; the Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg; Northern Vosges National Park  or view the unique industrial and textile history of Mulhouse. Take in the history, culture, food and divine wine. Take in Alsace.

Take in the Wine Route

Take along this handy guide for all things Alsatian Wine:

we used it every day!

The Alsace Route du Vin runs north for 180km  from the Vosges mountains near Mulhouse, through postcard-pretty timber-framed villages. Alsatian wines often use German white grapes like Gewürtztraminer or Riesling, Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc, Noir or Gris, and can be sampled in traditional taverns called winstubs with hearty Alsatian cuisine. Stop in the very petite village of Bergholz near Guebwiller for a tour and tasting at the famous Domaine Dirler-Cadé estate. Tour the facilities with Le Master Jean and his engaging wife Ludivine and their charming four-year-old daughter Mathilde. Ludivine may be convinced to take you into their vast vineyards, where she will casually name all 7 varieties of grapes including Riesling, Gewürtztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Muscat, Sylvaner from which the family runs 18 hectares (43.2 acres) of vines. And not to forget the Crémant d’Alsace, the region’s sparkling wine, made of the varieties Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Auxerrois!  42% of which are classified Saering, Spiegel, Kessler or Kitterlé Grand Cru. So much we did not know about Alsation wine! If you take the Alsace Wine Route be sure to include a stop at the Museum of Vineyards and Alsatian Wines where you will learn the secrets and flavors of those famous Alsatian grapes. You may need to take a wine course after your tour!

Take in a meal

The winstubs (Alsatian restaurants) offer traditional menus with dishes like the kouglof, the baeckeofe, flammekueche (tarte flambée), and dishes made with the (in)famous Munster cheese. Try Gambrinus, a rowdy, raucous bit of an Alsatian roadhouse where the beer drinkers and smokers spill out onto the cobbled streets of Mulhouse until the wee hours. This is perhaps the busiest bar in Mulhouse, combining quick food, tasty beer and a DJ spinning a mix of house and modern music.  We quickly settle into our shared communal table and order a beer tasting: Alsatian, Belgian, German Local (as in from Gambrinus) and, of course, our Flammenkeuche.  Think flatbread pizza, cream, cheese and in my case, ham and potatoes and more cheese. We finish with non-traditional sweet flammenkeuche: bananas, chocolate, cream: no cheese this time. At the terribly touristy Zum Saüwadala in Mulhouse, we had hoped to sample some traditional charcute at this very popular and very busy Alsatian food-focused restaurant but alas, that was not to be. The food was below average and the service extremely lacking. Our research tells me that Zum Saüwadala changed ownership in 2013; obviously not for the better.

Take in a Michelin Rated Meal

Head to Illhaeusern just north of Colmar and the 3-starred Auberge de l’Ill where you will find 4th Generation Head Chef Marc Haeberlin, who “continues to immortalize the hundred-year-old know-how. With the Haeberlins cooking is like breathing.” And Chef’s wife Isabelle Haeberlin, who as President and Founder of Atelier Épices can be found almost all day, every day giving back to the community at Épices where parents, children, lawyers, artists AND above mentioned Michelin-starred Chefs come together to promote training, social skills and community in their cooking classrooms.

Take in a drive:

And discover the history of the automobile from 1878 to present and the largest collection of cars (of all types) just minutes from the Place de la Réunion in Mulhouse.  Displaying over 400 ‘dream cars’ and housed in a former textile mill, the  Cité de l’Automobile  is one of the largest collections in France and indeed the world.  The museum is organized into three main areas: the “Pioneers” covering the period from 1878 to 1918 and featuring Panhard, Peugeot, De Dion and Benz models. Panhard primarily designed the essentials of the modern automobile as we know it: an engine, clutch, gearbox and rear-wheel transmission. The “Classics” 1918-1938 and symbolized by the merging of two important carmakers: Mercedes and Benz and marking the beginning of the “supercar” era, when automobiles took on incredible power and size. And the “Moderns”: 1945 to present day, marked by the appearance of light, inexpensive cars. Make sure you race by the motor racing exhibit catching the starting line-up of the famous Panhard-Levassor two-seater from 1908, the Bugatti Type 32 from 1923, the 1957 Maserati 250F, and Lotus 33 from 1963. Gentlemen, start your engines!

Take in a day with the kids:

Spend the morning at the Écomuseé d’Alsace and enjoy this French/Alsatian version of our own Upper Canada Village. Organized like a real village from the early 19th and 20th centuries with streets, gardens, a river and all its representative, historic buildings, the Écomuseé offers traditional homes, farms, schools, a chapel, train station, mills, and craftsmen’s workshops, every brick, beam and joint re-assembled for you and the kids to explore. Sip some Alsatian schnapps, enjoy a punt on the river or a shave and a haircut from the period barber shop. Lots of interactive features will keep the kids historically interested as well.

Take in a Balloon Ride 

After the Écomuseé, continue up the road to  Le Parc du Petit Prince.  Developed by Aérophile, a French SME manufacturer of tethered balloons, which is the only approved aircraft for leisure and amusement parks, it is the first aerial amusement park in the world.  This romantic, fun and educational park is uniquely French: a ‘soft’ (no gut-wrenching roller coasters or fear inducing drop-rides) amusement park geared to children (of all ages) but predominately 5-10-year-olds and themed after the famous de Saint-Exupéry character. The Park highlights two universes and three dimensions with more than thirty attractions ranging from sheep petting and train rides to a 3D Astral presentation and trampoline hall with the highlight being two tethered balloons that visitors can travel to the other planets of the Little Prince that float you some 35 meters off the ground with beautiful views of the surrounding Alsatian countryside.

Take in the Market

What better way to start a sunny, crisp Saturday morning in Mulhouse than with a little shopping? And shopping it is at the Marché du Canal Couvert de Mulhouse the largest public market in North East France. Clothing, meat, printed textiles, fresh vegetables, and cheese, meat and spices will feed your greedy shopping eyes as you wander the Marché’s bustling stalls. Stop and sample some excellent Italian cheeses, and Salami, Soppressata, Prosciutto at the Maison Fabro. Pierre ‘Made in Italy’ Fabro and his lovely wife Anne-Marie are your congenial hosts. Continue down the bustling aisle rows and be welcomed by the Famille Quesnot at La Fromagerie St. Nicolas. Glasses of  Pinot and a selection of beautiful French cheeses and bread may just be offered in their quaint, eight seater restaurant and cheese shop. Typical French Hospitality! Inspire your palate by the beautiful Italian, Swiss, German and local French artisanal cheese, wines, and bread, the beautiful Morrocan honey cakes, briouts, and baklawa. And finally the wonderful spices, choice game, Hallal and other meat.  The outside green market boasts produce tagged from around the world: Turkey, Spain, Morrocco, Germany, Switzerland and of course proud Alsace.

With its unique blend of French, German and Swiss influences, Alsace offers so much to the hungry and thirsty traveler. Take in Alsace; truly at the crossroads of Europe.

Our trip to #FestiveFrance was made possible by the generous support of the France Tourism Office, Air France, and Tourisme Mulhouse.  Also thanks to Rail Europe for providing swift, comfortable and worry-free travel between Paris, Alsace and back again. While in Mulhouse, we stayed at the Hotel Bristol, conveniently located close to Place de la Reunion and the Tram. Thanks as well to My WebSpot, who provided a great portable WiFi service that allowed tripstations to connect our Periscope, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter content with you on a minute by minute basis!

#TravelWell!

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