Today was our last full day in Colmar. It was also the only day we didn't have anything planned. No tours, no train to catch, nowhere we had to be. Technically, yesterday could've been the same, but we decided to day trip it to Basel. 

We "slept in" until 8 a.m. and took our time getting ready and having breakfast. This was also a nice change. We decided to rent bikes at Colmar Cycle near the train station, as there are some bike paths around here. Once we were on the path, Mary's chain broke. I attempted to put it back on with no luck, so we decided our best option would be to walk our bikes back toward town and maybe we would come across another biker who would help us.  

The first two women we saw ignored us. Or, it's possible they didn't hear me when I said, "Excuse me" in French. We saw a family heading our way, and I asked in French if they spoke English. The dad said, "oh, of course." They were from Ohio. Very nice family on vacation with their 3 kids. The chain was a bit tricky, but the dad got it back working again. We were so grateful. 

We continued along the path for awhile and some areas were shady, and some out in the sun. It was really nice to get out into the country and just ride. Some areas of the path were along the river. Today there was not any clouds, and very little breeze. After about two hours of biking, we headed back to the hotel and to turn in our bikes. We could've kept them until 7 pm, but Colmar is so compact and easy to get around on foot, that there wasn't a need to keep them. 

We did a little shopping, and discovered that on a Monday, Colmar is still packed with tourists. It wasn't as bad as Saturday, but still very busy. I think it's one of those places that is busy year-round. We stopped at an outdoor wine area, where I sampled a dry white. The white wines in this area are great. I was also on the hunt for some razors, as I forgot mine at the Paris hotel, or maybe I tossed it. At any rate, I needed one, and the first two pharmacies had everything under the sun from foot fungus cream to callus removers, but no razors. Finally, a larger pharmacy had one. One brand, that look like they could harm a small child. But, I will take it. 

We rested a bit before heading out to dinner at Mamma Giovanna for margherita pizza. It was very good. Not as good as the pizza at East Mama in Paris, but still very good. I had a half carafe of Riesling and Mary had her lemonade that looks like water, but tastes like lemonade. We were stuffed and skipped dessert. 

Tomorrow we head back to Paris, and on Wednesday, back home. We have mixed feelings - sad to be heading back, but happy to be getting back home. We've had such a great time and have been so fortunate in this trip, so we hate to see it end. 

Thanks for reading,

Jamie and Mary