July 4

July 4th (cloudy, overcast)
We woke up to a flooded campsite because the stormy weather did not let up until morning when we discovered our electricity was out. It was only one multiplex outlet that handled 3 – 4 sites where the outage occurred. We received a refund of 5 E’s after I had to deal with the not-so-pleasant manager.
Picked up groceries and began our drive to Colmar. Rick Steve’s mentioned on one of his TV travel shows that Colmar is a “must see” place in France. Approximately 30 kms outside of Colmar, we undertook our first serious Alpine twisting, climbing road and Susi performed admirably. Also noticed change to the architecture switching to a more Bavarian look, which is understandable as this region has changed hands between France and Germany many times over the centuries. This is also the Alsace wine district. We drove through many villages with vineyards running horizontally and vertically up the hillsides. Upon entry into Colmar, we had serious reservations about his recommendation, however once we got into the centre core and around one corner WOW!
We parked the car and spent the afternoon touring the well-preserved medieval town and for once – no rain! Found a campsite on the Ille River and used our second barbecue kit for steak and sausages. Played our usual crib and George insists I mention that “he is up five games on me”.