Etival Clairfontaine was a convenient stop for us to read Bill & Sam’s letter, anaylse the content and send a response making sure that our holiday wasn’t holding up confronting the legal shenanigans being pulled by the other side.
Etival was quiet; the Auberge and cafes were closed so after a good walk around we ate dinner in the van before enjoying a quiet night’s sleep.
The following morning was noticeably colder as I headed for the boulangerie seeking croissants for breakfast after which we headed into the Vosges mountains in the direction of Ribeauville. Driving through the spectacular Vosges towards Ribeauville was a real treat apart from the very tight turns and steep gradients. We were parked in the aire in the town centre just before midday and then off into town for a good look around (again). We had previously visited this region in 2023 and were really taken by it, hence our revisit this year.
The town is smack bang on the Alsace wine route where Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, Gewurtztraminer and a few more varieties are produced all of which can be tasted and bought at the Cave de Ribeauville which was about 100metres from the motorhome aire. A 5% discount on purchases at the Cave is given if you can present a parking permit for the aire, which we had. 1 box of Riesling and 1 of pinot gris were purchased and stashed away for later consumption.
Ribeauville is a very touristic place. It is very scenic and pretty and attracts a lot of visitors, most of them come on coach tours and so the place is bristling during the day. The evenings are very much quieter, the coach parties have gone and the town empties out and the restaurants have space to eat.
We moved on after 2 nights and headed towards Colmar on our way to Lake Constance. We had intended to visit Colmar the previous year but the reviews of the motorhome aire put us right off. This time we bit the bullet and decided that if it was as bad as described then we would move on. So Sunday morning saw us pack up, dump our waste and head to Colmar.