Wendy Norman, Coral Sea Resort

Wendy Norman lives in Sydney, Australia and her career has had her marketing everything from The Coral Sea Resort to Manly's Pavillion Restaurant and Bar (previously Manly Pier Restaurant) and Manly Waterworks.  After being a sole parent for the past fifteen years and now with her children more grown she can enjoy a little more time to herself.  Her latest vacation destination is Alsace, France here she explains why…

"I finally have more time to do what I love and that is travelling to new destinations enjoying history, culture, food and wine!!   My most recent trip overseas was to England where I caught up with family but,  as its quite a long trip from Sydney I couldn't resist a visit to the Alsace Wine region in France."

 "This stunning historical area is one of the smallest French regions, located in the northeast of France on the Border with Germany and Switzerland.  The whole area is full of medieval villages, vineyards and castles."

"We flew with Swissair from London to Zurich and picked up a rental car to drive the short hour and a half to Colmar.  Colmar is a rather large Medieval town, but quite easy to get around on by foot.  It's full of beautiful Alsatian houses in medieval style.  Our stay of three nights gave us plenty of time to see the town square, fountains, canals, each in many cafes and enjoy some great shopping."

"We then moved on and visited one of our most favourite places on our way to Riquwheir, Eguisheim.  This village was fortified in 1257.  It is so picturesque and the houses so tiny and colourful, stunning flowers everywhere you almost expected to see Hobbits living there!"

"The village is full of winding, narrow, cobblestone streets, fountains and ancient buildings. It has been beautifully preserved and is so gorgeous to visit.  After a short drive through winding vineyards and castles in the mountains we arrived at our favourite village Riquewhir.  We had booked our own accommodation online but the town is very popular and we could only get 2 nights.  We were so pleased with the accommodation it really outdid our expectations. Named, The White Stork, it was a stunning fully contained apartment located on top of an old Renaissance house built 1291.  It was perfectly placed inside the walls of Riquewihr village with views from each window over the ramparts and town.  It even had views out the back over vineyards and mountains. I would highly recommend a stay of four to five nights in Riquewihr."

"The village has at least thirty restaurants and all that we sampled offered exquisite food and wine.  So affordable too!   A three to four course meal with wines matched to each course was around  $150 Euro for two!"

"Seriously there are so many great restaurants it is hard to choose, but one of my favourites was Philippe Aubron’s ‘Au Trotthus’.  The chef, Aubron is very friendly and loves to come out to speak with you and, he is no ordinary chef.  Aubron is quite famous and has earned a lot of Michelin stars and awards over the years.  Situated against the rampart walls over a thousand years old this restaurant must be booked as it only seats around 30 people.  You almost don’t want to disturb the food as it appears so visually tantalizing as well! Not forgetting the amazing Wines with each course!

The Alsace region is notable for its aromatic White Varietals such as Riesling and Gewürztraminer.  It's just as  lovely dropping into small family owned vineyards for tastings and to meet the local winemaker as it is to visit some of the more well known wine houses." buy some delicious .  It’s truly a memorable holiday for those that enjoy history, amazing scenery, gourmet food and Wine!  I would go back!"

Any hidden finds? "Yes, Eguisheim, don’t miss a day trip there."

Wendy's Travel Tip:

Find inspiration on the internet (vacationgoddess.com springs to mind) and research areas you want to see in France and what hotels are nearest to the places you'd like to see. I recommend booking accomodation before you go, usually they only request a deposit,  as its usually very difficult to find good quality accommodation last minute and you don’t want to go that far and miss out!

Alison Carmichael-Rulten

Hi, I'm Alison Carmichael-Rulten the Publisher of Vacation Goddess, and I want to thank you for visiting Vacation Goddess – the one-stop shop for insider travel news, deals, 'Guest Goddes's stories, and of course our personal travel experiences. Plus, as we love to cruise we also try to find some amazing cruise deals for you too. From luxury, longer escapes right down to weekend breaks we know you love everything travel related. Here at Vacation Goddess, we hope you will find loads of inspiration and of course some amazing travel deals. We love a holiday at a great price and that's why we seek out what we call 'Champagne Experiences, on a Sparkling Wine Budget.' We constantly showcase a variety of special deals and offers and from time to time some very special competitions. Our recent 'Win a Trip to London' competition received over 24,00 entries. We invite you to visit us often, join our mailing list and please tell your friends