Arcantis L Hotel Reims

We worked our way all the way up to Reims, the heart of the Champagne region. While Reims does have a pretty cool cathedral and I'm sure there is some historic stuff, we came for the champagne. We followed the Rue de Champagne down through all the little towns and Epernay. Then as was our luck, the Salon de Vins festival was taking place, so over 250 vintners from all over France were there to let us taste (and buy) their best. Some ...

... a local champagne cave, and then go to a local restaurant and do some sampling of all the different brands.

After all of that, it was time to wash our socks and undies. Yup, laundry day (or laundry 3 hours). So, not only are the unlocked internet signals harder to find since last trip, but the laundry places are also much more expensive. We did have a nice conversation with an American girl who was in France for six months to teach English. Although ...

... around a corner – BAM! cathedral. Our group of 40 almost got hit by about 3 cars while we were looking at the outside because the roads run so close to the exterior.

I think this was my first cathedral interior that I’ve been in since we arrived in France. I’ve seen enough pictures and taken enough history classes to know what to expect, but you never get over ...

... for the day would include seeing the cathedral as well as atleast one champagne tasting. After consulting our handy travel books we decided on the Pommery champagne caves and possibly one other. Our goal was to set out around 9:30 am to buy tickets at the station for the 10:25 am train. Well... that didn't quite work out.

The night before was a classmates birthday so we celebrated for a little while with them before heading to a local (within 5 minutes ...

... br>
The channel tunnel trip back was not as smooth as the crossing over as we were delayed for a couple of hours - made worse by the fact that all we wanted to do was have a cuppa tea, slice of marmite toast and climb into a warm bed.

Was it a good trip? Naturally - selective memory is a great thing, especially when my most fond memory is watching those delicate bubbles escaping to the top of MY champagne glass :)

... onto the highway was crawling, and continued to crawl for several more minutes once we were on the highway.

We did eventually hit the speed limit and at our second or third toll booth, mom realized one of her wallets was missing. Luckily she had separated her many currencies into different wallets and the one missing was the one with a little bit of Canadian money. Unluckily it also ...

... the revolution. The artist's last name is David. After the art museum we went to another museum, the Hotel Vergeur. This museum is an old mansion, turned into a museum. We actually got a guided tour. That is the only way to see the museum. The last person to live in the house was in the 1930's but it was first built in the 13th century. There was a beautiful garden, as well as many interesting rooms. The kitchen was the cutest. The museum also owns ...

... to cut my losses. Perhaps because Laon has been so super, I never toook to Reims. I cycled seemingly in circles for ever trying to find a way into Reims which was a tangle of factories and thundering lorries. The cathedral was impressive from outside, and there was a superb Roman triumphal arch to Mars, but the rest of the city seemed tired and crass. The lady in the information place was decidedly meagre ...

... on näiteks Möet et Chandon, Veuve Cliquot, Mercier, Mumm, Krugg, Laurent-Perrier, Piper-Heidsieck ja Taittinger.

Muidu oli ekskursioon üsna informatiivne, kuid pettusin selles osas, et lõpus näidati ainult seisvaid masinaid. Oleks ikka palju põnevam olnud näha, kuidas masinad on töös ja kuidas see protsess siis ikka toimub. Näha oli seda tookord võimalik ainult videolindi pealt, prantsuse keeles. Õnneks peale seda saabus meeldiv osa: š ...