Wine Tasting

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  Paris, Île-de-France, France
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

I am exhausted after full days of 2 wine tasting in the French countryside. Yesterday, I went to the Champagne region of France, north east of Paris. We went to Moët et Chandon in Epernay and Mumm cellars in Reims to try the Champagne and tour the vast caves beneath the Champagne houses. The caves were a maze, 25km+ long, filled with extremely expensive Champagne. Unfortunately we didn't get to try Dom Pérignon, which is cellared for up to 30 years (others are up to 7 years). I learnt all about how Champagne is made, and got to have a glass of it at the end of each cellar tour. I also saw a magnificent gothic cathedral in Reims. It was so peaceful inside, not the usual racket that you hear in Parisian cathedrals. The lack of noise meant that I could really appreciate it, unlike places like Notre Dame, where the ambience is lost due to hordes of tourists. I stayed in there for quite a while.

Today, I got up at 6am again for the Loire Valley (west of Paris). I really had to drag myself out of bed, I'm becoming much less of a morning person now that I am in France.

Gift from Napoleon to Moët et Chandon Cellars

We spent half the day looking at castles where French Royalty once lived, which I got bored of after a while. They were amazing though. The individual rooms were as big as an average apartment these days. I saw the study of Leonardo Di Vinci, we he worked, inventing things like machine guns and tanks. His inventions were laid about everywhere throughout the house and grounds, including his model of the first war tank, which had been converted into child play equipment. The best castle was one that had a moat on one side, and was stretched across a river. My camera couldn't do the surrounding grounds justice. I tried to imagine people living in a place like this, but it just doesn't seem like it could have been real. Everything is so big, and intricately designed. So much effort into beauty; cost obviously not an issue. After that, the tour had a 4 course lunch at the restaurant there. The food was very good, it was good to eat something other than bread and cheese. Everyone on the tour was Spanish and could speak as much English as I could Spanish, i.e. about 4 words, so I was a bit lonely. We had one wine tasting after that, but I can't say I was that excited by wine from the Loire Valley. I think Australian wine is just as good.

I don't think I want to travel alone again. It is a really character building and worthwhile thing to do, but I think travel is so much more enjoyable if you have someone to share it with. I just hate it when people think I'm some little kid who needs looking after, just because I'm travelling alone. I can look after myself! A lady tried to look after me today because some French guy was "circling"/leering at me in this restaurant. It was nice of her I guess, but I wish people wouldn't do that, I'm 22 and this is the 3rd time I've been overseas alone. I'm perfectly capable of telling the guy to fuck off. If I was a guy of a similar age and size, I think people would respect my capabilities a lot more, which irritates me. It's also a problem being female and getting home late at night. It's so much more dangerous for a female by herself, and I hate having to be escorted by male friends. 
I am exhausted now, so I am going to go to sleep before going out for Bastille day festivities.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Lots of Champagne	Moët et Chandon	Moët et Chandon Cellars	Moët et Chandon Cellars
Moët et Chandon Cellars	Moët et Chandon Cellars	Moët et Chandon Cellars	Tasting Moët et Chandon Champagne
Tasting Mumm Champagne	Magnificent Gothic Cathedral, Reims	Magnificent Gothic Cathedral, Reims2	Magnificent Gothic Cathedral, Reims3
Magnificent Gothic Cathedral, Reims4	Champagne Glass Chandelier

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