Reims Relaxation

What an exhausting week with Antonio.. but once I picked up my close friend Herbie from the bus station everything seemed to be better! I had one of the longest days ever, running around to school and meeting up for lunch at the Jardins du Luxembourg and after class walking around the Canal St. Martin was pretty cool and relaxing over a nice meal. Wednesdays I don't have class so we woke up for some crepes down the street and went to Les Invalides and saw Napoleon's tomb and the military monument of Paris, followed by a walk to the Louvre. After seeing the grand works of art of Mona Lisa (La Jaconde), Venus de Milo, the Slaves by Michelangelo, Pysche and Cupid, Winged Victory, and John the Baptist, we randomly met 3 friends of ours from CUA in the Italian painting hallway. We talked for a while and caught up, and decided to try and find some more paintings. While wandering through one of the more bizarre modern exhibits, Herbie pointed out the Eiffel Tower as it began to sparkle which was a pretty amazing moment. Afterwards we walked to the Latin Quarter and ate dinner at a little cafe next to the Notre Dame while the rain began to hit the Parisian streets besides us.
The next day I went to class and met for lunch, and after art I had to meet up with a classmate to work on a presentation. After that we met back up at my apartment and started laundry... which unfortunately the laundrymat apparently closes at some point in the night. We met up with Elizabeth later and came home before our trip the next day. Friday we rescued our laundry and finished it before running for our train to Reims. An hour later we arrived in the heart of the Champagne region of France, slightly northeast of Paris. We crossed the small town and found the little bed and breakfast that we reserved, with the adorable Madame Haem who only spoke french to me. We dropped off our bags in the room and walked a few blocks to the Notre Dame Cathedrale, the site where all of the French kings and queens were crowned. Except for Napoleon, who like the leader he was, decided to crown himself and in Paris. We visited the Tourist Office and picked up a few brochures, and after a nice pizza dinner in the downtown area we walked home through the downpour of rain back to the b&b to make reservations for the next day. Saturday we had a quick brunch and waited for our tour guide behind the Cathedral, and got into her little van and went off into the countryside. Her husband is a wine producer and she had recently gotten in the tour guide biz, so we were some of her first clients. She was very well knowledgable as we went into the vineyards and she explained the process of growing and harvesting. We even stopped near a picturesque hill to take a picture with the old-fashioned clothes they donned back in the day! Afterwards we stopped at a smaller champagne producer named Pascal Ponson & sons... as we were introduced to the man himself while entering his champagne house. We went through a quick tour of the cellars and did a tasting in the end, and was able to purchase a bottle from Mr. Ponson himself at the end and speak with him a bit before returning to Reims. It was pretty cool to be able to speak to the man on the label!! That night we walked around the city more and bought some dessert for after our very nice dinner out. A round of chess later and into the morning for breakfast, we walked to the Taitinger champagne house on the other side of town for their english town.
The Taitinger house was particularly interesting because it was built out of a former abbey and roman ruins. The tour was good although we already knew the process, I thought the 'remouage' or removal part of the yeast was interesting, along with the aging process and vintage collections. We finished with a tasting and wandered over to the Pommery house for their tour. The Pommery house was much different than the other two- larger and extravagantly decorated from an earlier rich wedding. Our tour guide Ben was adorably French, very uppity and fairly excited about his job. Madame Pommery was one of the first women in the champagne business and was the also one of the first to produce the Brut type that is the most recognizable and liked worldwide. Afterwards, we had the priviledge of tasting a few of their roses, dry, brut, and a special vintage which was very cool. We picked up our bags and went to the train station, watching Music and Lyrics on the way back into Paris. That night we watched tv for a bit and I was able to wake up late before having to go to my economics class. I had to work on a project after class on the other side of town, but met up with Herbie near the Champ de Mars (field before the Eiffel Tower) and walked around Trocadero while the sun was setting. We ascended to the 2nd floor and saw a gorgeous full moon linger beside the Montparnasse skyscraper quietly in the night. We came home and I unforunately had to slave away on a presentation I had the next day. I was really sad dropping him off at the train station, and after maybe an hour of sleep, I presented in my grammar class and endured 3 hours of architecture before wanting to pass out. After grocery shopping, all I wanted to do was take a much needed nap, but I thought taking out the trash first would be a good idea. I forgot my keys and had a look of terror as the door closed. I panicked and knocked on my neighbors' door, asking in urgent chopped french for some help, he let me use his internet to contact my program and have them call my roommate to come home early. Needless to say my french got some more excersize and I know to always keep my key on me...This weekend I'm home in Paris and able to relax for a bit before starting to get down on all of this work that needs to be done in the next couple of weeks. A month EXACTLY from today I'll be on my way to NYC and I'm definitely not ready for that yet!!!

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