Reims - 13-15 July

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DAY 1 -

To get to Reims, (pronounced like "Rance"), from Antwerp take train to Bruges, change trains and take to Paris (North Station). Take metro to Paris East Station. Take train to Reims. Very impressed with myself to make all these connections on time.

Cathedral Notre Dame with rose window - offered a free "spectacle" on Fri/Sat nights. This turned out to be a screening of the history of the cathedral projected onto a large screen inside the cathedral. Oh well, you don't get much for nothing...

Palais du Tau

Place Drouet d'Erlon - Centre of nightlife and eateries, brasseries & people watching from outdoor cafés
Gilded Statue of Winged Victory (shown in picture)

13th July (Bastille Day Eve) - It was celebrated with at least two concerts in different parts of the city. The one I saw had some very bad singers and dancers doing 80s/90s hits in English like "YMCA". Don't they get how daggy this is?
French flags flaunted everywhere. Amateur firecrackers going off in the footpath, and an official fireworks display around 11pm (it takes this long to get dark enough). Fair going off with rides and games in the park. Also saw some fighter planes do a fly-by. However this was nothing compared to the pomp and ceremony going on in Paris which was all over the TV all morning..

DAY 2 -
1/2 day tour to Verzeney, a prestigious vineyard about 20 minutes out of Reims. Museum showing the history and lifecycle of wine-making in Champagne. Next we went to have a "degustation" (winetasting) at a large Champaign house but, due to it being Bastille Day, no-one was there despite the group having a reservation.

Finally we contacted another place close by and were given a tour (in french) then tasting of 3 different wines.

All 7 in the group were French tourists from all over the country - being holiday time in France they are all on the move..

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