Blogs from Reims, Champagne-Ardenne, France, Europe - page 6

Champagne. The beverage is sparkling but the location is flat. Both are lovely. I had the great fortune to be part of a band of English retailers and wine merchants to visit Reims at the behest of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey) to visit Veuve Clicquot and Krug. Our first meal in France after nipping over from London on the Eurostar was at a bistro in Reims. It was a family run business - opulent in a fallen-grandeur, fin de siècle sort of a way. Every table was full with affluent locals who, without exception, were nursing open bottles of champagne in coolers. Our waiter was a very French looking, corpulent 50-something who I presumed was the patriarch of the establishment. I followed his recommendations implicitly. As such my entrée consisted of plain white toast, little ... read more

Today was our designated Champagne day so off we went on the train to Reims. Besides being one of the champagne capitals of the world, Reims is also home to Cathedral de Notre-Dame. Twenty-six monarchs were crowned in this cathedral and when you see it, you know why. It is absolutely huge and one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture. The Cathedral was heavily damaged in WWI and was later repaired. Marc Chagall designed some of the replaced stain glass windows, which were reproduced in the 13th century fashion. We then had a champagne lunch before heading back to Paris. Upon our return, we toured Notre Dame, which is very similar to the one in Reims but smaller. Kathy had accepted yet another challenge from Robert and was going to climb the hundreds of steps ... read more

Thursday, June 5, 2008 Travel day… Beaune, France to Troyes, France Today we were in no hurry to get up or to drive off. I had a good internet connection in the morning and used it to check on what’s needed to cross the Channel to England. We found the site for booking space for our car and went ahead and picked the time. We will be on the 9:50am train. We have to be there 30 minutes ahead so we’ll have to get up a little early on Saturday morning to drive over from Arras, France. I decided that I had to have something for breakfast other than the usual hotel breakfast. So, we walked into the village and soon spotted a restaurant that had omelets on the menu posted in chalk outside. That’s more ... read more

Thursday 8th May Our exploration of Reims started with a visit to the Taittinger champagne cellars. We rung up yesterday to book a place in the tour, but were told they did not take bookings, but we were told at what time a tour in English would begin. We arrived about 15-25mins early and had a look around the grounds. The reception and display area for this manufacturer were housed in a converted Abbey and some ruins of the abbey were visible in the chalk cellars below. The lady who took us through the cellars was amusing and informative. The extent of bottles stored in the cellars was staggering. I doubt anyone knows exactly how many but it is certainly in the millions. As well as those laying flat and not ready to be prepared for ... read more

This weekend I lost my Eurostar virginity and found the answer to an age old question. In order to do so, I headed back to Reims for more champagne tasting - this time with some of the netball crew. In order to get us in the mood - Andrea hosted a pre champagne tasting champagne tasting at her place. Based on blind tasting, the Tesco champers came out tops ... but don't think we don't know our stuff - last year the experts agreed and gave it the top award. Now to the Reims weekend - let's start with the Eurostar .... I love it. Why do I love it? Let me count the ways: * It's sooo easy. * It goes from Waterloo, which is close to home (although not for much longer - soon ... read more