Champagne Country Tour

After an amazing time in Versailles, we got back to Paris and boarded the TGV for Reims, the capitol of Champagne. The TGV, of course, is France's high speed train and it did not disappoint. Hubby was a little miffed on the train from Frankfurt to Paris because it wasn't going super fast, but this one was hitting a top speed of 320 kph (198+ mph).

Needless to say, we made it to Reims in a cool 46 minutes, right on time. We went to our spiffy hotel for the evening to prepare for our guided tour the next day.

We woke up Saturday and made our way to the tourist office next to the train station where we met up with our guide and the rest of our group. There were 6 of us total in a minivan - me, hubby, a couple from Surrey, England, and a French Canadian woman who couldn't have been sweeter :-). A great bunch for sure.

The group started off toward Épernay, a city slightly south of Reims that has most of the big Champagne houses and cellars. While en route we stopped for some views and history:

We drove past Bollinger, 007's Champagne of choice :-)

More views (and you can see a little flooding, too):

Soon we were pulling into the Moet & Chandon parking lot for our Champagne cellar tour. Parts were pretty moist...

Tons of bottles....

Oh yeah - Napoleon stole this from the Germans while it was on its way to the country to give to a friend. It's the thought that counts, right?

At the end we got to have a glass, yay!

We were swayed and bought a bottle. While we were checking out we found out that the person assisting us had actually been born in Mainz. Small world! He seemed excited.

On to lunch: Our group had actually been split into two vans so we met up with the others to have this absolutely delicious lunch with, I think, 6-8 different kinds of Champagne. We also got to try their regional liquor (and bought a bottle, yum!)

Our lunch spot in the cutest little French town:

This food was amazing - and the huge macaron at the end was raspberry and peanut butter! Swoon.

More views on the way to the smaller Champagne house:

And we stopped by Dom Perignon's final resting place! Aaahhh!

Here's the cellar in the smaller Champagne house, after we toured the bottling facility.

All in all, quite the bubbly day. I'd definitely recommend our tour group, France Bubble Tours.

Next post: I'll share our adventures staying in Reims and (sadly) leaving France.

Versailles

We left Paris on a gloomy looking morning for Versailles, and arrived a short 45 minutes later before the grounds opened. It was always our plan to head to the hotel first to drop off our bags and then make our way into the line to get into the palace, and then tour the grounds in the afternoon.

Hubby and I were especially excited because we were going to stay at the Trianon Palace Waldorf Astoria, which was supposed to be gorgeous, an obvious step up from our Paris hotel, and bonus: it's within the Hilton family so we can get some perks and points.

Anyway, we got to the Waldorf to drop off our bags and since we were there close to 8:30 in the morning our room wasn't ready yet, but no big deal. We walked literally next door to the Versailles grounds and went through the palace:

Extravagant is the only word to describe it, the place was dripping with it, from the mirrors (a rarity during the time), the chandeliers, and practically every wall covered with art. Opulence at its finest.

We even stopped to get a quick picture in the Hall of Mirrors - just think about what these mirrors reflected back during its heyday!

During the tour, we saw the door that Marie Antoinette escaped from her room during the revolution:

And this gifted painting was so large that the room was built around it:

After we went through the bulk of the palace, we stopped at the Versailles outpost of the Paris tea room, Angelina, where we'd been to a few days before. This location did not disappoint - we each got a pot of tea (perfect at 11am) and hubby got a dessert item he'd thought of getting in Paris while I went for the quiche. It was absolutely delicious, and a college girl with her group of friends kept eyeballing it at the next table.

We made our way back through the palace, hit the gift shop, got some macaroons, and headed over to see if our room was ready. After waiting a while in their "gallery" area.....

It was ready. We were upgraded to a suite, which could either be the result of us being on our honeymoon (after I insisted we include that juicy bit of information in the reservation), or because we have a ridiculous amount of Hilton honors points. Who knows for sure.

What we do know is that one of the perks we got to use were free drinks in the bar later that night. We went for the champagne.

The room was incredibly large - there were actually two doors we could use from the hallway to access it. One big bedroom, another separate living room area, and then an awesome bathroom.

 (With Versailles views off to the side)

 Crazy waterfall shower....

After we hung out for awhile, we decided to venture out in the rain. This was the only day I regretted not bringing boots on the trip, since we were in for a muddy afternoon. On the plus side, the only real crowds we experienced were a group of sheep:

With the main palace covered, we set out to check out the gardens and also the smaller palaces and buildings built for when the royals were overwhelmed with the main palace activities. (Keep in mind of course that the main palace was supposed to be their "getaway" spot from the Paris court, but people still traveled all the way down to Versailles to even watch them eat their dinner... talk about celebrity status!)

My favorite part of the grounds, and probably for hubby too, was the Hamlet, Marie's epic replica of an English farm - a real working farm. You turn a corner and all of a sudden you're in England:

Hubby definitely agreed with the uprising of France after visiting. Here he is inspecting the rather large fish in the pond:

The rain let up briefly so I could get some more pictures:

Then we made our way back up toward the middle of the grounds. Hubby was disappointed that not all the fountains were on, and some were gated off. We saw though that during the summer the area does lots of fireworks and lighting shows, so we definitely need to come back for that! Even though it was rainy, we still got to share a crepe and small bottle of wine with this as our view:

We got back a little before our dinner reservation at the hotel so we headed down to the gallery to get our pre-dinner champagne and relax as the rain continued outside. Our meal was one of my favorites... I started with the pressed foie grais with beef bourgenion and my main was the special of the day - beef tenderloin with delicate potatoes and veggies, followed by an apple tart. Hubby got caesar salad, salmon and chocolate mousse. Yum - a perfect end to a busy but fabulous day.

Kim's Top Ten Tips for Traveling in Paris

In no particular order...

1. Reserve tickets for the Eiffel Tower online



It's ridiculously simple and doesn't cost extra. Why stand in a line when there is absolutely no reason to?! Also - don't take the elevator back down, you'll miss the neat walk where you can see the innards of the tower.

 2. Go to Angelina for tea/coffee/hot chocolate and sweets





An amazing suggestion from my sister's boyfriend, and the perfect frenchy-french ambiance. Totally pricey, but certainly worth it, and very relaxing.


3. Get to the Louvre right when they open

If you're there long enough to warrant purchasing the museum pass (another good idea since it helps you get past some lines), Get thee to the Louvre and line up before they're open. Oh - and use the underground mall entrance, which is less crowded. By the time everyone is inside and buying their tickets, you're already halfway to the Mona Lisa with a museum pass.

4. After booking a hotel, find the closest grocery store

This serves a few purposes: 

1. for when your husband forgets his deodorant 

2. you'll want to buy bottled water here every day instead of next to the touristy attractions because it is so so SO much cheaper 

3. you'll want snacks for breakfast (yogurt) or to do a picnic for lunch or dinner (cheese, ham, rolls and mustard, cookies, you get the idea)

4. it's freaking fun to look around foreign grocery stores. I like doing some of my souvenir shopping here, because you can get gourmet treats like mustard, olive oil and teas, and also get some practical things that might be hard to find elsewhere (like instant espresso sticks), or fun and cheap reusable bags with french writing.

5. Learn some French

Hubby didn't need to since I was in charge of re-learning all my French which was fine. But at least take a look at what foods are so you can quickly navigate a menu, especially if they don't have English versions. (Better yet - if you make a few reservations ahead of time, you'll be able to check out a menu online and plug it into Google Translate to get an idea of what looks good, and you can print it out to take with you!)

6. Walk fast and know where you're going

The Paris metro system has over 300 stations (all of which offer a different design) and if you look like a tourist, you'll be treated like a tourist and possibly a target for pickpockets. We didn't have any problems because we travel light and I spoke French as much as possible, but at least familiarize yourself with the metro map. I downloaded the system map on my phone and plugged in routes to and from places where I knew we'd be, just so it was easier to follow the signs in the metro stations. Nothing is worse than being overrun by a group of people who know where they're going and you're in the way!

7. One word: macaron.

Hubby finally discovered these tasty treats, and almost every time we passed a pastry shop we peeked inside to see their stash.

8. The house wine is always a good selection.

It's incredibly easy to spend an arm and a leg on food here, but like in Italy you can get a carafe of wine that almost always turns out to be delicious and is reasonably priced (for Paris, anyway). Plus, they are usually not as big as a bottle, so you won't feel like you have to stumble out of the restaurant or cafe.

9. Do a heavy lunch instead of a heavy dinner

Paris is all about people watching, and there are plenty of people out during the day! The French have no problem spending a super long lunch doing this, and the meals are usually cheaper during lunch than at dinner.

10. Have a plan!

Going to a new city to explore is stressful all by itself, but when you add in a foreign language and endless activities you think you HAVE to cover it can really drain you. Just a little structure in your day will have you feeling more relaxed and more like you're actually on vacation. Even if it's just making a dinner reservation one day, deciding to do the Louvre the next morning and studying the metro map, you'll have an edge on the competition (those other travelers). It's also helpful to have some background on the places you're visiting so you don't have to waste time figuring out why the Eiffel Tower exists and you can marvel at how awesome it is right away.

Next time: Versailles, where I wish I could spend many more of my vacations.