Bonjour all
This is the last blog on our recent UK round trip....
On the way back from England we had to see Champagne and I'd read the place to stay was Epernay, the "self-proclaimed capitale du champagne". I had decided to have a bit of a splurge, seeing it was Champagne and all, and booked a night at this beautiful 19th century mansion by the name of Le Clos Raymi, I definitely recommend it. A certain Monsieur Chandon used to live there. He married a certain Mademoiselle Moet and yes you guessed it, they started the Moet & Chandon wine company. Here is picture of Jane and the kids on the steps of Le Cos Raymi...
We were pretty tired by the time we arrived, about 5pm, so we had a bit of a rest and enjoyed the room. By the time we were showered and dressed it was getting on, we were all hungry. This can be a risky situation when you have small kids. We headed down town to a restaurant recommended by the owner of Le Cos Raymi. We eventually found the place and then a table, but ahhhhh the attitude of the waitresses, I couldn't take it. This is a very rare occurrence, but I said to Jane let's go, and walked out before ordering, you should have seen the look on the their faces. So there we were walking around this fairly small town looking for a place to eat, a lot of fancy restuarants, not many small kids around, Connor on my shoulders, Sophie wanting to be on my shoulders as her legs were getting sore....., then it came to me, pizza and champagne in the park! I dropped the kids off at the park practically ran to this pizza joint I saw earlier. Right behind the pizza guy was a sign in French that said, "Pizza and a bottle of champagne for 30 euros", and I thought hey, that's cool, only in Champagne would you see a sign like that. I ordered two pizzas, went across the road to this champagne shop to try and find that special bottle, found it - Collard Picard (I'd seen the classy looking Collard Picard champagne house earlier in the day), walked back across the road, the pizza guy looked at me with a big smile and said "nice" with a French accent, ran back to Jane and the kids, popped the bottle and you know what, that was probably the best tasting champagne I think I've ever tasted. My wife, the kids happy as, in this little playground in Epernay, pizza and champagne, it was the perfect outcome really, another sweet memory.
Here is a photo of Moet & Chandon HQ, with a statue of the monk, Dom Perignon just behind the fence. I found out on this trip that monks used to drink alcohol to help them get through the traditional religious fasting period of Lent. Now I'm thinking, no food in the belly, plenty of champagne, interesting. Moet HQ sits on the Av de Champagne where a lot of other champagne houses are,
like this grand old building.....
Check out the doors on this place......, you can see a lady further along the footpath, just to put the size of it all into perspective...
The next day we went for a nice leisurely drive along one of the Champagne Routes, we picked the Cote des Blancs Champagne Route which travels south through some beautiful little champagne towns including Oger where we bought a couple of bottles from one of the cellar door vendors, this one being the house of Champagne Henry de Vaugency. I took this photo of Jane and the kids in the cellar cave at Henry de Vaugency. We had a good chat to the owner's son who was running the tastings, he was the eighth generation of his champagne growing family. Beneath Epernay there is over 100km of cellar caves!
The views along the champagne route were fantastic. The photo below was taken from Cramant which is another one of these towns along the way.. ..
We headed further south that afternoon and stayed the night in Orleans on the edge of the Loire Valley. Nice town, not many tourists, giving it a real authentic feel. We had dinner at this Chinese restaurant on the side of the main paved street of Orleans. Great people watching and the waiters at the restaurant were so, so nice. It was kind of celebratory dinner marking the end of our big UK round trip, an amazing tour of so many places.
The next morning I went for my usual walk and had a look for the statue of Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc). She is known as "The Maid of Orleans". It's an amazing story. She was a peasant girl who ended up leading the French army against the English in the Hundred Years' War and had several important victories, including the siege of Orleans in 1429. It was a turning point in the war. In 1431, she was captured, charged for heresy and burned at the stake, she was just 19 years old.
Needles to say Jeanne d'Arc means a lot to Orleans and the French people. Here is her impressive statue in the middle of the city.
The next day, after driving down the auto route for about five hours, we rolled up back in our little hamlet, nice to be home really. Headed straight over to Toni and Deni's place to catch the last half of the annual party for our hamlet, and life in The Lot continues.
This is the last blog on our recent UK round trip....
On the way back from England we had to see Champagne and I'd read the place to stay was Epernay, the "self-proclaimed capitale du champagne". I had decided to have a bit of a splurge, seeing it was Champagne and all, and booked a night at this beautiful 19th century mansion by the name of Le Clos Raymi, I definitely recommend it. A certain Monsieur Chandon used to live there. He married a certain Mademoiselle Moet and yes you guessed it, they started the Moet & Chandon wine company. Here is picture of Jane and the kids on the steps of Le Cos Raymi...
We were pretty tired by the time we arrived, about 5pm, so we had a bit of a rest and enjoyed the room. By the time we were showered and dressed it was getting on, we were all hungry. This can be a risky situation when you have small kids. We headed down town to a restaurant recommended by the owner of Le Cos Raymi. We eventually found the place and then a table, but ahhhhh the attitude of the waitresses, I couldn't take it. This is a very rare occurrence, but I said to Jane let's go, and walked out before ordering, you should have seen the look on the their faces. So there we were walking around this fairly small town looking for a place to eat, a lot of fancy restuarants, not many small kids around, Connor on my shoulders, Sophie wanting to be on my shoulders as her legs were getting sore....., then it came to me, pizza and champagne in the park! I dropped the kids off at the park practically ran to this pizza joint I saw earlier. Right behind the pizza guy was a sign in French that said, "Pizza and a bottle of champagne for 30 euros", and I thought hey, that's cool, only in Champagne would you see a sign like that. I ordered two pizzas, went across the road to this champagne shop to try and find that special bottle, found it - Collard Picard (I'd seen the classy looking Collard Picard champagne house earlier in the day), walked back across the road, the pizza guy looked at me with a big smile and said "nice" with a French accent, ran back to Jane and the kids, popped the bottle and you know what, that was probably the best tasting champagne I think I've ever tasted. My wife, the kids happy as, in this little playground in Epernay, pizza and champagne, it was the perfect outcome really, another sweet memory.
Here is a photo of Moet & Chandon HQ, with a statue of the monk, Dom Perignon just behind the fence. I found out on this trip that monks used to drink alcohol to help them get through the traditional religious fasting period of Lent. Now I'm thinking, no food in the belly, plenty of champagne, interesting. Moet HQ sits on the Av de Champagne where a lot of other champagne houses are,
like this grand old building.....
Check out the doors on this place......, you can see a lady further along the footpath, just to put the size of it all into perspective...
The next day we went for a nice leisurely drive along one of the Champagne Routes, we picked the Cote des Blancs Champagne Route which travels south through some beautiful little champagne towns including Oger where we bought a couple of bottles from one of the cellar door vendors, this one being the house of Champagne Henry de Vaugency. I took this photo of Jane and the kids in the cellar cave at Henry de Vaugency. We had a good chat to the owner's son who was running the tastings, he was the eighth generation of his champagne growing family. Beneath Epernay there is over 100km of cellar caves!
The views along the champagne route were fantastic. The photo below was taken from Cramant which is another one of these towns along the way.. ..
The next morning I went for my usual walk and had a look for the statue of Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc). She is known as "The Maid of Orleans". It's an amazing story. She was a peasant girl who ended up leading the French army against the English in the Hundred Years' War and had several important victories, including the siege of Orleans in 1429. It was a turning point in the war. In 1431, she was captured, charged for heresy and burned at the stake, she was just 19 years old.
Needles to say Jeanne d'Arc means a lot to Orleans and the French people. Here is her impressive statue in the middle of the city.
The next day, after driving down the auto route for about five hours, we rolled up back in our little hamlet, nice to be home really. Headed straight over to Toni and Deni's place to catch the last half of the annual party for our hamlet, and life in The Lot continues.
A bientot mes amis , (bye for now my friends)
nous vous souhaitons bonne chance ( we wish you good luck),
Jane, Sophie, Connor, et moi
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