When my mom and aunt decided to come visit us, I asked her where else in Europe she wanted to go. They were coming during the kids' Fall Break and of course we HAD to go somewhere! So, my mom, being the practical girl that she is, said she wanted to go to Paris so that she could say she's been to all the places listed on her doormat. Not because Paris is the City of Lights, or to see the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, or to wander the Louvre, or because it's somewhere she's always dreamed of seeing, or any of the "normal" reasons one wants to go to Paris. Nope, my mom bought a doormat with European capitals decorating it, and darn it, she'd see them all! (I love you Mom!;)
So, I planned a trip involving all of the aforementioned sights in Paris plus a few more, such as Disneyland Paris. For those of you who know my mom and aunt, you will realize that Disneyland Paris was the real highlight for them! But those places are for another blog. Today, I'll tell you about Jason's addition to the itinerary. Champagne.
Ah, champagne. The wonderfully bubbly wine that gives me a headache if I drink more than 1 glass (and anyone who knows me knows that I always drink more than 1 glass!) and that can only be called "champagne" when it comes from a certain region in France, between Paris and the German border. Seeing as we'd have to drive through this region on our way from Frankfurt to Paris, it seemed an obvious choice to spend a few days sipping the bubbly. Jason was only able to join us for the weekend, so we decided Reims and Epernay, mecca of champagne, would be our first stop.
For Father's Day, the kids and I bought Jason a membership into a wine club. We are the proud owners of 3 rows of vines somewhere in the Burgundy region, near Beaune, but along with such prestige, we are also able to visit other vineyards associated with 3D wines. We contacted 3D and had them set up a visit to a vineyard just outside Reims. What a fantastic tour we had! Pierre (seriously how perfect to have a champagne maker named Pierre!), showed us all around his family's winery. He told us the finer points of champagne making (which really does make you appreciate the wine more and understand why it costs more than normal wine) and gave us a few sips of some of his wine. Jason and I would really like Pierre and his wife to be our new best friends. They are living our dream and seemed like really cool people! We bought a few bottles, the kids enjoyed the tour and watching movies on my iPhone while we tasted, and my mom and aunt got a bit tipsy on the bubbly and ended up buying 2 bottles and some fancy flutes.
At Fresne Ducret, a small family owned winery.
After our small tour, we went completely in the other direction by visiting one of the largest champagne makers in the world, Moet et Chandon. This was a cool tour, but not nearly as interesting or free, as the last one. We did take more pics here.
The smallest of these bottles is a magnum. The biggest costs €1300!
How many family pictures do I have in wine caves now? More than I probably should!
How about a double magnum of Dom? This was just an empty bottle (otherwise I would have smuggled it out under my coat!) Moet et Chandon make Dom Perignon and they don't make it every year. Dom is only make from a near perfect vintage year. The last vintage on sale now is 2002!
Road sign, as Lainey's Little Einstein book says, "follow the trail and you'll never fail!"
After spending the day sipping champagne, we spent the evening in the city of Reims. What a beautiful old French town! We wandered all around and found Reims Cathedral which is nearly 800 years old and looks a whole lot like Notre Dame in Paris.
We also found the requisite Merry-Go-Round found in every French village center. Riding on a double decker carousel made up for being dragged through wine cellars earlier in the day!
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