Drinking Champagne in Champagne (Tomorrow Is Another Day...)

Drinking Champagne in Champagne

Oh my, so much catching up to do from the last month! April whizzed by in the blink of an eye as we kept ourselves busy with a trip to France, hosting my aMAHzing mom for a few weeks, and heading back to the Netherlands for another shot at the glorious spring tulips.

We realized rather belatedly that April 4th was a holiday for the Air Force, so we decided to pull on our spontaneity pants and book a quick trip to the Champagne region in France, which is only about 3 hours away from us--I don't think I'll ever get tired of being able to say crazy things like that! We booked an apartment in Reims, and hit the road.

Once we were settled into our rooms, we had a half day to fill, so we headed to the Reims cathedral. And as things in Europe are and ever shall be, the famous entryway was covered in scaffolding. Fortunately for us, we've become rather expert at finding angles from which you'd never know Europe is constantly undergoing reburbishment! The Reims cathedral has seen more kings of France crowned than Notre Dame in Paris, and is most famous as the cathedral to which Joan of Arc brought Charles VII to be consecrated in 1429. A more contemporary claim to fame are the primarily blue stained glass windows done by Marc Chagall in the 1970s

The next day, we followed along with Rick Steves on an auto tour through the Route Touristique du Champagne, with stops in some of the more charming towns and stunning views over the rolling champagne vineyards.

Highlights of the drive included a sweet little park along a river where the girls were rewarded for their car riding patience with plenty of running around and trips up and down the slide, and a stop in Hautvillers to visit Dom Perignons final resting place and do a champagne tasting at the G. Tribaut champagne house.

For our final day in the champagne region, we stopped in Epernay to visit the Mercier champagne house, chosen primarily for the fact that we could visit the caves by elevator and train, rather than trying to navigate stairs and uneven terrain while carrying the little ones. It was a very informative tour, made all the more enjoyable by the champagne tasting and purchasing at the end!

All in all, the trip was an excellent combination of sightseeing and relaxation, as well as allowing me to learn a little more about champagne than which orange juice into which it is best mixed!