This weekend marks the first of three long weekends that the month of May brings to the people of France. The holidays all fall on Tuesdays or Thursdays, and so the French have created a way to make the most of these statutory holidays. Faire le pont. It means that they generally will off the day of work that falls in between the weekend and the holiday, to make the most of a long weekend. So, Alex, Katharina, Erik and I decided to be like the French and take a trip to Champagne.
We went to Champagne last June with our lovely friends Nancy and Daryl, and had a great time. Since we are now experts, Erik and I decided that one day in Reims and one day in Epernay and Hautevillers would probably give us enough time to fully enjoy the region without breaking the bank, so off we went on Saturday morning in our (brand new!) rental car (mental note: don't rent a car next time. No one wants to drive).
The one advantage of having a car is that we were able to stop at some lovely little towns along the way, and were able to visit more of the small, independent champagne makers that sell only directly to customers.
We spent the first evening in Reims, and had a nice dinner at the Brasserie Flo on the main street. On Sunday, after visiting Reims' famous cathedral (you know, the one where all the kings used to be knighted) we set off for Hautevillers, the tiny town that houses the abbey when Dom Perignon first invented champagne. The town is also home to lots of small vintners that we had enjoyed the last time, so we paid them all a visit again after a nice picnic lunch in the vineyards.
We spent that evening in Epernay, and had some fantastic couscous for dinner, before calling it a night. Monday morning was spent on the avenue du Champagne, at the houses of Mercier (third most popular brand in France and not sold outside of Europe--or in our Monoprix, for that matter) and Moet et Chandon (best caves, and best tour).
The weather was fantastic, if a bit too hot, but luckily all the caves in the region are at a constant temperature of about 10 degrees. Plus, what's more refreshing on a hot day than a nice cold glass of champagne?
You can take a look at the pictures here.
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