Did someone say champagne?? Oh yes, we did! Our day on Thursday consisted of a wonderful day trip out to the Champagne region of France. Our guide, Remi, picked us up at the apartment around 9am and after picking up another couple, Jeff and Jen from Virginia, we were headed out of Paris!
We went to Epernay first and made a stop at Champagne de Castellane. They had a small museum inside showing the process for making champagne which we spent a few minutes viewing and then we were off on our tour. Our tour guide was a bit nervous as this was her first tour in English. We told her it would be fine and off we went. We all agreed that the biggest problem with the tour was when she was explaining part of the process outside of an area actively working with the champagne bottles. Imagine a very loud and "clinky" continuous noise while attempting to listen to an unsure English explanation. All in all, we figured out what she was telling us and thankfully the rest of the tour areas were much quieter! After the tour we tasted one of their champagne's and then Remi whisked us off to our next stop.
Next up was Lancelot Pienne in Cramant. It was in a very beautiful location with their house attached to where the wine is stored. We all agreed that it wouldn't be so bad to wake up there every morning! Gilles told us a bit about their specific champagne and then shared that our tasting would also include a few samples of the champagne through the process. First was a taste when it was "just wine" - no bubbles, not sweet, just the first step in the process. Next up was after the first fermentation - not really any bubbles this time but a sweeter version of what we had previously had. A very interesting way to learn about champagne! Our lunch stop was also here so we got to enjoy the incredible view while tasting three of Gilles champagnes and enjoying a tasty lunch.
We made a brief stop at the church where Dom Perignon was known for his wine making and then we continued on to Ludes were we stopped at Champagne Monmarthe. There we spent time with Christophe who provided not only an educational set of information, he was quite funny as well! We toured around the cellar there and also out into the vineyards while also tasting three of their champagnes. It was a day full of champagne, can you tell? A tasty day at that... :)
We arrived back at our apartment after 7pm and thankfully had our leftovers from Gambino's to heat up as we were hungry! We relexed the rest of the night and got rested up for the next day. We slept in a bit, a long day of champagne tasting wears you out, after all, and then we made a plan to head out. First we went to Sacre Coeur, the beautiful church up on the hill. There are no pictures allowed when you are inside which I continue to say is such a shame since it is quite a sight! Afternoon mass was taking place so much like our visit to Notre Dame, we got to experience the church in a different manner than if no services were taking place. We lit a few candles on our way through and tried to take it all in since we wouldn't have pictures to look at later. Then we decided to climb the 300 steps up into the dome and check out the amazing views. So worth the climb and with so few people up there we could really take our time and snap the photos we wanted!
Good thing we had read up on Rick Steves' info and website before heading to Paris as the details available about the guys who try to trick you was spot on. Thankfully we were well aware and able to avoid the scams and trouble makers! Our next stop was back near the Eiffel Tower for a champagne cruise along the Seine river. Yes, more champagne - we did buy a "Champagne Madness" package after all! The cruise was a little later than we had thought so we had some time to spare. Some chocolate crepesseem to fit the bill and give us a little snack before the champagne. Once we boarded our boat we were seated up front in a smaller, curtained off area with about 15 other people for the champagne tasting part of the ride. One champagne was from our day trip and the others were new to us but we did like the Monmarthe the best as well as the views from the river.
The lines were still very long for the Eiffel Tower so again, no going up it for us. Not sure how it is that three of the four elevators are broken at the same time, but you would think it is not very good for their business?? Anyway, we wanted to see the twinkling lights but needed some food and for it to be dark before that would happen. We found a little Italian spot for dinner and while there, camp up with a plan to head to Montparnasse Tower to view the twinkling lights. The view from the top is 59 floors up and should be good. But we almost didn't make it on time...it was our first metro experience where we took the wrong the train but it was quickly remedied and we made our way to the tower. After the long and slow moving line to buy tickets we didn't think timing would work (the lights only twinkle for about five minutes at the top of each hour) but the super fast elevator to the 56th floor and quick climb up the rest of the stairs got us there with about one minute to spare! What a gorgeous night it was with the sunset and the twinkling lights...a great way to end our day!
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