Sunday, September 18, 2005

Woke up at the butt crack of dawn in order to get across town to catch my bus to Champagne. I walked a mile in the wrong direction once I got off of the metro (the sun still wasn’t up), and so I had to sprint a mile and a half in the other direction to make the bus. Luckily it hadn’t left yet, and I embarked on the 2-hour drive to Reims, the capital of the Champagne region. When I arrived, I went to the Piper-Heidsieck Caves for a tour on a little motorized car that took me through the caves and explained the process of making champagne. A tasting followed the ride, and it was divine! I then went to the center of the town of Reims and saw the second largest church in France (behind Notre Dame), which was the site of the coronation of dozens of French kings. I then attempted to find a place to eat lunch, but in a small town on a Sunday, this is hard to do. I ended up at a Turkish (I think) restaurant where I had a lamb (I think) sandwich, because that was all they offered. I then went on the bus to Epernay, another town in the region. Luckily I was able to stop on the way to take some pictures of the beautiful countryside lined with grapes. In Epernay, I went on a tour of the Moet and Chandon cellars followed by another tasting. Pictures say more than my stinky words.

I was going to buy a bottle of the 1986 vintage Dom Perringon, but for 500 euros, I though it might better be spent on an entire month’s rent. After Moet and Chandon, I boarded the bus back to Paris where it took about 3 hours (rather than the 2 it took to get there) because of Sunday afternoon traffic. I made it back to my apartment by 8pm and did some organizational stuff.

My friend Laura is visiting tomorrow! I’m meeting her at the train station after class. And I booked a flight to Glasgow in October to visit my friend Phillip.