Paris & Reims

(Narrated by Justin & photo captions by Chelsy)

If you’ve been keeping up with the blog, you know that up to this point we’ve been on several trips already.  In a way, it is starting to get tiring even though it is supposed to be relaxing.  However, we decided that we have to fight the tendency to be lazy and sit around at home and to take advantage of our locations as best we could during this assignment.  With that discussion on our minds, we received an email from our neighbors in Baton Rouge saying that they were planning a trip to Paris and asked if we would like to meet up with them.  Sounded like a good reason to us!

Paris is a bit farther than the other locations we have visited so far.  Instead of having a 3 hour drive ahead of us, it was more like 6 hours.  To be able to do this trip properly by car, it was necessary for me to take off the Friday of the weekend of the trip.  So we left Friday morning from Cologne, ready for another exciting European road trip.

The drive to Paris was mostly uneventful other than the fact that we had to pay a couple of tolls along the way.  This was a very confusing system as people were always going in the wrong lanes and backing up and switching lanes.  Luckily we chose the right lane, but unfortunately the toll was about 14 Euros, or 18-19 US dollars!  That’s pretty ridiculous but we paid it and moved on.

While we (thankfully) have navigation in the car, and have managed
to switch it to English every time (!) we still take
some good 'ole Google Map directions with us. 

We're right on track!

It was so amusing, we had to take pictures to document it.

Drivers were backing up and cutting others off.

Seriously people!

Phew! Well, give Justin all the credit, really. :)

Since we normally park in parking garages in the city, I insisted that we get a parking garage for the Paris trip that is somewhat outside the center so I don’t have to fight traffic. Chelsy reserved a nice parking garage just outside the 20^th arrondissement in Paris.  We found the garage after being stuck in a bit of city traffic, and then we set off on foot to explore.

Our hotel was at the Republique metro stop, which is a less popular area than normal central Paris but still very nice.  After checking in and receiving a free drink voucher (score!), we took off on foot to find a particular store that Chelsy had wanted to go to.  The store is called Merci and is pretty cool.  It’s hard to even explain what they sell, but I guess it is house items mostly.

Republique Square

Entrance to the Crown Plaza Republique in December

After buying a gift for Kegan (hopefully he can’t read this yet!) that she had her eye on, we went back to the hotel so we could meet our Baton Rouge neighbors for dinner.  They came to our hotel and it was great to see them and catch up for a bit.  We all left after a few minutes of chatting to go find a good place for dinner.

For dinner, we took a metro to Le Marais area of Paris, and walked around a bit looking for a particular restaurant they had already seen.  When we found it, the restaurant was full and we could not get a table (common in Paris without a reservation).  We walked a bit further down the street and found a nice, quiet place to have a good meal.  Much wine and conversation ensued and we had a very good dinner and time spent with our neighbors.

Looking for a romantic way to say I love you in Paris?
These 'love locks'  with couples' names cover the bridges in Paris.
The lock with the names, together with throwing the padlock's key
into the water below represents the couples' love for each other.
 Considering it was their anniversary, our neighbors showed
us the lock they put on the bridge the night before.  

Pretty impressive that they found it again!
This is only about a 4 foot section. 

Finishing off our evening together with a few pictures
 in front of the tree and the Notre Dame Cathedral 

And one of all four of us. Our neighbors are
awesome and we always have a great time with them.
(Did you notice that he's even sporting his Maker's Mark hat?!)

After the meal and saying our goodbyes for the night (we were planning on meeting with them Saturday as well), Chelsy and I took a metro towards the Champs Elysees so we could see what a French Christmas market would be like.  While the market was huge (stretched most of the Champs Elysees), we were a bit disappointed that it looked a bit cheap and commercial.  The Christmas markets in Germany look very rustic and each booth looks like winter cabins (there will probably be a Christmas market post up soon).  After walking around the market for a bit, we took the metro back to the hotel so we could get some rest for a semi early day Saturday.

The Champs Elysees lit up at night with Christmas lights

You say "vin chaud", I say "glüwein" Po-ta-to/Po-tat-o

This market was like a carnival, with a huge slide
set up right next to the Champ Elysees!

And a ferris wheel.

Unfortunately, this is as close to the Eiffel Tower that we got
on this trip, since it was such a quick one.
I can only imagine it decked out in holiday decor!

Here's what happens after a long day's drive combined with walking around the streets of Paris will do to you (oh, and a little wine from dinner too)… a little craziness on the midnight metro ride!

Our neighbors had expressed an interest in doing some champagne tours in the Champagne region of France on Saturday of their trip.  Since Chelsy and I had never been to the region (and had seen most of the typical sights in Paris), we thought this sounded like a great idea.  Even better was that I could drive to the Champagne region and back and save a lot of money for everyone on train tickets.

They came to our hotel around 9 AM ready for the road trip.  We were ready as well so we took off towards the car.  I don’t think we knew this going in, but the drive to the Champagne region may have been one of the best parts of the weekend.  It’s exactly like you might imagine from a postcard.  Rolling hills of vineyards in all directions and quiet little villages on the hilltops.  It was very nice and I recommend it.

The first champagne house that we toured was Castellane which was in Epernay.  This company was much smaller than some of the other champagne tours we did later in the day.  We had a very helpful tour guide give us a private (I guess we were the only 4 people who would do this in December) tour of their production site followed by the tasting at the end.  Overall, it was a very fun experience and Chelsy and I bought two bottles of champagne.

We booked the English tour at 10AM and were the only
four there-- it was like a private tour. 

Pictures weren't allowed in the caves (where the champagne is
made and stored) so these are a couple from the lobby. 

The next place scheduled was Pommery in Reims.  Before going to Pommery, we parked in Reims to have a walk around.  We stumbled upon their Christmas market and we got our first French gluhwein (they call it vin chaud).  It was a nice market area (probably better than Paris).  We had a quick lunch and headed to Pommery champagne house.

This Christmas Market was more German-like but still,
the hot wine, chaud vin, wasn't as good
as the glüwein we enjoyed in Deutschland!

We made it to Pommery but had just missed the English tour.  We decided to make lemonade out of lemons (champagne out of grapes?) in this situation.  We weren’t able to do the factory tour, but instead we just went straight to the bar and got samples of each of their 4 champagne varieties.  This ranges from their Brut ($50 a bottle) up to their nicest vintage ($160 a bottle).  I can’t speak for everyone else, but while I could taste a bit of a difference, it wasn’t big enough to warrant an extra $110 per bottle.  Nonetheless, it was a fun experience.

Driving up to Vranken-Pommery Estates. It's right in the
middle of Reims, and although we didn't see it in person,
if you google satellite view, you can even see vineyards just
behind the main building on the estate! I thought this
was cool for being right in the middle of town!

A look back from the main building entrance is the
 drive way from the main road. Quite regal if you ask me. 

The main building. Very unique construction
material/color choices. 

After the woman who checked us in for the tour took our
money and THEN told us we were too late for the tour,
we swapped out the tour costs for one of their best samplings.
Surprisingly, the best tasting, we thought, was one of the cheaper ones. 

POP is their "Product of Pommery" line that comes in mini bottles 

Their lobby had a bit more to see than 
Castellane's during your tasting.

Just for some perspective, that was a huge barrel!

And this, a huge bottle! 

Perspective, eh?

This was a cute little antique BMW, I guess it was Santa's (?)

And this… well, obviously it's an elephant
doing a trunk stand.

The entrance to the 'caves' which like all
Champagne Houses, meander for kilometers
underground for making and aging the signature libations.

Lastly, we went to G.H. Mumm.  We were able to join a tour of their facilities, but we were with a bigger group.  The tour was very similar to the first tour we saw, but of course there was a tasting at the end as well.  The tasting was a lot of fun, and we may have even grabbed an extra champagne flute and drank it by accident.  However, the varieties they offered here were very expensive, so we just grabbed the cheapest bottle they offered and bought it to take back to Cologne with us.

Another huge bottle, the only perspective in
this shot, is the base of the marble stairway
 in the background!

The lobby of G.H. Mumm was more like a museum
lobby, or a fancy living room.
 I LOVE a nice mosaic, and these were awesome!

I should have taken a closer shot to show the detail of this mosaic.

This 'wine rack' as most people use them as today, is a
historical storing method for champagne, where the
settling occurred.  And behind it on the wall,
another beautiful mosaic. 

The different sized bottles for champagne production.
Only a few sizes are still used today.

This cave had fun red lighting and neat iron
chandeliers with 'candlesticks'. 

This is a shot behind the barred gate of some vintage bottles
that are used only for testing by the taste-masters. The three rows
on the right side of this picture are dated 1895!

I'd lock up vintage bottles that old too.

An old basket conveyer/elevator mechanism.
These are real caves, mildewy and moldy--
check out the green/gray baskets!
(Glad we don't have mold allergies.)

I enjoyed seeing the antique tools used before all
of the present-day automation. This was a barrel scale.

\

I believe this was the former way to cover the
cork with the metal cap and wire.

These are used today to store wine, but their original
purpose was to tilt the bottles while settling for weeks
and being turned slowly over several months to allow
the sediment to collect in the neck of the bottle. It took many
many man-hours and caused plenty the back problems for
those unlucky enough to have this job.

Looking back at the tasting room at the end
of the G.H.Mumm Estate tour.

Given the time of day, we decided as a group to eat dinner in Reims.  We want back to the square with the Christmas market that we visited for lunch, and found a nice steakhouse type place that would seat us.  Again, wine was had and good conversations ensued.  Definitely one of those nights you remember.  After dinner, we took a stroll to the Reims cathedral, where several French kings have been crowned.  We walked through the cathedral and the rest of Reims a bit more, and then we drove back to Paris. 

The Notre Dam of Reims looks identical to that
of the most-famous one in Paris. I'm not sure if you
can notice or not, but this kid was picking his nose,
staring right at me while attempting this shot.
He would not get out of the way!

Inside the Notre Dam in Reims, France 

In the entryway of the cathedral, was a light 'maze'
projecting onto the floor. Of course,
 Justin had to take on the challenge. 

I've been inside a lot of cathedrals, but these colorful
candles were so pretty!

 Back to the Christmas Market…

I can't recall if I've ever seen a double decker Merry-Go-Round!

Now that's an apple! ("Pommes" is French for apple.)

This place was far from the Neatherlands and Ireland and
it's name far from making me want to eat there…
"The Glue Pot"?!
That makes me think 'stick to your ribs'… no thanks!

These Christmas markets are hopping!

Of course they'll pop lots of champagne in Reims, France
for New Years. But probably not the cheap
stuff like most of the rest of the world, either. 

Once we returned to Paris, we didn’t realize (consciously at least) that our garage had a closing time after which we could not enter, no matter what.  We came to the garage and were locked out, and I tried to converse with him in French (he knew zero English) on the intercom, but it was to no avail.  We just found another garage and parked there for the night.  Lesson learned I guess.  After parking, we said goodbye to our neighbors and then we went our separate ways.

The next morning, we had some time before we had to leave for Cologne, so we went somewhere I had always wanted to go in Paris but had not had the chance:  Musee D’Orsay.  It is the second most popular museum in Paris behind the Louvre.  It has several famous pieces of art included several Van Gogh pieces you have likely seen before.  While the art was nice, what I really liked about the place is the design and architecture of the museum itself.  It is a very nice museum and it is a joy just to walk around it and to spend the day.  Not bad for 8 euros or so.

Our walk to the museum on this beautiful fall Sunday!

This is it! Take note of the large clock.
This museum is a former train station.

The building itself was a piece of work-- stunning.
It was recently remodeled and was as
beautiful as some of the art on exhibit. 

A closer look at the clock inside that would have
greeted travelers as they disembarked from
 their trains into the station. 

Note that large clock visible from the outside--
this is it! There was a line for pictures straight on,
so we got this one from the side. It was amazing.
You could see out the middle part if you tippy-toed.

A view from the level with the clock
(not through the clock or I would
have stepped into someone's picture).

After the Musee D’Orsay, we concluded our time in Paris with a quick trip to Galeries Lafayette to do a bit of Christmas shopping.  We bought several stocking stuffers and food-related gifts for our family.  We also had lunch there as well.  We ended up leaving Galeries Lafayette by 2 or 3 in the afternoon and heading back to Cologne. 

The center of Galleries Laffayette is beautiful,
even bare, but the holiday decor made it
magical!

Oh, we tried to stop by Willie's Wine Bar before
our trip to Galleries, but it was closed.
One day we'll make it there Josh-- one day!

The drive out of town, back towards Cologne.

I can imagine living here!

Such a beautiful street we drove out of town on.

Au Revoir Paris. Bonne nuit!

The drive back was fairly uneventful and we got back around 8:30 PM Sunday night.  That gave me about 2 hours to rest and unwind before getting some sleep for the workweek. Oh well, it was worth it!  This was our last big trip until the big Christmas travel to Boston, MA.  It will be nice to travel back to the US and be with our family for Christmas.