So ever since arriving in Paris, I have all sort of French songs in my mind. The top 3 are “Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart” from the Anastasia movie, “Le Vie en Rose”, and “I Love Paris in the Spring Time” with the variation from the movie “French Kiss” where Meg Ryan sings “I Hate Paris in the Spring Time”. I don’t hate Paris, but I love that movie and it is just so cute when Meg Ryan sings that song on the plane!
We went to the Moet & Chandon cellars yesterday in Reims and did the whole guided tour. We went at the perfect time because all of the workers were off for lunch. The cellar had this beautiful chandelier in the entryway made out of 900 crystal champagne flutes. It was fabulous! Our tour guide, Susan, was from Holland and was super nice. Oddly enough, she used to be a nurse in a children’s leukemia ward in Holland, but found it too depressing. So there we were, 75 feet below street level, and there were 4 nurses (okay, 3 nurses and 1 soon-to-be nurse) walking around the wine cellars of Moet & Chandon: our tour guide, my mother-in-law, my 80 yr old grandmother-in-law (who still works at the Beaufort, SC health department once a week, thank you very much), and me!
We tasted some excellent champagnes, but our particular favorites where the Nectar Imperial, the Imperial Grand Vintage, and the Rose Imperial. Moet & Chandon also makes White Star (another favorite of ours) and Dom Perginon. Normally, I am not a big fan of walking around in the damp underground, but I actually enjoyed this little stop-over and would recommend it if you are ever in the area. It helped me appreciate how much work goes into making a simple bottle of champagne!
Today while at Versailles I was a little disappointed. Apparently Versailles is almost CONSTANTLY under construction, so big parts of it were blocked from our view by scaffolding 🙁 We did the grand guided tour that gives you access to parts of the chateau that you cannot normally see, such as the king’s private apartments, dining room, bathroom, library, and other areas. It was also worth the price and we really enjoyed it. The only downside was that Chris’ poor grandmother Rosemary felt light-headed at several points during the tour and needed to sit down. I wish that she could have enjoyed it more!
Chris and I opted not to do the train ride to Le Petit Trianon (Marie Antoinette’s private palace), and instead walked through the gardens to get there (about a 25 minute walk). I am glad we did, because we were able to see all of the beautiful fountains and greenery up close. It was amazing to think that I was walking in an area where Marie Antoinette had likely walked! We went to Le Petit Trianon and Le Grand Trianon at the end of our walk, and we stopped and ate a late lunch at La Flotillere, one of the restaurants in the Versailles gardens.
Le Petit Trianon
