Sophistivacation

Our flight home wasn't until late so we decided to spend as long as possible in Epernay. We had a leisurely breakfast in the hotel, before checking out at noon. Our baggage was super heavy so we left it with reception and went on our way. First stop Champagne Perrier-Jouet - they definitely had the most beautiful glasses on the Avenue. It was also around 30 degrees again, so we huddled under an umbrella in the garden trying to decide what else to do for the rest of the day. Given that we still had to get home, we thought we better take it easy on the Champagne so decided to go to the  Museum  of Champagne Wine and Regional Archaeology.  The museum is based in Château Perrier, a historic monument and former home of champagne merchants. It was actually really interesting and we learned a few more bits about making Champagne, maybe we could attempt Scottish Sparkling Wine? We had time for one last glass, so decided to go back to Champagne Elodie D. I say one glass, but ...

We spent three wonderful nights at Champagne André Bergère, but it was time to pack our bags and head to Château d'Étoges. Unfortunately, we couldn't check-in until 4pm so we decided to visit a little village about 4km from Epernay. So the question was, how best to get there? The answer, an electric bike! We rented a bike and helmet each and set out to Pierry and to Champagne Vollereaux; it was quite terrifying, especially as we were on the road and neither of us are confident cyclists, but we made it. Electric bikes are great btw, you just cycle and it pulls you along like you are on a tow rope. We left our bikes in the Champagne house courtyard and got ready for the tour which included a champagne and chocolate tasting; this was another which was recommended by Emily and rightly so. We got a mini-tour around the Champagne house before sitting down to enjoy the pairing. The champagne was fantastic so we decided to buy a bottle to take home. Clearly after a few champagnes, we ...

The end of July meant only one thing - we were off to Epernay to drink lots of Champagne! I've been wanting to visit the Champagne region for a number of years, so my 40th birthday was the perfect excuse.  On 19th July, we flew Air France from Edinburgh to Paris Charles de Gaulle; we were supposed to have plenty of time to get into central Paris and walk to the Gare de l'Est so that we could get the train to Epernay, but that changed when our flight was over 2 hours late leaving Edinburgh. After clearing customs and picking up our luggage, we jumped on a train to the Gare du Nord, which was also delayed. By the time we arrived in the centre of Paris, we had 15 minutes to get on the train and it was 37 degrees! We ran with our cases, sweating buckets, but we made it, with a massive 2 minutes to spare!  (If we hadn't made the train, we would have missed out on a Champagne house tour and a relaxing afternoon in Epernay.) We arrived into Epernay, and walked to the Avenue de Cha...