After breakfast, we checked out and bid adieu to Épernay. As it’s a fairly long ride to Chablis, we thought that breaking it up would be good. We decided to stop about midway at the Medieval village of Provins.
Provins is said to be one of the most beautiful medieval towns in France, with its architecture and well preserved ramparts that were constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries. Walking along the winding streets among half-timbered buildings makes you feel like you stepped back in time. Of course, nowadays you don’t have to watch where you walk as there aren’t many animals that parade through town.
In the olden days, Provins was a center for international trade fairs. Today, it relies on tourist dollars to keep the coffers filled.
Port to enter the village.
Sadly, we had a rainy day. Not a light drizzle, but intermittent downpours. And though it wasn’t brimming with people, there were still some tourists shuffling down the streets looking miserable – just like us.
We did duck into a nice cafe for a bite of lunch. The food was good and it gave us a chance to dry off a little bit.
Cesar Keep
We only spent a little over two hours there as we still had a ways to drive to get to Chablis. The town really is quaint and charming, it would have been much nicer on a sunny day, but you can’t win them all. It was definitely a good choice for our midway stop.
Paris was delightful, as always. Lots of fun, lots of people and a museum or two, plus some delicious meals. However it was time to move on.
We booked a ride from Paris to Reims to avoid any possibility of a rail strike affecting our plans. We used Daytrip for the ride as they did a splendid job for us in Italy last year. The driver arrived right on time to pick us up at our hotel and off we went.
The journey took about 1hr 45 min and was comfortable, with pleasant scenery. When we arrived in Reims, he dropped us off right at the Hertz office, which made things easy.
We had to wait a few minutes as they were closed for lunch, but once they returned, the paperwork was quick to complete. We ended up with a mid-sized Citroën that was really nice – great deep blue color too.
Driving from Reims to Épernay was fairly quick and easy. The only thing you need to get used to are the roundabouts. They keep the traffic flowing, but can be a pain if you’re not sure of your exit. Once we arrived in Épernay, the real fun started – parking the car. It took several trips around the block to find a space and then a tense few minutes to parallel park, thanks to the traffic.
We stayed at the Hotel Jean Möet, which was both nice and convenient. The rooms were comfortable and very clean, with a nice big walk-in shower.
Hotel Jean MoëtExcellent shower
Once we were checked in and situated, we took a walk down the Avenue of Champagnes.
Avenue de Champagne
We passed by some of the more familiar big champagne houses – Moët et Chandon and Perrier-Jouët and then stopped at Domaine Collard-Picard. Most have tours available, but we just opted to enjoy our own tasting with a glass or two as we stopped and soaked in the ambience.
The staff at Domaine Collard-Picard were very friendly and explained what we were drinking. The Brut Rosé was mouthwatering and refreshing. They have a nice courtyard area where you can relax with your champagne.
Domaine Collard-Picard
We stopped at a Cafe to grab a little something to eat. Sue and I thought we’d share a charcuterie board, but it turned out to be gigantic. Much bigger than we expected, as it was supposed to be a snack. Jan and Dave both had pasta dishes, as they weren’t planning on going out for dinner later.
Dinner was at a local restaurant called Le P’tit Champenois. The restaurant wasn’t fancy, but they were quite busy and the food was good. We enjoyed our meal and then took a slow walk back to the hotel.
Sue’s pork chopTom’s duck breastWe both had the Tiramisu Speculoos
The next morning, Wednesday, we took a ride to visit the Abbey and tomb of Dom Perignon in Hautvillers. It was just a 5.5 km drive from our hotel. Driving over, we were provided with a beautiful view across the vineyards. When we arrived, our first stop was a visit to the Abbasant Church of Saint Sindulphe of Hautvillers. It was a simple church, not too large and inside was the tomb of Dom Perignon – the friar who discovered champagne.
Conveniently located right across from the Abbey was the Caveau ChampagneJM Gobillard et Fils. How better to pay our respects to the discoverer of champagne than by toasting to him. I’m sure he’d appreciate it!
It was a nice tasting room and started our afternoon off right. Their champagne is very good and reasonably priced. We all enjoyed it.
Our new Patron Saint
Next, we made a short drive to the town of Monthelon for a tasting at Domaine Julien Chopin. Along the way, the scenery was beautiful.
Vineyards on the way to Monthelon
The day was beautiful and we had our tasting, which included a meat and cheese board in their courtyard. They are a small family run domaine and their champagnes were delicious. That always spells trouble as case number one was ordered for shipping home.
Our tasting board.The courtyard
We had a chance to see a little bit of the town as we walked back to the car park.
Church in Monthelon
We returned back to the hotel and once again had to anguish over parking. This time, as I was getting my parking permit from the machine, Parking Enforcement Staff (they travel in a pack of three) came down the street and were going to ticket us. A little bit of charm helped avoid the ticket and the woman even helped me to get a parking permit from the machine. That was a close call.
A last minute reservation glitch forced a change to our dinner plans. Our new place was the Brasserie de la Banque and probably was the better choice for us anyway. The building was formerly a bank and the interior was beautifully redesigned. The meals were all superb as was the wine, and the prices were very reasonable.
It was a great way to finish up our brief stay in Épernay. Tomorrow, we leave for Chablis.
No manic Monday here… just an interesting day of art, a visit to to 12th arrondissement and finishing off with dinner at Willi’s. Quelle belle journée!
We met up in the hotel lobby after breakfast. The plan was to take the Metro, so we walked over to the station to begin the journey. Our first stop was at the Grand Palais Immersif for the ‘Éternel Mucha’ Exhibition. The Grand Palais Immersif is located close to the Bastile and near the Gare de Lyon.
We arrived a little early, so we walked around for a bit. In that immediate area, there were the Arsenal Boat docks, the memorial statue where the infamous Bastille prison once stood, and an outdoor art exhibit related to women’s equality, domestic abuse sufferers and minority women.
After walking around, it was time for the doors to open, so we moseyed back to line up at the entrance.
The exhibit told the story of Alphonse Mucha’s artistic style, from his place in the Art Nouveau movement to his creative graphic arts style. I had often seen and admired his work without knowing much about the artist.
The exhibit started off with a multi-media presentation in the main salon. It featured many of his works along with the story of how his style evolved and changed over the years.
Pull up a pillow or grab a seat.
After the main presentation, we walked through halls and small rooms where specific features were highlighted, such as his studio, models and photography. Following along the path, you next came up to a display of various examples of his posters -be they for shows or advertising products.
Sarah Bernhardt loved Mucha’s styling.
There was then a display of some modern instances where the Mucha style has been used – mostly in Japanese Hentai.
Leaving the venue, we walked a short distance over to the Viaduct Des Arts, but before exploring we opted for a little lunch and a beverage. We stopped at a place called La Botaniste that worked out perfectly. It was just enough to tide us over to dinner and the beverages were refreshing.
Feeling sated, we ventured over to the artisans. The individual workshops and stores are built into the arches of what was originally a railroad bridge. There were about fifty artisan shops specializing in crafts of all types – jewelry, ceramics, fashion and perfumes among other things. It was really interesting and was in a section of town we had not seen in previous visits. The only problem: most of the shops were closed on Monday.
But that didn’t take away from the walk through the area.
Our next step was to find a Metro Station to head back to the hotel. We ended up back at the Bastille station and fifteen minutes later, we were back at our Saint Germain des Pres station. The short walk back to the hotel left us with plenty of time to relax before dinner.
For our final dinner in Paris, we chose Willi’s Wine Bar. We had 7:30 pm reservations and instead of grabbing cabs, we took the bus over. Sue mapped out our route and we already had Navigo passes, so it would be a new experience. It turned out to be an easy experience. We only had to ride the bus for four stops and then walk for another two blocks before we arrived.
Willi’s is an icon. We first visited way back in 1996 thanks to due diligence by our friend Dave. That’s when we started collecting the posters that are now the basis for our home decor. We’ve been back a few times since then and it’s always special.
So on this night, we introduced Jan and Dave to Willi’s and shared a great evening with them.
Bienvenue – Welcome to Willi’s
The wines are always great there and we started with a bottle of Chablis with our appetizers. Since three of us were having Guinea fowl for our main plates, the bartender suggested a Corsican red wine that matched perfectly.
Desserts were also delicious. We had a rich chocolate terrine and also almond-praline tarts. They were all heavenly.
Almond and praline tart
Now, happy and full, we made our way out and back to the bus stop. It had rained while we were eating, but it stopped before we walked over. The ride home only took a few minutes and in the blink of an eye, we were back at the hotel.
These first few days in Paris flew by, and next we’re off to Èpernay. Break out the champagne flutes and we’ll meet you there.
A good night’s sleep is the perfect way to start off the weekend and banish the jet lag.
Jan and Dave were meeting up with a travel friend of theirs and going to have lunch at Bouillon Racine. It’s a very nice restaurant located near our hotel.
Sue and I went to lunch at a small restaurant called Chez Germain. It had been recommended as a charming place with really good food that was frequented by neighborhood people. Well, that recommendation was spot on.
Sue had a delicious Sole Meunière lunch special, while I went with the old dependable Duck Confit with potatoes fried in the duck fat. It may not have been the healthiest choice on the menu, but it was oh so good! For dessert, I ordered a molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream – and two spoons! Two thumbs up for Chez Germain.
We had taken the Metro to get there, then to see some sights around the area, we walked back to the hotel.
Our walk just so happened to take us by the shop of Jacques Genin. You mean Jacques Genin the master of chocolate and caramels and fruit pastes? Yes, that’s the one!
We stopped in and bought a selection of caramels and some chocolates to sample. I promise to let you know what they were all like along the way. For now, I can report that the mango and pistachio caramels were incredible.
Fruit Pastis
It was a nice walk, though it was also humid, so it felt good to get back to the hotel to cool down. Sue even managed to sneak in a little nap.
Our lunch was enough to carry us through, so we opted to skip having dinner. Instead, we snacked on granola bars before getting ready to go out.
Tonight we were going to the Church of Saint Germain des Prés for a chamber music concert featuring ‘Orchestre Hélios’. We were looking forward to going, as the sound is so good inside of the big old churches. For this concert, they were playing various selections from several different composers.
The quartet of three violins and a cello were joined by a virtuoso violinist after playing three selections. They were very good and seemed to be enjoying themselves. A stirring rendition of Pachabel’s Canon and equally rousing Habanera from Carmin by Bizet were early highlights.
Mozart or Charlie Daniels?
Later, when joined by virtuoso Glen Rouxel, they soared playing Vivaldi’s Winter and Les Airs Bohemians by de Sarasate. It was a wonderful evening of beautiful music. Though off to the side, we were seated in the first row of this inspirational church and with your eyes closed you were transported back to the 1500’s – minus the plague.
Afterwards, we walked back to the hotel, with Sue and I stopping off at Le Pres de Clercs for a nightcap. It was a nice night to be outside and people watching while sipping a nice glass of Saint Veran.
A slow stroll back to the hotel was a perfect end to the evening.
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Sunday morning saw us enjoying a light breakfast with Jan before going out for a walk. David, our early riser, had already been out and about for an hour or so.
Our walk took us through a little more of Saint Germain des Prés before veering off towards the Seine. We crossed over the Pont des Arts and when we reached the other side, we were greeted by a peculiar orchestra of brass instruments.
Art on the Pont des Arts
We ducked into the Samartaine department store to check it out. In all the years we’ve been traveling to Paris, it has never been open, but we always saw the sign shining at night. So after years of rehab work, we finally saw the inside. The refurbished store was quite beautiful and the little details were done quite well. It’s an upscale store that I hope will have a long life.
Happy little croissants.
As we were exiting the store, there seemed to be a ruckus on the side street. The band was still playing their slightly off key tunes as a cavalcade of skate boarders were ending a fun run. Dressed in costumes and weaving down the street, long boards, skateboards even a couple of uni boards went whizzing by.
We watched for a few minutes, before heading in the opposite direction. We ended up going around the store and up Rue Rivoli before cutting through the Louvre’s military courtyard. We continued on until we reached the exit, which pointed us back to the Pont des Arts and our return across the river.
Returning to the hotel, we sat and rested for a while – both feeling warm and sweaty due to the humidity. We went in after a little bit and both took a nice refreshing shower to cool off before cleaning up for dinner.
Dinner was at Le Train Bleu. It’s an iconic restaurant located in the Gare d’Lyon train station. The Gare d’Lyon was the train station that the rich folks would use for their travels to the south of France, so the decor was quite elaborate and the food was top notch as they prepared for their journeys.
Our cab arrived and we were off. There were still many people out and about, though the squeaky band from earlier wasn’t following us. The area around the station was busy with cabs dropping folks off and picking people up.
We had a little time before our reservation and used it to wander around and to verify our metro passes. We then looked around for the restaurants grand staircase. A little walk to the left, then a little walk to the right and we couldn’t locate it. It turned out that we were standing in front of it the entire time. Unfortunately, it was hidden behind a temporary wall and scaffolding. Our grand entrance ended up being metal stairs in a dull walkway. C’est la vie!
Inside the restaurant, it shined in all it’s glory: beautiful paintings, chandeliers and ornate decorations throughout the dining room. Crushed velvet chairs and banquets in the sitting rooms had your eyes darting all over the rooms to find the next appealing feature.
We sat in one of the lounges and had a pre-dinner drink, then headed to our table for dinner.
Dinner was not a rushed affair by any means. The menu allowed choices of designed meals – both small or elaborate, plus a la carte options. It turned out that we had three ‘roasted leg of lamb’ and one ‘chicken fricassée’. The lamb was tender and delicious, the chicken was not as good a choice.
Dessert time came and Sue went with the Chocolate soufflé, Dave had a strawberry charlotte, and I wanted a show, so I ordered the crepes Suzette.
Bah! Who needs eyebrows anyway.Mmm…. Grand Marnier
And yes, we did have wine. Started with a bottle of Domaine Olivieri Chablis, followed by a bottle of Aloxe-Corton. Both were excellent.
Unbeknownst to us, it had been raining pretty hard while we dined. Add to the rain a full train had just arrived so taxis were a short commodity. We decided to take the metro back to the hotel and made it back pretty quickly. Two trains over a total of eight stops, plus the rain was over before we came back to topside.
In summation, we had another nice day in Paris.
Double summation, the weekend was busy in the city. People were out in force and having a grand time in the museums, parks and streets. No fireworks and free wine, but Heritage Days were a success.
The end of summer is sneaking up on us, but we won’t be home to see it. After months of planning, the time has arrived to enjoy our vacation in France. We made some minor tweaks to the itinerary and now we’ll see how all that effort works out.
With the excitement skyrocketing, we were brought back to earth with news of a strike by the French Air Traffic Controllers on the day of our arrival. So right off the bat, we had a lingering dark cloud. There’s a Bart Simpson quote that immediately came to mind, but we tried to stay positive.
On Wednesday, the news came out that the strike had been averted as the result of an agreement that had been agreed upon by the parties. Mini high-fives were exchanged, via telephone, and we were back on track. Yay!
So with the excitement building once again, our friends arrived to pick us up to head to the airport in Toronto. We were able to book a direct flight from Toronto’s Pearson Airport to Paris’ Charles De Gaulle Airport at a good fare; couple that with a nice exchange rate and it was an excellent deal. After sliding the luggage into the trunk, the four of us set off to begin our adventure.
With the afternoon traffic, it took us a little over two hours to arrive at the car park. The shuttle dropped us off at the terminal to complete our check-in and drop off our bags. Next came the security line, which is always a pain, but it actually moved along fairly quickly.
Since we were flying business class, we were able to take advantage of the lounge before our flight. This is a really nice bonus from Air Canada. We’re not talking a couple of cookies and a coke, we’re talking full entrees complete with wine or drinks. It was delicious, but we tried not to overdo it since there is a meal served on the flight.
The flight from Toronto to Paris went well. Air Canada’s business class is nice. The seats are comfortable and the area around the seat doesn’t feel confining. The have good entertainment selections and the flight attendants were friendly and attentive.
The food service was also good. It’s a shame we had the bigger meal at the airport lounge because our meal was very good. The wine selections were also nice. No complaints from me!
As for the flight, it was smooth most of the way with just a few minutes of light turbulence. We had a tail wind, which made the already fast feeling flight be literally faster. We arrived in Paris about thirty-five minutes early.
We have arrived!
Image from Willi’s Wine Bar email
Once we deplaned, we were transported to passport control where, amazingly, we breezed through in less than five minutes. It only took another ten minutes to gather our luggage and pass through customs. Wow!
We snagged a taxi that could take all four of us and we headed to the city. Since it was early, we were caught in some commuter traffic and the beginning of a lot of construction. It took a little over an hour, but it was nice to arrive at the hotel.
Our first hotel of the trip was located in Paris’ 6th arrondisement, the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area to be more exact. The Hôtel des Marronniers is an inviting hotel, tucked away in a courtyard off of Rue Jacob. Stepping through the entrance, you’re greeted by their garden walkway. Unfortunately, since it was a bit too early to check-in, we could only drop off our luggage.
An overnight flight and the time change does create a disturbance in the force, so the first day is always a ‘take it easy’ kind of day. We went for a little walk around the neighborhood to get the lay of the land. There are quite a few art and antique galleries in the area, a couple of close by restaurants, a few hotels and some other small businesses. We ended up trying one of the cafes – Cafe Bonaparte for a quick bite.
Though check-in time was 3:00 pm, we went back to the hotel a bit past 1:00 pm and our rooms were available, The interior is charming and the rooms, while not huge, are very comfortable and well appointed.
A little nap? Oui!
For our first dinner, we went to Le Bistro de Paris. It was just a ten minute walk from our hotel and it was an interesting place. There has been a restaurant in that location since 1848, with this incarnation having been opened in 1965 by Raymond and Michel Oliver of Le Grand Véfour.
Our first meal in ParisDinner @ Le Bistrot de Paris
We had a scrumptious meal featuring Duck Confit for three of us and a Chicken Fricasee, We paired it with a bottle of Givry 1er Cru burgundy that was delightful. We then ordered a Chocolate Mousse with four spoons provided by the waiter. The wait staff were all wonderful. They were very professional, but also fun and kept the evening light and enjoyable.
We took the short stroll back to the hotel and hit the pillows pretty quickly. It didn’t take long to fall asleep after the long day.
Over the weekend, the 40th European Heritage Days celebration will be taking place. I was hoping for fireworks and free wine, but alas, it means free workshops and admission to most of the museums. You may save a few Euros, but you have to deal with mobs of people, especially children. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
It’s hard to believe how fast the year is going. Just a short while and we’ll be on our way.
Once we had the itinerary firmed up, we were able to purchase tickets and plan tours. Besides just enjoying ourselves in Paris, we will be attending an art exhibit and a chamber music concert.
The art exhibit will be at the Grand Palais Immersif and is called “Eternal Mucha”. It will feature the artwork of Alphonse Mucha, who was a key figure in the Art Nouvelle Movement.
The concert will be held at the Church of Saint-Germain Des Pres. A beautiful church that was originally built in the 11th century and happens to be about a block away from our hotel. The concert will be a String Quartet playing selections from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”, Caccini’s Ave Maria, Debussy, Mozart, Bizet and Puccini. I love concerts like this, especially when played in a beautiful location.
After making arrangements for an automobile, we have our driving plans laid out too. We tried to optimize our driving directions to be able to see some additional small towns and sights as we make our way between locations. Our main routes will be navigating from Èpernay to Chablis, and then from Chablis to Beaune. We’ll also be driving around to visit some wineries, check out some historic locations and seek out fabulous meals.
In Èpernay, we’ll be visiting a few different champagne houses. Small, medium and large houses are located in and around the city, so we’ll have many places to choose from.
Chablis, located in the Yvonne region, offers up a chance to not only visit wineries, but also a couple of nearby towns.
Once we arrive in Beaune, there are so many interesting places to visit. The area has everything you could want and we want to experience as much as possible – while keeping it relaxed.
While we don’t know the exact model of our vehicle, we do know that it will be comfortable enough for four. That’s good, as we’ll definitely be driving the “Route des Grand Crus”. The “Route des Grands Crus” passes through the most prestigious part of Burgundy’s vineyards, and runs from Dijon through Beaune and then on to Santenay. That means we’ll have the opportunity to visit any of the 37 wine villages and the many wineries – both prestigious and the more humble.
I won’t spill the beans on specifics now, as that’s the fun of the blog for me. I will say that my travel mates and I are all looking forward to a wonderful holiday.
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So here are a couple newsworthy items for future planning:
It looks like Americans will need to get an E-Visa to travel to Europe beginning in 2024. The ETIAS program is currently scheduled to go into effect in November 2023, though there is talk of a 6 month grace period. You can check out the requirements at theETIAS website, where you can also sign-up online and pay your fee using the link on the site. It will cost about $8 and will be good for three years or until your passport expires.
Bad behavior by throngs of tourists are causing many towns to take actions. Popular tourist towns such as Portofino, Sorrento, Venice and Rome are fining people for their behaviors. Not just little fines either, 50 – 500 Euro are shocking tourists into changing their ways. Penalizing stupidity and entitlement is not a bad thing, in my opinion – especially when it makes travel better for everyone else.
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So that’s all for now. The next update will be to say we’re on our way.
Et pour une certaine personne: Pour répondre à ta question. Oui, j’étudie mon français et ça se passe bien.
This should be an awesome journey. We’ll be traveling with good friends, visiting some wonderful places, seeing some beautiful sites, eating delicious foods and drinking some terrific wines. If I were to predict the future, I think I would see fun, laughter and a calorie or two!
We will be starting in Paris and will be staying in the 6th arrondissement. The hotel location will be central to the places we want to visit, as well as convenient to the Metro and Taxi stands. We’ll be close to some small museums, a park, churches, restaurants and two chocolate shops – Perfect!
After a few days in the French capitol, we will be grabbing a train and heading to the Champagne region. It may be schmalzy, but Don Ho had it right when he sang: 🎶 “Tiny bubbles, in the wine, make me happy, make me feel fine”. 🎶
Whether celebrating, sharing with friends or just because, it’s hard to not enjoy some bubbly. We’ll be going to the heart of the Champagne region to explore and taste a few different champagnes to see the subtle differences between the champagne houses. Mind you, it’s strictly for research purposes.
To learn about and taste some white wines, the town of Chablis will be our first stop. It looks like a perfect place to relax and soak in some culture. The town is surrounded by vineyards and some wonderful wineries are in easy walking distance from our hotel. In fact, we are literally right across the street from Domaine LaRoche.
As with most white wines from the Burgundy region, chardonnay grapes take center stage in the vineyards. The soil and cool climate make the area a perfect place to grow chardonnay grapes. For you history buffs: 150,000,000 years ago, the entire area was an inland sea. There are two main soil types in the area. One is called Kimmeridgian Marl, and is predominantly limestone, clay and fossilized oyster shells. The other type is Portlandian soil, and it is also clay and limestone, but with fewer fossils.
There is no blending of grapes in Chablis or Burgundy. The taste differences are mainly due to the characteristics of the area in which the grapes are grown. This is also called the ‘terroir’. The soil, the slope of the vineyards, the amount of sunshine and the wind all play into the smell and taste of the wines. The winemaking process may be slightly different between wineries, but only slightly.
While visiting Chablis, we will be within easy driving distance of some interesting towns. Perfect for daytime excursions while allowing us to return to Chablis for dinner. We are still deciding, but I would imagine you’ll be reading about Auxerre, Avallon, Saulieu, Noyers-Sur-Serein and the Vezelay Abbey come the fall.
After leaving Chablis, we’ll head southeast to the Cote d’Or where instead of Chablis, we’ll be tasting White Burgundy. Same grape, just a different taste profile. The best white burgundies come from the Cote de Beaune and the Macon in the south of Burgundy. These wines are found under a variety of different names: Bourgogne Blanc, Pouilly-Fuisse, Meursault and Montrachet are just a few of them. Whatever you call them, they are still Chardonnay and they are darn good!
But just to break the rules a little bit, we also plan on tasting at least one or two Aligoté wines while we’re in the area. Aligoté is a cousin to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, makes delicious wines and usually costs a lot less than White Burgundy.
Then it will be time to shift our focus to Pinot Noir and the magnificent red wines of the Bourgogne. Once again, the terroir makes all the difference.
High atop the hills in the Côte de Nuit and the Côte de Beaune you will find an area which is considered the perfect spot to grow Pinot Noir grapes. This area has been parceled out to form 33 Grand Cru vineyards. It’s not a large number of hectares or acres that make up these vineyards, This area produces some incredible wines, but in very small quantities.
From my old accounting days, high quality combined with small quantities means high prices. And if my math is correct, that means we will be driving by wondering what the wines taste like rather than tasting them. Sorry, Domaine Romanee-Conte… no inheritance checks are coming my way.
However, there are many more excellent wines without astronomical price tags to be found – and we will find them! Seriously, they can’t hide. Premier Cru, Village wines and plain old Bourgogne are plentiful and I would guess there will be a few of them making their way back home when we leave.
So besides tasting wines, there are many historical and beautiful places to visit and enjoy. The Cluny Abbey, Chateau Cormatin, Chateauneuf-en-Auxois, Hotel-Dieu and Savigny-les-Beaune are all easy drives from Beaune and Chablis. The actual towns of Beaune and Chablis, Auxerre, Dijon and Avallon all come highly recommended. Lest I forget, there are walking paths, driving routes and many other potential things to keep us busy.
After Burgundy, our friends will travel further south to enjoy a little bit of Provence. That’s the beauty of the European rail systems…90 minutes by train and voila! We’re going to stay in Beaune for a few extra days before dropping off the car and catching a train.
That train leaving Burgundy will be returning us to Paris, so our holiday won’t be over quite yet. We’ll have a couple more days in Paris and then we’ll meet back up with our friends for the return flight home.
It won’t be long now, so it’s time to enjoy the nice weather here at home while taking care of the small details.
A few weeks have passed and we are off to a roaring start with reservations. I was able to book all the hotels directly on the hotel websites. Then we decided that we will fly out of Toronto on Air Canada and we were able to secure our reservations for excellent flight times at a really good rate.
I’m generally not fond of having to fly out of Toronto, but between the exchange rate and the actual flight cost, this one was a no-brainer. Even grumpy old me is willing to put the drive to and from aside to save a bunch of dollars.
Next came the car. Yeah, that wasn’t such a rip-roaring good time. The plan was to rent the car in Épernay and then drop it off in Sancerre before taking the train to Paris. Scratch that!
The new plan was to rent the car in Épernay and then we would drive to Bourges or Orléans to drop the car off before taking the train to Paris. Scratch that!
The next new plan was to pick up the car in Reims and then drive back to Reims to drop the car off before taking the train to Paris. Scratch that!
After much aggravation and coordinating, we will now be picking up the car in Reims and driving to Epernay, then dropping it off in Beaune and taking the train to Paris.
The problem was finding a rental car agency in the places we wanted to go to and being able to pick up the car in one location and dropping it off in another location. Oh yeah, and finding a vehicle with an automatic transmission. That was a ‘NO’ from AutoEurope, Sixt and Avis. With a slight change to our itinerary, it was a ‘Yes’ from Hertz. Problem solved!
Remember in the last post when I said I was preparing for hiccups ? Well, this was the first one. Our new itinerary removes Sancerre and adds extra days in Beaune – really, that’s not such a bad swap out. More time in Beaune means more time to enjoy a few more tasty meals with a glass/bottle of Burgundy wine. Who knows, we might even find a bottle or two of good Sancerre wine just for the heck of it.
Plan A – Version 2
The new plan map looks like a math problem from the SAT’s, but there are no square roots or Pi to decipher.
Next on the planning agenda is to look at activities going on while we are there. Surprisingly, we’ll be skipping the Rugby matches and looking at kinder, gentler activities like art exhibitions, visiting chateaux and medieval towns, hilltop castles, and, of course, winery visits and tastings.
Someone asked me about trains. We have to wait to book trains until about 60 days out. I’ve looked at the train schedules for March to get a rough idea of the schedules and we seem to be ok. I usually use Trainlineto book the trains, so I already have the info loaded up. Now I just need to wait for a little while.
I hinted last post that we were tossing around some additional travel ideas and I think they may be at least pencilled in on the calendar. We may be joining with friends to visit Portugal in 2024. Port wine and Templar Knights would make for an interesting journey. More on that when we can change the pencil to pen.
🎶 “Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?” 🎶
I have no idea why that popped into my head, except for the fact that we have decided to return to France in the fall. We’ll be traveling with friends and just taking a relaxing holiday to enjoy the sites, taste a little wine and enjoy some flavorful meals.
I started to look at the places we planned to visit and realized that planning this time around would be more of a challenge.
“How so?” you might ask. Well, France is dealing with some issues regarding their retirement age -causing protests and strikes throughout the country. That’s the first issue. The second issue: France is hosting the Rugby World Cup this year and several places we talked about visiting are host cities. That means lots of people and crowded transportation…not good. So much for “ooh la la – let’s party!”
After perusing the news and checking out a few travel websites, we narrowed down our travel area. This trip will center around Paris, Burgundy and the Loire Valley. Our friends will skip over the Loire and head down to Provence for a few days instead. Afterwards, we meet back up in Paris before heading home.
Plan APlan B
In my humble opinion, the wines of Burgundy are some of the best in the world. Before you jump all over me, we love pinot noir and Burgundian style chardonnay. So this trip we intend to taste as many as we can, hoping to find quality wines at reasonable prices.
Now that we know where we’re going and when we’re going, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty. Cold winter days are perfect for deciding on flights, travel options and hotels – time to break out the spreadsheets.
A glass of wine is a must when planning wine travel, at least for me. It helps mellow me out for the inevitable hiccups that lie ahead. Having taken a quick look at a few websites, it will also help with the sticker shock!
Airfares have nudged their way up a bit. We have a few options that we need to take into consideration. We can leave from Buffalo, but then we have to decide which airport we want to make our connection through – JFK, Newark, Washington DC or Detroit are all possibilities. We can also choose to fly out of Toronto, Canada, but there is the commute to and from that is annoying. We’ll keep looking at airfares, while taking a look at hotels.
It isn’t only airfares that have risen; Paris hotel prices have also gone up and they seem pretty busy during the timeframe we are looking at. I suppose many more people are traveling again and those that are in France to watch Rugby, might be staying around to see the sites. Our first hotel choice was not available, so we came up with a couple others to discuss with our friends. The other towns were a bit easier, as we found some nice hotels that are near the attractions we want to see and are all reasonably priced.
Next thing to think about is transportation. Trains, drivers or a car – how do we want to get around? The Burgundy wine region is made up of many small, quaint towns and trains don’t stop in all of them.
For the Paris connections we can take a fast train and cut down the commute time. For the rest, we’ll rent a car. We’ve driven here before and the driving is not bad at all. This time we’ll make sure the GPS speaks English so we can avoid cutting through vineyard roads – but it was fun!
Besides being there, planning the trip details is my favorite part of travel. I’m looking forward to later in the process looking for things to see and do in the various locals. After that – restaurants!
So after a week of planning, most of the major decisions have been made and it’s time to actually make the reservations. We’ve got a few months to take care of the small details. In the meantime, we’re brushing up on a little French.
We are talking about a couple more trips and thinking we should start planning those too, but I’ll tell you about those another time.
We’ve been home for a month now and have had some time to reflect on our trip. Aside from getting sick, it really was a special time.
My initial planning grew from four weeks to seven weeks rather quickly. It didn’t make sense to me to skip places we wanted to see, especially since we’d be passing right by them. On prior trips we didn’t stop and just said ‘next time’, so now was ‘next time’.
We love Italy, and thanks to my paternal grandmother, I can claim to have an Italian heritage – even if it is only twenty-five percent. Her family came from Sicily. They were farmers and they even grew grapes. While we’ve not visited Sicily yet, we make sure to honor their memory by drinking the fruit of the vine – especially in Italy!
Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo – No, we didn’t see Clint Eastwood, but we did see, do and experience many things during our time in Italy. I just wanted to reflect on those things and share – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
Il Buono – The Good
Every location we visited was different from the others. We saw so many unique things that we never felt bored. Canals, ruins, vineyards, beaches, art, rolling hills, cathedrals or monuments – everything was interesting.
Learning a little Italian before we went. Sue and I had fun with our language lessons and the payoff was immense. Nobody laughed at us; in fact, they encouraged us and helped us along when we got stuck. We got surprised looks and then smiles when we asked for things in Italian. We were treated differently – in a GOOD way.
We interacted with some great people who really helped make the trip special. We had so much fun, learned so much and we were humbled by the various people we encountered. Everyone from our drivers to hotel staff and guides were all great. We cared and they cared right back – it was a beautiful thing.
Making some new friends along the way. It was fun meeting others on tours and at the hotels, especially people with many of the same travel likes. We even met a couple who stayed at a couple of the more obscure places that we have stayed at in our previous travels.
We truly lucked out in that the dollar and the euro were basically at par while we were away. Compared to previous travels, it was a tremendous savings.
Il Brutto – The Bad
For me, it was the crowds. There are so many people traveling and some of them have the manners and intelligence of rocks. Drunk, loud and obnoxious are three words that jump right out. But then again, those people are everywhere.
The frequent strikes are also incredibly annoying. I guess it’s an accepted way of life there, but for an outsider it is a real nuisance. Getting caught up in the rail strike was incredibly frustrating. Customer service was useless, as was the thought of getting a refund for the tickets. I think the rail companies use it as a revenue source. I’m sure my tone would be a lot different had we also gotten hit by the airline strike. That was a near miss that would have tainted the entire vacation.
Il Cattivo – The Ugly
Getting sick while traveling is not fun, especially if it gets to the point where you need medical attention. This was the first time that we reached that point and the language difference is definitely something to be aware of. There may be someone that can help, but don’t count on it being easy.
It also made us think about Travel Insurance. As I mentioned in a prior post, we were extremely disappointed with our insurance – Generali Global Assistance. It wasn’t cheap and when we needed them, they completely let us down with incompetent, useless staff. On top of that, they never followed up with us at all. No call, no email, no text – nothing! We might as well have sent Gift Cards to get extended warranties on vehicles we don’t own. We will definitely not be using Generali again.
In Conclusion:
Would we do it again? Definitely! If the right opportunity presented itself, we know where the luggage is stored.
However…
No matter where we go and how much we enjoy ourselves, it’s always a good feeling to come back home. Being around the people you care for and who care for you is ultimately what life’s all about.
Slightly Whirled - A Traveler's Tales 