What was nice about Paris was getting out of it for the day. The day after my presentation was over and I breathed a sigh of relief when my assignment was done was a trip out to Champagne country when my professor arranged a trip to the City of Reims to tour the Mumms winery. I could not wait for that. I wanted to get out of the hussle and bussle of Paris and it would be interesting to see how Champagne was made.
The weather cooperated the entire time we were in Paris (as it would in Prague too) and it was a bright, sunny and warm morning when we took the Metro to the Paris Train Station out to suburbs of Paris. The rail station Gare de l’Est is one of the oldest train stations in Paris and one of its busiest.
The Paris Rail Station, Gare de l’Est, that would take us to Reim, France for the Champagne tour.
The beautiful detail work at the Gare de l’Est built in 1849
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_de_l%27Est
Getting into Reims was not difficult as the professor had bought the tickets for us and we got to the station early so that we could tour the city and have lunch there after the tour of the winery was over. I would find that public transportation all over Europe was so much better than it was in the United States where we are so dependent on cars.
It was in the train station that I experienced my first (and only) French McDonalds and that was an experience ordering. First you had to use the touch machine which I hate.
The McDonald’s at the Gare de L’Est
https://www.facebook.com/mcdonaldsmagenta/
My review on TripAdvisor:
No one spoke any English so I was not sure when the order was done and you only had options with coffee and nothing else. The food was a little different. They did not toast the Bacon, Egg and Cheese on the English Muffin, which made it dry and the bacon in France is different from American bacon. Also, it came with two pancakes that were wrapped in paper and came with a stick of American syrup. You ordered it by the ‘formula’ which meant you got a package of four items, the sandwich, pancakes, juice and coffee for one price. It was a cheaper way of doing it and you got a nice breakfast. We ate on the run because the train came quickly.
The ride out to the winery was really nice and it was fun to see the countryside roll by. Now I know why going to Reims is so popular for the weekend crowd. It is the perfect place to get out of Paris for a nice weekend away. It really did not take that long to get to Reims. When we arrived, it was a short trip to the downtown to start the first parts of the tour of the city.
The city is so compact that it is easy to walk from the train station to the downtown. We walked to the city square and our first stop was the Reims Tourism Office. The ladies had not prepared for a visit but did a very nice job promoting Reims and telling us about the city. I could hear the pride on their voices as they explained the sites to see in the city all within walking distance. The office was also very nice too stocked with all the latest information and all sorts of maps to get around the city.
Our first stop on the walking tour was the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims, a church that has been part of the community since the 1200’s. This beautiful church has had the community built around it and sits in a proud spot in the downtown.
Cathedral de Notre Dame de Reims at Place du Cardinal Luçon
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/601/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reims_Cathedral
The construction of the church predates the 1200’s but you could see that it has been added to and altered over the years but it never affected it beauty. I was in awe of the church, almost wondering why this beautiful building was in the middle of a modern neighborhood. It took a couple of minutes to realize how the town grew around it.
Cathedral Notre Dame de Reims sits proudly in the middle of the modern downtown
The inside of the church is breathtaking with its stained glass windows, gothic architecture and extensive statuary. I am in awe of the people who must have worshipped here over the last several centuries. It must have had a different meaning to all of them.
The beautiful stained glass windows of the Cathedral Notre Dame de Reims
The beautiful detail work of the stained glass windows
The inside of the church is just as impressive as the outside of the church. You can see the importance of detail that this architects and builders used to impress both the clergy and the people. Religion played such a different role in people’s lives back then and these buildings were meant to make a statement about God.
The inside of the Cathedral Notre Dame de Reims
Our group shot at the church
After the church tour, it was time to visit the hotel for a site inspection at the La Caserne Chanzy Hotel & Spa at 18 Rue Tronsson Ducoudray. The hotel had been the original fire station for the town and its reflected that theme. The hotel was very popular with the weekend crowd and had quite the hipster reputation with innovative restaurants and bars. The Sales Manager it is a very popular hotel with Americans visiting the area since it is part of the Autograph Collection by Marriott.
La Caserne Chanzy Hotel & Spa at 18 Rue Tronsson Ducoudray
https://www.lacasernechanzy.com/en/
My review on the Tour on TripAdvisor:
After our site inspection of the hotel, we walked through town on our way to lunch. The ladies running the tour today had the theme of “Sustainable Culinary Tourism” and “Farm to Table” restaurants. They picked a wonderful restaurant for lunch, Les Cocottes du cul de poule.
Les Cocottes du Le Poule at 70 Rue du Cernay in Reims
https://www.lescocottesduculdepoule.com/
My review on TripAdvisor:
Les Cocottes du cul de poule is a tiny bistro on a side street that you would miss if you were on a tour. It is located on a quiet street in Reims not far from the winery but to foodies I would later find out online is an extremely well known restaurant.
The signage and menus at Cul de Poule (which loosely translates to “From the mixing bowl to the dish)
The food and the service was very good. All of the staff including the chef whom we would meet later on that afternoon, mostly spoke French so the one waitress who spoke fluent English got to work with us and she was wonderful. She had such a nice personality and put a group of non-French speakers at ease ( at this point of the trip I was surprised that many of my classmates were not even attempting to know a little French).
The wonderful baked breads from Garance for Cul de Poule
The meal was excellent and so nicely displayed. We had a choice on the Prix Fixe menu and because we had to pay cash for our meal, I chose the Entree and Dessert menu at $23.00 Euros which was more than enough considering the amount of bread that we were eating at the table. I had the Poached Chicken with Spring Vegetables in a light sauce and then for dessert the Raspberry Tart. The food and the service were flawless and so relaxing. It was so nice to just sit back and enjoy a meal without rushing around.
The Poached Chicken with Spring Vegetables
Poached Chicken is not everyone’s favorite as I could see some my classmates did not like it. It had a very light flavor to it and the vegetables tasted like they had just been picked. For dessert, I had the Raspberry Tart special and talk about delicious. The tart was a sweet cookie base with a raspberry puree for the middle and topped with fresh raspberries and a scoop of homemade raspberry gelato. I thought the dessert was the perfect way to end the meal. It was very light and intense flavors from the gelato. The meal and the service that afternoon were wonderful.
The Raspberry Tart for dessert
After the meal service was over, I saw a man who I assumed was the chef come visit people at the table. Service at these restaurants ends at 2:00pm and does not reopen until 6:00pm so they have time in the afternoon to talk. He was having a glass of wine with his friends and relaxing when we asked to take a picture with him. He was amused but pleased that we enjoyed the meal so much. What a delightful afternoon.
Our group shot with the Chef
After lunch, we visited the Maison Mumms Champagne Winery tour. I was not sure what to expect from the tour but after an hourI found that it was a detailed and very intense tour of the winery down to each detail of how the grapes are grown and harvested to how it is packaged, sold and then marketed. The tour left no detail out of the business.
Maison Mumm at 34 Rue de Champ de Mars
https://www.mumm.com/it-it/la-maison/maison-mumm/
My review on TripAdvisor:
Our tour of the winery was done by our tour guide, Katie, who was excellent on explaining the process of how the wine was produced. She went through all the steps on how it is grown, the terrain of the grapes, the picking and pressing and then storage of the grape juice. Then we saw the fermenting rooms, where the bottles are riddled and stored.
Katie starting the tour with us on the terrain where the grapes are grown.
Then they went over the packaging, labeling and marketing of the champagne. It was an hour long tour that you will not be bored on. You can see the care in producing this champagne and making sure that the quality is perfect.
Katie explaining bottling procedures to us in the Bottling Room
Katie in the old Barrel Room when the wine was still being held in barrels
The oak barreling system has not been used for almost 100 years
Us touring the Barrel Room
Then we toured the cement barrel room before they went to steel barrels.
This barreling process was used until the stainless steel barrels came into use.
A tour through the Bottling Room
The God of Wine in the Bottling Room
A tour through the Bottling Room Museum
The history of the company was described in the Mumm Museum, which is the last part of the tour.
The Museum’s Rare Wine Bottles
Some of these bottles in the museum collection were over a hundred years old.
The Wine Bottling in space
Katie told us they were working on a new bottling concept that could be used at the Space Station and for future space travel.
The Showroom
The tour was really informative and was a real treat for those of us who studied the wine industry. We really had an excellent tour of the winery. We just relaxed outside in the sunshine after the tour was over and talked.
After the tour was over, we tried to see this famous little church but none of us had any interesting in paying to get in or seeing it after the tour of the Cathedral Notre Dame or after the extensive wine tour so we skipped it.
The Foujita Chapel at 33 Rue du Champ de Mars in Reims that no one wanted to tour
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foujita_Chapel
Reviews on TripAdvisor:
As we walked back to the train station, we had enough time to for a snack so we stopped at this cafe, Le Marche for Meat & Cheese trays and light soft drinks. It was the perfect way to end the trip to Reims.
Le Marché at 23B Rue de Mars in Reims
https://www.facebook.com/lemarchebylescornichons/
My review on TripAdvisor:
We just sat back eating meats, cheeses and pates and reflected on the trip out to the wine country. I can see the reason why people from Paris come out here for relaxation. We got on the next train to Paris and then we all relaxed when we got back. We had another day of traveling around the right bank the next morning.
It was another great day in France.
mywalkinmanhattan 