Parisian Adventure: Part 2

A Day in Reims

On our second day in France we visited Reims (pronounced like France but with a R…Rance) which is in the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region of France. This region is home to many of the world famous champagne houses, known as les grandes marques...some you may know of such as Veuve Clicquot, Domaine Pommery, Taittinger, and Champagne G.H. Mumm. 

Traveling to Reims from Paris is super simple, we don't know why we hadn't taken advantage of its closeness before. The train to Reims is only 45 minutes from Gare de l'Est station and the views of the countryside are lovely. 

When we first arrived in Reims we strolled the streets getting familiarized with the town, which is relatively small. We then visited the Notre-Dame de Reims in the center of town. This cathedral is where the kings of France were crowned! Over the years it has served as a place of worship, a hospital in the First World War, and now as a tourist destination with over 1 million visitors each year. The facade is beautifully carved with the faces of a thousand saints, gargoyles, and architectural elements. It may be one of our new favorite cathedrals! Afterwards we visited the tourist information center to get a map and ask for any suggestions they could give us. We had already booked a tour of Lanson champagne house for the afternoon but Eve had heard that a few champagne houses offered tours without reservations. They suggested heading to Tattinger for one of their tours. They had a tour in about 40 minutes time so we hopped on one of the super convenient busses and zipped over to Taittinger for our first tour of the day!

Pretty arches!

The cathedral was having restoration done to the stain glass windows.

When we arrived at Tattinger, we were immediately struck by the grandness of the buildings. We entered the large white buildings to book our tour and then stepped outside for a few minutes of sunshine before our tour began. Taittinger uses chalk caves, called crayeres, to store their wine. These caves were originally made by the Romans in the 4th century for harvesting chalk for building materials for houses and buildings in the town. Chalk, being porous can exchange air and humidity which keep the caves cool and at a constant temperature of 45 degrees all year round. Once the caves were dug out and there was no more need for the chalk the Roman monks started using them for wine storage. Taittinger is the third oldest champagne house and its caves are on the site of the Abbey of Saint Nicaise which was destroyed during the Revolution. Taittinger also owns 712 acres of vineyards outside the city where they harvest only the best crops to make their champagnes. Once they have made their wine, they let them age up to 10 years before selling them. The tour costs 16 euros (more if you want to taste more champagne) and it includes a glass of their champagne at the end.

Yummy champagne & Ivys THEIT Camera Bag!

The chalk caves storing the champagne.

After our tour of Taittinger we grabbed a few sandwiches from a bakery nearby and ate as we walked across town to Lanson, one of our absolute favorite champagnes! The Lanson winery is different to Taittinger's since it does not use chalk caves to store the wine but old cellars built into the hillside (much like the wine cellars back home in California). The temperature however still stays cool and constant. Lanson also is the first champagne house to have their own estate vineyard right next to their cellars and facilities. We were told that they play music in the vineyard twice a day: once in the morning to help protect the vines and roots from natural damages, and once in the evening to help aid the growth of the plant. Cool! Lanson is also distinguished between the other champagne houses because they do not use malolactic fermentation in their wine making process. This step was added to most champagne houses when it was discovered around 1837. Now it is used in many wines, still and sparkling. The process makes wine less acidic and more of a smooth mouth feel. The other champagne houses in Reims use malolactic fermentation which speeds up the aging process and therefore the wine is ready sooner. However, not using the malolactic fermentation helps Lanson wines keep longer. There are a few levels for the tour and tasting you can choose from 15 euros to 30 euros, we decided to do the most expensive option which includes 3 glasses of champagne after the tour. We got to taste their classic Black Label non-vintage brut, Rose Label rosé (one of the first rosé champagnes ever made), and the Gold Label 2008 brut. Our favorite glass was the 2008 brut which had an added complexity to the fresh citrusy taste of Lanson.

Walking in Lansons Caves...they use special light bulbs that do not create heat and gives an orange glow to photos. 

If only we had hallways full of Lanson champagne... 

Black Label non-vintage brut

Rose Label rosé

Gold Label 2008 brut

After our tour of Lanson we headed back to the train station to head back to Paris. On our way we stopped at Maison Fossier, which is a famous bakery in Reims for its pink biscuits. These biscuits were invented in the 1690’s. Bakers in Reims wanted to make something that could be made to use the heat of their ovens after baking bread. These cute pink cookies are traditionally dipped into champagne or can also be eaten with coffee or tea. We bought a few for ourselves and for gifts. They really do go so well with champagne! Once we were at the station, we had time for one last glass of bubbly before zipping back to Paris. 

Walking around Reims

Parisian Adventure: Part 1

Bonjour from Paris! 

Today is our last day in the wondrous land of baguettes, champagne, macaroons, Chanel, and too many more of our favorite things to list here (it would take years). We wanted to recap our first day in Paris for you all. We will post more later, but for now here is a taster of what we were up to! 

First off was flying out of SFO at 7:00AM. We took the AirBus from out hometown to the airport and stayed overnight in a hotel. There was nothing special about the hotel, we pretty much picked the cheapest hotel with free airport shuttles. We were only going to end up spending a few hours in the room anyway. 

We woke up bright (not so much, it was 4:00AM) and early an headed to the airport. We printed our boarding passes before we left home and packed only cary-ons so it was smooth sailing through security. (TIP: Always pick security lines with more men than women in them. Us girls usually have more things to put through security such as purses, scarves, fancy buckled shoes to take off etc.) Once we were on the other side, we headed to our favorite SFO food spot, Napa Farms Market. They have delicious pre-made foods, drinks, and gourmet gifts (and wine!). All of the food sold there is local to Northern California. We picked up our favorite on the go breakfast, Slingshots. Slingshots are yogurt based protein drinks with a tasty crunchy granola “shot” you pour into the bottle before you drink it. We also got a few Il Morso mocha flavored coffee bars. These things are delicious! They taste like chocolate covered coffee beans but look like a square of chocolate. the mocha flavor has 14mg of caffeine for a little kick. Ivy also tried a Project Juice Wellness Shot- Tummy Tonic. We had never had their juices before but this little drink was tasty and good for people with sensitive stomachs while traveling. 

We flew through Chicago and had a quick layover before boarding our flight to Paris! During the layover Eve bought a pocket French Phrasebook and a pocket sized Paris Guidebook, both by Lonely Planet. We had a lot of guides at home for planning but none would fit in our day bags. The guide also had a pullout map which was SUPER helpful throughout our trip. (TIP: buy a map before you get to your destination and mark where you will be staying and a few key landmarks. This will help you navigate wherever you are.) We flew with American Airlines, honestly, it was the cheapest flight we could get by hundreds and we definitely noticed the difference. We usually fly with Virgin, AirFrance, or British Airlines, all of which have great inflight entertainment, food, and complementary drinks. American Airlines had NO personal entertainment consoles and TINY seats. This being said, The customer service was amazing. We booked two seats together but we could only pick center seats when we bought them. When we got to the gate though, we asked if there was any way we could get better seats. They took our boarding passes and gave us seats on the side and much closer to the front! When we boarded the plane, a lovely first class flight attendant chatted with us while we waited for the line to move. She ended up giving us glasses of free champagne AND a bottle of first class wine to enjoy in Paris! This was the nicest thing any flight crew has been to us. It goes to show that if you are nice to people, sometimes you get something unexpected in return!

Finally we landed in Paris! We took the RER train from the airport and then the Metro to our stop. We were so lucky to be able to stay at our Uncle’s family home in the 6th Arrondissement. The place was MAGICAL. To put the icing on the cake, the house even had its own garden and patio! After settling into the house, we took a quick nap while we waited for Eve’s boyfriend to arrive. P (he wants to be know on the blog as P-man [lol]) comes from Manchester. Eve met P-man on her first day of grad school at Durham University in the North of England. Once we are all together, we went out in search of our first Parisian meal! 

We wandered a little bit away from the house and stumbled upon a wonderful café called Au Chai L’Abbage. We sat on the street patio and sipped wine, and ate a light lunch. We love that lunch is the most important meal in Paris. It is the meal that people tend to enjoy leisurely, starting off with drinks, starters, main courses, desserts, and finally a coffee. Paris is the perfect place for people watching and outdoor cafes are made for it! After lunch, we wandered over to Notre Dame and strolled along the river, getting our bearings on the city and just enjoying being there! Afterwards, we headed back towards our house and got a few groceries for breakfast and snacks. 

For dinner, We headed to one of the Bistros our Uncle recommended, Petit Lutetia on Rue De Sevres. The restaurant was full of lots of locals, and DELICIOUS! For starters we all shared the burrata salad and escargot. The salad was super fresh, and the burrata was so creamy. Yum! The escargot may have been the best we have ever had (that is saying a lot because Eve orders escargot anytime she sees it on the menu). For the main course, Eve had the veal in a mushroom cream sauce, and P-man had the steak tartare. Ivy had the chicken cooked in a individual cast iron dish with a cream sauce with chanterelle mushrooms. All of the mains were delicious but Ivy’s definitely won which was surprising to us because usually chicken isn't the most exciting of dishes. Wow it was good! We didn't have room for dessert and we were all pretty sleepy from our travels so we headed home to bed. 

Next up, Reims for a day of visiting some of our favorite Champagne Houses! 

For now, au revoir!!!!!!

xxx Ivy & Eve