Category: Colch’s Visit

The Retirees go Abroad – Cannes

The 5th of June. It’s Saturday and the hot weather is continuing. But this will not keep us down. We have determined to drive to Cannes and not by the motorway in the hope we will travel along the coast. We leave Nice with the morning rush hour traffic but soon leave it behind as we move into the coastal towns between Nice and Cannes. We start to get a feel for Cannes at Antibes where we spot a yacht moored with its helicopter at the ready to transport those important people to important places.

We make our way to a central parking station and move out onto the streets of Cannes. Shops abound. Some palatial, some bizarre and others just tourist.

We make our way to the Promenade and see that the boats are in. Bloody tourists spoiling our day!

The tourist information centre is our first port of call and then we try an ice cream as it is a hot spring day. The old city calls us like a siren and without knowing it we have climbed to the top of the hill. Some glorious shots of the city and coast and some fabulous pictures of the old city itself. I noticed the clock on the church tower was named “Brian”. I wonder if this was the inspiration for “The Life of Brian”. Perhaps not.

Back down the hill we are into the back lanes and the markets. Fresh fruit and veg, meats, sausages and the world most expensive nougat. A pretty fancy mobile pizza oven as well! Kerry spots a nifty shopping trolley and stops the woman wheeling it to find out where she got it. “Off the internet” says the woman with a North American accent.

We wander the back alleys and then onto Rue Antibes the shoppers Mecca, but the girls resist the sirens call. We make our way to the car and collect our picnic then go to the park on the Promenade where we dine on fresh baguette ham and salad. We are awaiting the tourist train that has been held hostage by those tourists from the boats. Finally it is our turn and we jump aboard for the slow trip through the traffic looking at hotels and hearing about the rich and famous, just about makes you puke. But Kerry spots the Palm Casino and her partner in crime Veronica are both determined to walk the red carpet with the memories of their winning at Monaco.

So after the train rise finishes we head to Palm Beach Casino. There is a grand entrance with naked Atlas holding up the pillars of the earth for a squibby little gaming area inside, but the machines were ruthless never the less and took the money from our giggling girls.

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Hot sweating and somewhat tired we head home to Nice. It is getting on to 6.00pm but you would not know it. A swim in the Baie of Anges is the next treat and a treat it was. Cool with currents of cold, it turned some hot sweaty bodies into ice but the real issue was getting out of the water. An all pebble beach is difficult to walk on particularly when it collapses as you try to get out of the water.

A fantastic finish to the day and making us eager for tomorrow. But there are a few hands of cards before we see any sleep.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Nice and the Cote D’Azur – Pont du Gard

It is day 9 and a long trip to Nice as we are going via Pont du Gard a Roman aqueduct. Sunshine and blue skies made the trip comfortable and we were all excited to visit this relic. On arriving at Remoulins, we made our way to a ticket office and barrier. 18€ per day was the entry fee. We thought that was a bit steep for a stop and look visit, so we looked for another option including parking illegally in a nearby caravan park. Fortunately we reflected on the cost and realised that this was only 4€.25 per person so we opened our wallets. And good thing we did as there was a lot more to see than a flying visit.

The bridge descends by a mere 2.5 cm (0.98 in) – a gradient of only 1 in 3,000 – which is indicative of the great precision that Roman engineers were able to achieve, using only simple technology. After the collapse of the Roman Empire and the aqueduct’s fall into disuse, the Pont du Gard remained largely intact, due to the importance of its secondary function, as a toll bridge. For centuries the local lords and bishops were responsible for its upkeep, in exchange for the right to levy tolls on travellers using it to cross the river. In 2000 with the opening of a new visitor centre and the removal of traffic and buildings from the bridge and the area immediately around it, it became one of France’s most popular tourist attractions.

Today the bridge is part of a large park which caters for holiday camping and bush activities, museums and of course the aqueduct across the Gardon. It is a long walk from the carpark to the aqueduct but once you turn the last corner you can imagine you are in Roman Gaul 2,000 years ago (except for the even concrete path under foot). The Pont du Gard (literally: Gard Bridge) is there in front of you The bridge has three tiers of arches, standing 48.8 m (160 ft.) high.  An ancient Roman aqueduct bridge built in the 1st century AD that crosses the Gardon River, from which it takes its name, it is part of the Nîmes aqueduct, a 50 km-long (31 mi) structure built by the Romans to carry water from a spring at Uzès to the Roman colony of Nemausus (Nîmes). Because the terrain between the two points is hilly, the aqueduct – built mostly underground – took a long, winding route that crossed the gorge of the Gardon, requiring the construction of an aqueduct bridge.

We crossed the bridge and I ventured onto the highest part of the ridge to gain a better view. There was a camera crew and pyrotechnics crew preparing for a celebration in June and so you will see in the photos people on the top if the bridge. It is no longer open to the public to climb a recently built (19th century) internal staircase to the top to protect the bridge. We spent a couple of hours there. So much for a quick look and see.

From here we travelled back toward Avignon and then onto Nice. A nice sunny day but too hot for a car without airconditioning.

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The Retirees go Abroad – St Paul de Vence and Grasse

Despite the expense of the cab on Sunday, we saddled up for a day at St Paul de Vence and La Colombe D’Or.

Saint-Paul is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in south eastern France. One of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera, it is well known for its modern and contemporary art museums and galleries. Saint-Paul de Vence has long been a haven of the famous. During the 1960s, it was frequented by French actors Yves Montand, Simone Signoret and Lino Ventura, and poet Jacques Prévert. Saint-Paul is also well known for the artists who have lived there, such as Jacques Raverat, Gwen Raverat and Marc Chagall and more recently the couple Bernard-Henri Lévy and Arielle Dombasle. Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman has a home there. American writer James Baldwin died there in 1987. British actor Donald Pleasence died there in 1995.

The Colombe d’Or started life in 1920 as “Chez Robinson”, a café bar with an open air-terrace where people would dance at weekends. It soon attracted characters from the neighbourhood, which gave the idea to Paul with the support of his wife Baptistine “Titine”, to extend and reopen as the Colombe d’Or, an inn of 3 rooms. The friendly atmosphere together with Paul’s deep interest in the arts brought the visit of many artists and the walls were soon covered by paintings, which often were exchanged for a stay or a few meals. The art collection has grown year on year until today. And the Roux family continues to take care of the Colombe d’Or.

After showing Veronica and David the village we then went to the restaurant which we had booked months in advance.

The village is enclosed by a wall and has many art studios and restaurants amongst its narrow streets. Like the keep in Windsor castle visitors to the village in early times were welcomed with a canon at the front door. Throughout the village are the wells and fountains that sustained the people inside the walls. Some of the houses are brightly decorated with flowers and vines and even have friendly inhabitants. At the opposite end of the village is the cemetery and the chapel in which the village has farewelled members of its community over the centuries. There is the church dedicated to St Paul and holding if not the remains of St Paul then relics of St Paul.

The time had arrived that we could enter La Colombe d’Or. We had planned that we would visit the hotel and view the art donated by the likes of Picasso and Matisse in exchange for meals. Even just the décor is extraordinary. The front door looks like a stable door but when open your entry is barred by a rope until your reservation is checked. There after you are shown into the bar and the hotel, its dining room and its lounge with the art on the walls all around you. After drinks you return to the courtyard and are shown to your table where the menu is explained to us dummies who don’t know French. Our waiter spoke very good English and joked and interacted with us throughout an extra special meal. Once we were too full to eat anything more he tempted us with a plate of fresh raspberries and crème fraise. A very special memory.

After a thoroughly delightful lunch we dragged ourselves away from La Colombe D’Or to the centre for perfumes at Grasse. Having experienced the tour at Froganaud Kerry and I filled in time and met David and Veronica to stroll through the village. A very different place to St Paul de Vence as my pictures will testify.

The day ended with a trip home in the evening traffic that grid locks Nice but we were still smiling from that lunch.

The Retirees go Abroad – Around Avignon – the Papal Palace

Although windy the previous day, we could feel that the weather had changed significantly and that shorts would be the dress code for the future. I had for a long time between curious about a papal city outside Rome. This trip allowed me to indulge that curiosity.

Here is a short snippet of the intriguing history of the Avignon Popes. In 1309 the city was chosen by Pope Clement V as his residence rather than Rome. Between 1309 and 1377 during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes resided in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI bought the town from Joanna I of Naples. Avignon became the Pontifical residence of Pope Clement V and his successor, John XXII, a former bishop of the diocese, who made it the capital of Christianity and transformed the former episcopal palace into the primary Palace of the Popes. Urban V took the first decision to return to Rome, but the chaotic situation there with different conflicts prevented him from staying there. He died shortly after his return to Avignon and his successor, Gregory XI, also decided to return to Rome and this ended the first period of the Avignon Papacy. When Gregory XI brought the seat of the papacy to Rome in 1377, the city of Avignon was administered by a legate. The early death of Gregory XI caused the Great Schism. Clement VII and Benedict XIII reigned again in Avignon. Papal control persisted until 1791 when, during the French Revolution, it became part of France. The town is now the capital of the Vaucluse department and one of the few French cities to have preserved its ramparts around the whole of the old city. From then on until the French Revolution, Avignon was a papal possession.

We had strolled around the base of the “Palais des Papes” the previous evening after dinner but we wanted to get our plans in order so that we did not waste any of our time. We visited the tourist Info centre and gained some valuable info as well as learning a trick to get discount entry fees to the Palais. The trick is to pick up the brochure for the Avignon explorer’s pass and validate it by visiting one of the cheaper tourist sites pay the full fee and get discounts at all of the others.

This is how we ended up visiting the Archaeology Museum in Rue de Republic. The display was fairly routine except for five gallo-roman masks which seemed to me to be similar to the South American masks I have seen.

We then made our way along Rue de Republic to the Palais. The Popes relied on the defence provide by strong fortifications of their palace, the “Palais des Papes” with walls 17–18 feet thick, and built on a natural spur of rock, rendering it all but impregnable to attack. After its capture following the French Revolution, it was used as a barracks and prison for many years but it is now a museum. The historic centre of Avignon includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral, and the Pont d’Avignon. Here are some photos of the interior and exterior of the Palais.

This is one of the largest if not the largest Palais of its kind in Europe and its restoration is still on going. In fact they only recently found secret vaults in the treasury for the Papal wealth and documents.

We also visited some other sites of interest including various buildings where the glass had been removed and images on board replaced them, the Hotel de Ville and its odd tower, the opera alongside it the contrasting Mercure Hotel and the mint where the Popes minted their currency. We also visited another small museum down a lane way and obtained two interesting snaps – one of the entrance to the lane and the other being pictures of an early Avignon. We also walked outside the city walls along the banks of the Rhone to catch a ferry ride around parts of the river and the city.

The ferry ride was lacking in information but it was great to be in air conditioning out of the sun. We got to see one of the “Scenic Tours” fleet and to feel the bump of the debris against the hull of the boat. I also got to photograph some kids on jet skis but how they missed the debris I don’t know.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Lucca and Pisa

We thought that yesterday was hot. Well, our trip to Pisa on Sunday proved to be been hotter. The weather although fine and clear was extremely hot.

We left early our apartment early in the morning to organise our tickets for the trip to Florence and fortunately we drove down as we learned the best place to park in Lucca. At the Stazzione Kerry and Veronica entered into world negotiations with the ticket seller over two return tickets to Florence. Everything including sign language was employed. I kept well out of it by parking the car in a legal parking spot and photographing the station, the park in front of the station and the bees busy at work in the Magnolia Trees.

We were expecting a crowd in Pisa even though it was a Sunday. We were not disappointed.

We decided to use the village roads to Pisa and avoided toll roads. This meant we drove through the villages between Lucca and Pisa which included travelling through a tunnel and once we exited the hillside we had a complete view of the plane on which Pisa stands. Even its famous tower was clear on the skyline. Tommy even had the co-ordinated for the leaning tower so it directed us to the very gate in the walls of the city and to a kind African peddler who pointed out a free car park and held it for us (for a few shekels of course).

In less than 5 minutes we had walked to the monument and horsed around with the cliché tourist snaps.

It was about 11.00 am by then and Veronica found out that Mass was being held in the cathedral, so she and David went in the adherents’ door whilst the non-believers were directed to the other door. A big sign greets you “Silence whilst in the cathedral and no photography”. That is water off a duck’s back to the gaggle of tourists, many Italian, tramping through door. Cameras and IPhones were clicking and a cacophony of voices rumbled as the Priest went through the Mass. So against my better judgment I clipped off a few shots of this magnificent monument.

Beside the cathedral is the Baptistery, equally as grand and 5€ to enter so you only get shots of the outside. Similarly with the Campanile we were not spending money to enter as we had hopes of catching the hop on hop off bus. These buildings are surrounded by the ancient city walls and where there once stood other buildings of the town now is only grass and the best lawn mower I have seen – air-conditioned cab and vacuum collection of the cut grass.

Once Mass had finished and we had refilled our water bottles at the communal fountain (frequently found in towns and villages of southern France and northern Italy), we head back to a restaurant with a special for lunch. The girls were using Veronica’s fold up umbrellas as well as hats it was so hot. We had turned down an African peddler this morning selling fold up umbrellas but now seeing the value we traded with one of them beating him down to 6€ for two umbrellas. Lunch was filling and cheap after which we made our way through the African peddlers back to the tourist information centre. One peddler was doing the silent act and we have no idea how he could do it in the heat. Kerry thought he deserved something for his effort and was rewarded with a photo opportunity.

We walked across the plaza of the leaning tower to catch the bus outside the opposite gate. It was extremely hot standing waiting for the bus and when it did arrive it was very uncomfortable on the top in the sun so the tour was a bit Ho hum for me but here are some pictures.

After completing the bus ride (the bus seemed to develop a fault so we got off too hot to go on) we split up as Veronica had found some shops. Kerry and I took a slow walk back to the car via the tourist information centre where we cooled off in the air-conditioning. There was a display of scooters in relation to an old Cary Grant movie (cannot recall which one) and so Mrs Young had to pose for the camera.

A very hot Veronica and David returned to the car shortly after we arrived. With all windows wound down we drove home via the Carrefour Shopping Centre for some groceries and a cold drink. We sat in that shop for some time with the car underneath to cool it down. Cold showers all round once we got home.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Nice, the Cote D’Azur and Monaco

We arrived in Nice to meet a very flustered landlord, Norbert. He had arranged to fly to Paris the same day as we were arriving. So a very quick introduction and walk through the apartment. We were happy to see him go as he was becoming annoying with his fluster.

We unpacked and with the day being so fine and clear we strolled Promenade des Anglais until we realised we had walked most of the way to the Old City. We dropped into the Tourist Information Centre to help us plan the next few days. Then we strolled finally taking a bus back to the apartment. A pleasant end to our first day in Nice.

The next morning, Sunday, promised another fine day and as it was only 1€50 to travel by bus to Monaco we put on our walking shoes and headed for the Principality. This bus trip is a must do to see the coast line from Nice to Monaco. We got off at the Casino as the Tourist Information Centre is nearby and determined to take the Open Top Bus to see the sights.

Despite our plan to do the tour and then decide our stops, we jumped off to see the changing of the guard at the Palace and visit the chapel and the memorials to Prince Ranier and Princess Grace.

Back on the bus we completed the tour and realised that the town was cleaning up after the Formulae 1 motor race. Talking about cleaning up, Kerry visited the Casino and lifted 90€ from them. David and Veronica did a little less lifting and I cooled my heels in the sun. Outside of the casino I was able to photograph a monument in the form of a concave mirror.

Despite having been there previously we were still amazed at the grand show of wealth (there were a number of expensive cars all with Russian number plates) and the Police on scooters.

The return journey on the bus brought us back to the Port in Nice. We ventured over to the old city where we had dinner and saw the sights. Unfortunately we overstayed our time and found ourselves stranded due to a bus strike in Nice. We learnt the hard way about how expensive it is to catch a cab in Nice on a Sunday night.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Around Beaune

After a warm day yesterday we all expected to be wearing shorts for the boys and dresses for the girls. But it was not to be. Although sunny the wind had an icy edge. We started early and after taking in the town for an hour we went back to the apartment for some warm gear. During our walk around we found part of the old ramparts, an old wine press in the Musee des Beaux Arts and the smelliest cheese shop. However the walk gave us the inspiration to develop a plan of action. Firstly we would take the Visiotrain around the town, then go home for lunch and after lunch go to Borchard Aine& Fils Caves.

 

The train is a rubber tyred engine pulling 3 carriages each with a guided tour in a different language. The train runs from the Tourist Info Bureau at Place de la Halle, journeying through Beaune highlighting the town’s long past. Along the way we saw the Hotel Dieu Hospice once again, then the Collegiale Notre Dame and the towering Beffroi which sounds the time to the town every quarter hour. After a few minutes we passed the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) and then followed the old ramparts on the north side of the city. Before long we found ourselves on the outskirts of the town amongst the grape vines and we gradually joined the town again behind its walls via Parc de al Bourzaize. Then the journey got confusing as we travelled through the back lanes of the town.

 

The train trip finished around 12 noon. We walked back to our apartment and then onto our next visit at Borchard Aine and Fils. On the way there we passed the original town gate, another of the rampart defensive towers and the WW1 memorial for Beaune.

On arriving at Borchards we found that they were still having their midday siesta. This led to us horsing around with a photo board only to realise that the person in the corner of the yard having a ciggie was our tour guide for the cellars.

Once inside the tasting rooms, we introduced ourselves and found that we were the only party registered for the tour. The tour was intended to enliven our 5 senses to the enjoyment of wine. We started in the cellar for the white wines where our guide explained the difference between, regional, communal / village, premier cru, and grand cru wines. She then poured tastings for two chardonnay wines. Bourgogne only grows Pinot Noir, Chardonnay Gamay and Aligoté with the last two used in their regional and village wines only.

From there we walked through the stored bottles (many for a Japanese client so she said) to the cooperage display and a tasting of a young pinot. The next cellar was the tastes centre and our guide explained how the different tastes developed and why they developed those tastes. The last cellar we sampled an older pinot and used the touch bar to feel the different tastes developed in the mouth. As we ended the tasting we were presented with two bottles of pinot for our dinner that night. This was one of the most enjoyable and informative wine tastings we have had.

Even though it was late afternoon the twilight meant there was plenty of daylight left so we continued our walking in the town before going home for dinner and packing for tomorrow.

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The Retirees go Abroad – On the road to Beaune

We all arose early and packed. Breakfast was an enjoyable basket of croissants and baguettes with a hot chocolate. Our plan was to visit the House of Taittinger Champagne which was on our way to Beaune. After arriving a little too early for the opening of the cave we strolled through the gardens until the visitors door opened. But we were to be denied. The tour was in French only with the English tour starting an hour later. That meant we would arrive in Beaune too late to do anything there so we politely suggested that we would visit another time and got on the road again.

As it turns out we did not arrive in Beaune until after 1.00pm. After parking the car we found a delightful café for lunch then searched out the tourist information bureau. The town is very old and much of it appears to be unchanged from centuries past. Parts of the old defensive walls remain around the town and it has many caves peddling the wines of Burgundy. But this day we were in search of the Hotel Dieu. The Hospices de Beaune or Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune is a former charitable almshouse in Beaune, France. It was founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy, as a hospital for the poor. The original hospital building, the Hôtel-Dieu, one of the finest examples of French fifteenth-century architecture, is now a museum.

The Hospices de Beaune consists of a pair of two-storied buildings arranged around a stone courtyard. The building are well-preserved and they contain half-timber galleries and ornate rooftops with dormer windows. The Hospices de Beaune received the first patient on 1 January 1452. Over the centuries, the hospital has radiated outwards, thanks to many donations – farms, property, woods, works of art and of course vineyards – were made to it, by grateful families and generous benefactors.

Kerry rushed off to meet our hosts and collect the keys for our 2nd floor apartment. When we caught up again unloading of the car and transporting the luggage into a very old building proved a challenge. The spiral stairs to the second floor were uneven in some places and difficult to climb with our suitcases. Inside the living space was delightful but the sleeping spaces were again challenging. Our bedroom was on the 3rd level up an even narrower set of stairs. This was a loft extension and the ceiling of the walkway to our bedroom was angled so that if I stood upright I would hit my shoulder as I walked along it. I have included a photo of our accommodation.

Unpacked and settled in we visited our local Carrefour Supermarket and in our ignorance bought a bottle of local cremant to have with our hamburgers for dinner.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Reims

After a tiring day yesterday we thought we would concentrate on Reims and planned visits to Reims Cathedral, Museum du Tau, and the Basilica of St Remi. It turns out that Reims is not such a big place and it was easy to walk to most places. It also turns out that the Kings of France came to Reims to be invested and crowned at the Cathedral and the banqueting hall beside it – now the Museum du Tau.

The cathedral is a towering grand church. Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Reims) is the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims and replaced an older church, destroyed by fire in 1211 that was built on the site of the basilica where Clovis was baptized by Saint Remi, bishop of Reims, in AD 496. That original structure had itself been erected on the site of some Roman baths.

Alongside the cathedral is the Palais Archi-Episcopal, now the Museum of Tau. The Palais was the palace of the Archbishop of Reims. It is associated with the kings of France, whose coronation was held in Notre-Dame de Reims. Most of the early building has disappeared: the oldest part remaining is the chapel, from 1207. The building was largely rebuilt between 1498 and 1509, and modified again between 1671 and 1710. It was damaged by a fire on 19 September 1914, and not repaired until after the Second World War.

The Palace was the residence of the kings of France before their coronation in Notre-Dame de Reims. The king was dressed for the coronation at the palace before proceeding to the cathedral; afterwards, a banquet was held at the palace. The first recorded coronation banquet was held at the palace in 990, and the most recent in 1825.

The palace now houses statuary and tapestries from the cathedral, together with reliquaries and other objects associated with the coronation of the French kings.

The Basilica of St Remi started life as the Abbey of Saint-Remi. Founded in the sixth century by the Bishop of Reims who converted Clovis, King of the Franks, to Christianity at Christmas in AD 496, after he defeated the Alamanni in the Battle of Tolbiac. Since 1099 it has conserved the relics of Saint Remi who died in 553AD. The present basilica was the abbey church; it was consecrated by Pope Leo IX in 1049. It houses many other “illustrious persons” in the crypt of St Remi. It was fabulous to stand in a building that had seen more than 1000 years of service and was still in use today.

We had a picnic lunch at a park near the Basilica and after the visit to the basilica we went to the hotel for a nanna nap. Upon arising David suggested we visit the War Rooms where the German nation surrendered and brought to an end the Second World War on May 8, 1945. The Museum of the Surrender of May 7, 1945 is a history museum founded by the city of Reims in 1985 to mark the 40th anniversary of the signing of the first part of the acts of capitulation of Nazi Germany. A second signing took place the following day in Berlin, which ended the Second World War in the European theatre. It is located in part of the premises of the Franklin-Roosevelt High School in Reims

On the way to the museum we passed a roman gate still standing where once gallo-roman citizens passed into the city. After the museum, there was still plenty of sunlight so we walked over to a large nearby park and the monuments of remembrance.

We passed through the park into the city centre and soon found a place to stop for refreshment. The Ernest Hemingway Café took our fancy and we stopped in to catch our breath. After reviving ourselves we walked on through the city past the golden angel atop o tower and past the Kings Cross look alike fountain, past some clever graffiti and then to the Palais of Justice (here David and I had a close encounter with a very angry cat – hissing a scratching at us – we may have been a little inebriated as we shrugged and moved on). Time had passed quickly and we decided we wanted a simple pizza dinner. Veronica spotted the Domino Pizza rider on his scooter and hailed him down so we could find our way there. The poor fellow was so surprised to be hailed that he actually stopped but could not speak a word of English. Never the less we completed the quest and enjoyed our repast under the arches of Rome.

With significant indigestion we retired to bed as we were on the road again tomorrow.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Epernay and Hautvilliers

We had planned to visit a few champagne houses starting with Mercier. We did not know what to expect but I think this was a good place to start. Mercier Champagne prides itself on bringing champagne to the people and is big and bold and brassy. A visit to their cellars has a feeling of Disneyworld about it. It cost 16€ per person for the tour and I would have to say it was a good tour. Firstly we were given the history of the house. As best as I can recall, a young Mercier convinced 5 of the older houses to join forces and fund his grand plan of bringing champagne to the people. They built purpose built cellars, miles of them, 30 metres underground and to promote the house he had constructed a huge barrel which he ultimately dragged to Paris for the world’s Fare and but for the Eiffel Tower it was the biggest attraction. You can still see the barrel. He also introduce delivery by panel van boldly emblazoned with his brand.

After getting the history you travel 30 m down to the cellars board a train and take an escorted tour through the cellars. In addition to the champagne and the serious work of making the product he engaged master sculptors to engrave the walls with murals as he fully intended to exploit the tourist. He also developed luxury dining rooms for the well healed tourist but we did not get to see past the chandeliers. The tour ends with a tasting – yes that is right – a single tasting. He knew his stuff as the tours are full and run every 40 minutes. As we left another bus load arrived and judging by the driver’s demeanour it had been a busy day.

On our way to the next champagne house we were diverted by the sight of a large clock tower and ended up at Castellane. We ventured inside and the tour was about to start but having done Mercier we felt it could not be bettered so we just tasted the champagnes instead. We shared three coupes of champagne and did not see much more of interest so we pushed on.

We pushed on to Hautvilliers looking for G. Tribuant. Hautvillers is a beautiful village on a hill surrounded by grape vines and home to quite a number of smaller producers. It also is small enough to park and walk the village which we did bumping into a few fellow tourists loaded down with cases of champagne and all vowing it was superb and cheap. The first cave we came across was the house of Locret Lauchaud. Unfortunately, or so we thought, he was closing his door as we arrived. We moved on to Joseph Desruets only to find that no one was home or so we thought. As we stood viewing the ancient equipment a young crowd of French came in and pointed out that we were in the work shop not the Cave and directed us up the hill. For reasons unexplained we went the other way and I am glad we did as we found our way to G Tribuant.

The Cave was superbly located atop a hill looking over the countryside. We tasted we bought and then we relaxed in the afternoon sun looking at the valley sipping champagne and eating cheese. I will let the pictures tell the story.

 

We were late into bed that day. With twilight and daylight saving the sun is present up to 10.00 o’clock.

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