Tonight we are staying on the
Marne Canal, only about 10 kms from where we stayed last night but have had a
great day cruising around the region in the most perfect weather, we really are
getting spoilt on our last few days here. It was a leisurely morning, chatting
with Mandy before saying “au revoir”. It has been a really good catch up.
Mandy recommended visiting the
small village of Hautvillers on a neighbouring hilltop. This area really is so
picturesque, the trimmed vines forming such distinct patterns on the hillsides.
The soil is a very white and chalky and seems to be the reason that this region
is so perfect for growing the grapes for making champagne.
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| Hautvillers |
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| The Ferrari seemed right at home in Hautvillers |
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| Geraniums everywhere. |
Hautvillers is really the home of
Champagne as in the 18th century the Benedictine Monk, Dom Perignon
discovered the champagne wine making process. Such a beautiful village and we
enjoyed a walk around the streets and coffee at the cafe.
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| The scenery in this region is superb. |
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| A fun tasting, with Beatrice from London |
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| And this is where it is made. |
After lunch, we drove around
Epernay and up in the hills on the other side to Cramant, another champagne
village. Last night we were talking to a Belgian couple who recommended a small
winemaker with an excellent champagne. The tasting turned into quite an
interesting session, the wife of the winemaker was delightful and then we were
joined by a young couple from London who were biking around the area. There
were lots of laughing and we managed to talk quite well with the lady. And the
champagne was very good! Driving around this region has been one of the
highlights for us.
Mandy had recommended the Aire on
this canal and it is very pleasant, we are parked under trees in a small
village overlooking the water. Looking forward to riding the cycle path
tomorrow.
..Later. Last night ended up
being one of the things we most like about our way of travelling. After dinner
we sat outside enjoying the evening and ended up chatting with our “neighbours”,
Anna-Lena and Michael. Such great company as we shared travel stories and
learnt that they had spent time travelling throughout NZ in a campervan. It
ended up quite a late night!
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| Petanque on the local square tonight |
Comments
Our holiday is over and we are back in Sweden; working but already planning our next trip. We wish you both the best of times and hope you'll keep in touch!
X X X Anna-Lena & Michael