Paris - truly a city of love...

No - not that I found love - but it really is a totally beautiful city.

Been here for 2 nights now - star!

Arrived on Monday, on the TGV - I love those trains - sooooo fast.

Then umming and ahhing, major indecision, and eventually we decided to get Paris Visit ticket - 5 days unlimited travel. I'm not sure that I'm going to use it - probably not even close; but there you go. At least all the travel is covered - and there's nothing like zapping the tourists!

Arrived at the hotel, our room wasn't ready so went for a walk. OMG - this really is like a blow by blow account of what we did - funny! Not.

I'll summarise - walk, lunch, hotel, Rue de Rivoli, looked at the Louvre (not in, outside), found the Information Centre, booked a trip for Tuesday, returned to the hotel, Ji went out for a walk, I had a snooze, Ji came back, she didn't want dinner, I went out and caught up with Carl - at the Cafe de Industrie.

Eating is so, umm, Parisian, here. The dessert I had was magnificient - it was this little chocolate cake, slight warm but the inside when you ate it turned to pure liquid chocolate in your mouth. It wasn't liquid, but turned liquid - just stunning.

Wandered back to the hotel and bed.

The next morning I was up very very early - eek; given that it's 10.45am and we're still mucking about in the hotel. But off to Cityrama, onto the bus and on the road to Reims (pronounced "Reince" - don't ask me why!). Just me; Ji didn't want to go. We stopped firstly at Mumm and had a tour of the House - wow - all that champagne, all those tunnels, all that history - and yes, we got to taste a bit. Having seen how they actually make it, I can see why it's soooo expensive.

All the grapes must be picked by hand. (Apparently at Moet et Chandon - which I went to later - they bring in 3000 pickers for 2 weeks to pick the grapes!). Then it's made into wine. Then it's blended (if an ordinary year) or a vintage made (if a special year). Then it's bottled. Then the bottles sit. For ordinary champagne, by law, 15 months, for both Mumm and Moet, it's 30 months. For vintage, by law 30 (or 36 - I can't remember!) months f0r Mumm and Moet, it's 5 years. Moet leaves Dom Perignon for 10 plus years! Then all the bottles are turned and eventually verticle so the sediment is in the neck. At Mumm, they said 90% of bottles are turned by machine, 10% vintage is still down by hand - 40,000 bottles turned a day! Not sure at Moet. Then the neck frozen, the sediment expelled (pressure, pressure, pressure), sugar and a top of of wine added (more sugar for the sweeter wines), and then finally you have champagne.

Voila - thus why so expensive! The rumour in the UK is that with global warming, eventually it'll be too hot in Champagne to make champagne - but we wait and see.

After Mumm (who were Germans), it was off to the centre of Reims (did you know the WWII ceasefire was signed there?), to the cathedral which is where every king of France was crowned - in a 7 hour ceremony. Go figure. A stunningly beautiful cathedral - but unfortunately the stone is slowly dissolving - they're trying to protect it (lastest is silicon) but no-one is sure whether it will work. It has more statutes on it than any other church in France!

A wander around Reims - a very pretty city - go go! Then on the bus to Moet et Chandon - founded in 1743. This house in in Epernay - which is really in the middle of the Champagne district - and it's a truly typical and beautiful area - hills, vines, vines, little villages in the middle of vines! The first Moet passed the House on to his son, his son was a friend of Napoleon (thus why imperial champagne!) - who bought the original church where Dom Perignon lived/prayed/did religious things and it's still privately owned by Moet et Chandon. We drove past the village. Then there was a third son and the fourth generation was a daughter - she married a Chandon - thus Moet et Chandon. The House is the home built by the second Moet - and it's beautiful. Across the road you could see 3 buildings and the formal french garden (public life), the House has an informal english garden (private life). One of the building is a private restaurant for "important clients" - far, wouldn't mind eating there! Then into the caves, there are 3 levels of tunnels at Moet - the bottom one was only completed in the early 1900's - took 90/100 years to build - it was all tunneled by hand - the entire complex. And bottles... And bottles... and bottles... of champagne. We saw lots of Dom Perignon - their premier label. Sigh - didn't managed to secret a bottle though! Lol! And then tasting (only a glass - and I think I liked Mumm more). A look around the shop (the Japanese were happily shopping!) and then back to Paris.

Yah!

A beauitful day (expensive - 106 euros - about $230NZ but there you go!).

Then moroccan for dinner - Carl joined us. A walk to his appartment - saw that. Then a walk back to the hotel - with some weird guys who "suddenly" came out of an alley and followed us across the road - don't know what was up there. But Paris at night is beautiful.

Today - breakfast first, then I be thinking the left bank, Tour Montparnesse, have a look at the Eiffle Tower and maybe head up to Montmatre!

See you soon!