Game of Thrones finale completed it is time to leave behind constant election talk and cold weather and head to France.
We though it couldn't get much better than being upgraded to First when we checked in at Adelaide but it did when that upgrade was extended through to Paris from Dubai…. sigh….
Needless to say, the flight was 'comfortable' and I had to experience having a shower at 38,000 feet, it may never happen again after all!
Landing in CDG was uneventful until we had collected our luggage and were en route to the rental car desk in the next terminal. Masses of people were detained behind barriers by armed soldiers and so we waited with everyone else for nearly half an hour before the 'situation' was declared safe and we carried on.
It was therefore about 4pm by the time we loaded our luggage into Pablo III ( our third Citröen Grand Picasso) and were on our way to Epernay in the the Champagne region. The usual stresses of first day in left hand drive and pretty heavy traffic were negotiated without incident and we arrived into Epernay and the delightful Hotel Jean Môet with just enough time to find the Orange store and establish mobile connection to the rest of the world.
An early dinner and a quick sip of champagne and we were off to bed.
Saturday morning we were reunited with the lovely Céline, our French riding partner from last year who had invited us to her home in the small village of Dommartin sous Hans about one hour from Epernay.
First though, she had planned a visit to the magnificent Mercier House of Champagne where a very innovative and informative tour explained the history of this house and the process of making champagne.
Monsieur Mercier was a visionary of his time, constructing an immense barrel or 'foudre' to transport his product to the people at the 1889 World Expo in Paris.
It took eight days and nights, twenty-four oxen and eighteen horses, to transport this world’s largest wine cask with a 200,000-bottle capacity from Epernay to Paris. On the journey, two bridges collapsed under the weight, and several others required major repairs. A large number of city lights and building facades were damaged. He had to buy five houses for a small fortune, which he then demolished in order to make way, but the publicity achieved made all the tough work worthwhile. Although the 20-tonne cask was overshadowed by the main attraction – the Eiffel Tower – it garnered loads of attention. Afterwards, it was returned to Epernay, where it was used for blending until 1947.
It was a fascinating tour and of course culminated with a tasting or two!
Céline had however, organised an action packed day and we were soon on the road to the picturesque Chalons-en-Champagne for lunch.
Barely had we savoured the last mouthful of wine before Céline announced we must be on the road for an organised 'surprise' ….
What a surprise it turned out to be. Céline's friend owns two magnificent Franches-Montagnes (or Frieberger) mares, a Swiss breed known for both riding and harness work and favoured historically by the Swiss army.
Chriska and Nora were harnessed up by Gerard and the four of us set off in his carriage for a tour of local historical sites including a pre-revolution battle site and a beautiful replica windmill. They were absolutely gorgeous animals and it was indeed a privilege to be cantering through fields of oats and alfalfa with the wind in our hair (well mine anyway) literally within 24 hours of touchdown in France!
This was such a special experience we didn't think it could be topped but we were wrong…. at 6pm we had a date with a private tour guide at nearby La Main de Massiges, an excavated WWI trench warfare site. This historical site, excavated and preserved by locals, is a chilling example of the fierce trench warfare that took place during the Battle of Champagne from 1915-1918.
Six bodies have so far been unearthed during the excavation along with relics including shells and personal effects. Our local guide, Pauline, did an excellent job recreating the scene for us in this very evocative site, not somewhere I will forget anytime soon.
By now it was after 7pm and we set off for Céline's house and a very convivial evening with Gerard and his wide Cati, both of whom did not speak English – with Celine interpreting we managed to have an hilarious evening, a bottle of rosé champagne helped I'm sure.
We stumbled into bed at midnight, congratulating our old selves on the stamina displayed on Day One!
2 thoughts on “First class – all the way in more ways than one!”