Category Archives: France

12 August, 2014 · 1:27 pm

Goodbye Paris, hello Brussels

With nothing on the agenda today until the train to Brussels just after midday, I had a nice sleep in and a leisurely breakfast before packing up. As I was packing, I found that my brand new Spender & Rutherford suitcase had started splitting all down one side, which was disappointing. I’ve emailed the company so let’s see what they can do.

Once packed up, I decided to not run the gauntlet of the metro to get to Gare du Nord, and took a taxi through the deserted streets. Only a few tourists around, so it looked like everyone else was either having a late sleepin or were already in the museums.

Gare Du Nord

Gare Du Nord

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Belgium, France

Tagged as , , ,

10 August, 2014 · 1:36 am

Paris Days 1 & 2

Up early today! To introduce me to Paris I had booked a walking tour with Urban Adventures (I’ve got a couple more in other places too) so I headed out in the drizzle to find the obelisk at Place Concorde.

On the way to the meet...

On the way to the meet…

Eventually our guide, Arthur, showed up, and met our group of seven, and we paused for a brief history lesson. Then we set off, around the streets nearby, wending our way through the “Paris end” of Paris, where all the prestigious shops were. The end of this section was making our way to Fauchon, the amazing gourmet food shop, where we stopped for a macaron. 

Fauchon macarons

Fauchon macarons

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under France

9 August, 2014 · 3:32 pm

Goodbye Reims, Hello Paris

My last day in Reims started like the previous – a long walk down to a champagne house! Today I was visiting Veuve Clicquot, one of my favourites, for their “Aromatiquement votre” tour. 

Again, I was first there, but the other two people on this activity turned up pretty soon – an American couple. We warmed pretty quickly, especially when trading stories about champers and dogs! (not together…)

Pinot Meunier grapes

Pinot Meunier grapes

The tour started with a quick background on the champagne region and VC’s part in it. We looked at the three types of grape vines used to make bubbles (chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, so named because the new growth looks like it’s dusted with flour, as “meunier” apparently means “miller”). 

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under France

7 August, 2014 · 4:19 am

Reims Day 2

Today was always going to be a full day, but it was very full!

I started out with breakfast at the hotel. Not too bad a buffet, but the pickings seemed a bit slim for the non-bread consumers, until I discovered a small bain marie hidden in a corner which had bacon, eggs and grilled tomatoes to add to my yoghurt, fruit salad, and of course, cheese! There was a nice selection of herbal teas, and I tried out the Verbena, which was light and refreshing. 

Macaron shop (sadly closed when I was walking past)

Macaron shop (sadly closed when I was walking past)

After breakfast, I headed off to Ruinart, to do a tour and tasting. They charge 70E for the privilege, and take payment in advance, so it had a lot to live up to! The walk, 3km (well, more like 4km after I got “directionally challenged” a few times) from the hotel, was nice though, and took me out of the touristy centre. I was early, much to the consternation of the guard at the gate, who told me I couldn’t come in yet as nothing was open. Since they’re primarily a producer, not a marketer like Moet, they don’t have a lot of staff to look after early tourists! 

Streets

Streets

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under France

Tagged as , ,

6 August, 2014 · 2:31 am

Seven Weeks Away – Reims day 1 (or one and a half…)

This trip is really pushing the boundaries of my blog title – seven and a half weeks away, which is at the same time scary and exciting!

I’m in Reims, France right now, finishing off Day 1 of this trip. More on that later though, as I’ve been told in no uncertain terms I MUST blog about the trip over. 

I’d booked the flights for this trip on Etihad, with Virgin points. Haven’t flown them before, but they just started flying from Perth a few weeks ago, and are cheaper than Singapore. One of the perks of business class with them, even on points, is that you get a chauffeur pickup, which is lovely, and makes sure you get to the airport nice and early! 

One of the other perks of being there nice and early was that a staff member pulled me aside and asked me if I wanted to pay to upgrade to First, since they had a plane change and it had First on it, which this flight won’t be doing regularly. $720. I thought about it for about three seconds and whipped out the credit card. Woohoo! 

In my suite 1A!

In my suite 1A!

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under France

Tagged as , ,