Reims and Paris for Easter
Hey everyone,
Lany and I were very lucky with the weather over Easter, apparently it was pretty horrible in London. We took the Eurostar to Paris on Thursday just before the big rush, so despite big queues at the terminal to check in, security checks etc were very quick so we were on board without any major rushing. It's quite incredible that the journey only takes 2 hours 25(ish) minutes... that short a time and you're in Paris! (with none of the messing around you have to do when you fly).
So Thursday night we just stayed in Paris at Lany's friend's house (we call him ChouChou - pronounced shooshoo - he's a friend of hers from Grenoble and his real name is Thomas), and Friday morning we were off to Reims at 9am (ugh!, no sleep in for us!). Lany's sister (Yasmina) lives out there, so she picked us up. Drama started right from the first moment with us getting stuck in a traffic jam on the way to Yas's house. A traffic jam in Reims is basically impossible, so after sitting for a few minutes puzzled we eventually squeezed past some cars and parked in Yas's apartment block. The reason for the traffic jam was that a car had somehow flipped onto it's side in the middle of a little side road. How it happened is a mystery, but we got to watch the full production of the Pompiers (French firemen) smashing the back window, stabilising the driver, chopping the roof of the car off with jaws-of-life type stuff(!!!!), peeling the roof back, lifting the driver out into the Ambulance and then taking her away. They work quickly, it was quite amazing to see.
After sorting out stuff at Yas's place, she took us into town to look around. Reims is pretty small, I went for a run along the main canal going through town and in a 40 min run I covered about half the distance across the city (and then back). The day was so hot I had trouble keeping cool running, there was a lovely warm breeze (something we don't get in London, the wind is always cold).
Yasmina booked us in to visit a champagne producer (Mumm's) in the afternoon so we headed there just after lunch. I'm not a big fan of champagne however the tour was still great to see all the old machinery and stuff which they used to use to turn bottles, or move them etc. There's something like 25 kilometers of tunnels underneath the main house where they store their champagne. The turning/moving/tilting of the bottle is very important, but realistically it's just SO much ridiculous work it's no wonder champagne is expensive. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I do actually like some champagnes, but as your would expect, the nice ones are the expensive ones....! We picked up a nice bottle for dinner that night just to make it a bit of an occasion.
After the champagne tour we looked around town a little at the main 'older town' parts and shopping streets. But as mum and dad will testify because of "their trip to Europe in 1972" (I think that was the year... I can't believe I'd forget that), the main big thing in Rheims is the cathedral. I'm not sure what the connection is to Notre Dame in Paris (same builder? same religious order? ??) but it's like a mini version of the Paris one, and in some ways it's nicer as it's a little more simple and more 'manageable' to look at. The inside is very nice with a huge high ceilings and elaborate windows. The cathedral suffered a lot of damage in the wars etc and some of the windows were smashed, but they can't actually get new ones made (no one can do it anymore) so they've put just patterned coloured glass in some panes - it looks so crap next to the 'real deal' windows - they're amazing.
So on Friday night we just relaxed at Yas's place with her boyfriend, and cracked our nice champers. That night a thunderstorm rolled in, and because it was hot etc, it smelt a bit like it does in Aus. It was very cool! On Saturday morning Yasmina took us for a drive out into the country to see all the vineyards and also to get a bit of fresh air. We walked through the forest on the top of La Montagne de Reims (the mountain is basically a hill) and saw some very unique trees which are all twisted and crazy-like. I took some photo's for you Sars. There are also some rope-courses up in the trees which are apparently pretty challenging, but we didn't have time for them. The little village dotting the hillside are very cute too.. people tend to live out there and drive into Reims each day for work. Again, we scored a beautiful sunny day. In the forest there are signs about not stepping on the trees... you'd have to be a giant to do that! So of course I had to play up on it (please refer to the ninja photo, the sign is there).
After our walk and lunch back home, we just hung around town some more in the afternoon and did some shopping. Later in the evening we went to a little fair/carnival thing that had set up in the middle of town. It was actually pretty crap (not many games and stuff), but we did go on the bumper cars. Right at the end Lany and I were charging straight for each other (chicken style) from opposite ends of the area when she turned away, and then 5 seconds later the power cut... damn, we would have smashed each other!
After that we had dinner at home, more champagne and foie gras, then after dinner Lany's sister and her boyfriend hid Easter eggs around the house for us to find. Very cute ;)
Sunday morning we were on the train back to Paris again at 9am (ugh!) to stay with Chouchou for the last two days. Chouchou had had a big night the night before so we all went to the markets to get some breakfast and got stuff for a nice egg and bacon recovery-breakfast. After that we went for a big walk to Notre Dame because I wanted to see what they were doing for Easter. As you'd expect it was completely packed with queues out and around the corner, and all through the plaza/square in front of the cathedral (different queues for mass vs visit). Lany and I snuck into a line to get there, but only caught the very end of the service. We sat in the cathedral for a while hoping another one would start but the next service wasn't until very late in the afternoon, so we had to move or people probably would have killed us for taking their places.
After a bit more of a walk near the Louvre, and the park next to it (the Tuileries) with some time taken to people watch, we had to meet up with chouchou in the northeast of Paris. Up this end of town are some redevelopment projects surrounding some canals, which are very nice. The area also has a big old-school romantic park which we relaxed in for a while (we wanted to sunbathe, but there were a lot of clouds, it was still warm though). Because it stays light so late we hung around there until we headed back into town, and to dinner in a cool cafe. To get there we tested out the new Paris system when you can basically hire bikes for free. There are bike stations all around town where you get a day membership (1 euro), or yearly for 30 euro, and check in/out bikes. Any trip under 30 mins is free and there are stands all over the place (almost every two streets). It's brilliant. We rode back to town along the canal and people were everywhere, hanging around, playing music etc.
Sunday we got to sleep in a bit (finally) and grabbed a quick breakfast at a nearby cafe. Because the bike thing had worked out so well the day before, we decided to grab some more and head to a park area in the south of Paris. Because it was a public holiday many roads had been closed off for cars and we ended up spending the day cruising around town on bikes, stopping every 30 mins to swap bikes and see stuff that ChouChou was pointing out. It was sunny and warm - an absolutely perfect day! We rode for something like four hours with stops on the way and covered a LOT of Paris. If anyone goes there, I recommend using these bikes to get around, it's perfect on Sundays or Public holidays when stuff is all closed. We also spent some time in Jardin Luxembourg (which was packed) sitting on chairs and people-watching in the sun.
That was about it for the weekend as we had to be the 7pm Eurostar back to London. I was VERY impressed to get on the train and see that my arms, neck and face were a little red, I actually managed to get a bit of sunburn. Amazing stuff!
As you'd expect, London hasn't been the same this week. The weather is very gloomy and raining. While my weekend was brilliant, this week at work has been a nightmare. The project I'm working on had a major migration planned over the Easter weekend which had to be postponed for two weeks because things weren't ready. So this week we had to clear up the fallout from that and get the project back on track. Most days I'm not even getting time to eat my lunch (properly), I just kind of scoff it in front of my computer while working. Anyway, it's the weekend now so I plan to get some proper sleep!
Anka
Lany and I were very lucky with the weather over Easter, apparently it was pretty horrible in London. We took the Eurostar to Paris on Thursday just before the big rush, so despite big queues at the terminal to check in, security checks etc were very quick so we were on board without any major rushing. It's quite incredible that the journey only takes 2 hours 25(ish) minutes... that short a time and you're in Paris! (with none of the messing around you have to do when you fly).
So Thursday night we just stayed in Paris at Lany's friend's house (we call him ChouChou - pronounced shooshoo - he's a friend of hers from Grenoble and his real name is Thomas), and Friday morning we were off to Reims at 9am (ugh!, no sleep in for us!). Lany's sister (Yasmina) lives out there, so she picked us up. Drama started right from the first moment with us getting stuck in a traffic jam on the way to Yas's house. A traffic jam in Reims is basically impossible, so after sitting for a few minutes puzzled we eventually squeezed past some cars and parked in Yas's apartment block. The reason for the traffic jam was that a car had somehow flipped onto it's side in the middle of a little side road. How it happened is a mystery, but we got to watch the full production of the Pompiers (French firemen) smashing the back window, stabilising the driver, chopping the roof of the car off with jaws-of-life type stuff(!!!!), peeling the roof back, lifting the driver out into the Ambulance and then taking her away. They work quickly, it was quite amazing to see.
After sorting out stuff at Yas's place, she took us into town to look around. Reims is pretty small, I went for a run along the main canal going through town and in a 40 min run I covered about half the distance across the city (and then back). The day was so hot I had trouble keeping cool running, there was a lovely warm breeze (something we don't get in London, the wind is always cold).
Yasmina booked us in to visit a champagne producer (Mumm's) in the afternoon so we headed there just after lunch. I'm not a big fan of champagne however the tour was still great to see all the old machinery and stuff which they used to use to turn bottles, or move them etc. There's something like 25 kilometers of tunnels underneath the main house where they store their champagne. The turning/moving/tilting of the bottle is very important, but realistically it's just SO much ridiculous work it's no wonder champagne is expensive. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I do actually like some champagnes, but as your would expect, the nice ones are the expensive ones....! We picked up a nice bottle for dinner that night just to make it a bit of an occasion.
After the champagne tour we looked around town a little at the main 'older town' parts and shopping streets. But as mum and dad will testify because of "their trip to Europe in 1972" (I think that was the year... I can't believe I'd forget that), the main big thing in Rheims is the cathedral. I'm not sure what the connection is to Notre Dame in Paris (same builder? same religious order? ??) but it's like a mini version of the Paris one, and in some ways it's nicer as it's a little more simple and more 'manageable' to look at. The inside is very nice with a huge high ceilings and elaborate windows. The cathedral suffered a lot of damage in the wars etc and some of the windows were smashed, but they can't actually get new ones made (no one can do it anymore) so they've put just patterned coloured glass in some panes - it looks so crap next to the 'real deal' windows - they're amazing.
So on Friday night we just relaxed at Yas's place with her boyfriend, and cracked our nice champers. That night a thunderstorm rolled in, and because it was hot etc, it smelt a bit like it does in Aus. It was very cool! On Saturday morning Yasmina took us for a drive out into the country to see all the vineyards and also to get a bit of fresh air. We walked through the forest on the top of La Montagne de Reims (the mountain is basically a hill) and saw some very unique trees which are all twisted and crazy-like. I took some photo's for you Sars. There are also some rope-courses up in the trees which are apparently pretty challenging, but we didn't have time for them. The little village dotting the hillside are very cute too.. people tend to live out there and drive into Reims each day for work. Again, we scored a beautiful sunny day. In the forest there are signs about not stepping on the trees... you'd have to be a giant to do that! So of course I had to play up on it (please refer to the ninja photo, the sign is there).
After our walk and lunch back home, we just hung around town some more in the afternoon and did some shopping. Later in the evening we went to a little fair/carnival thing that had set up in the middle of town. It was actually pretty crap (not many games and stuff), but we did go on the bumper cars. Right at the end Lany and I were charging straight for each other (chicken style) from opposite ends of the area when she turned away, and then 5 seconds later the power cut... damn, we would have smashed each other!
After that we had dinner at home, more champagne and foie gras, then after dinner Lany's sister and her boyfriend hid Easter eggs around the house for us to find. Very cute ;)
Sunday morning we were on the train back to Paris again at 9am (ugh!) to stay with Chouchou for the last two days. Chouchou had had a big night the night before so we all went to the markets to get some breakfast and got stuff for a nice egg and bacon recovery-breakfast. After that we went for a big walk to Notre Dame because I wanted to see what they were doing for Easter. As you'd expect it was completely packed with queues out and around the corner, and all through the plaza/square in front of the cathedral (different queues for mass vs visit). Lany and I snuck into a line to get there, but only caught the very end of the service. We sat in the cathedral for a while hoping another one would start but the next service wasn't until very late in the afternoon, so we had to move or people probably would have killed us for taking their places.
After a bit more of a walk near the Louvre, and the park next to it (the Tuileries) with some time taken to people watch, we had to meet up with chouchou in the northeast of Paris. Up this end of town are some redevelopment projects surrounding some canals, which are very nice. The area also has a big old-school romantic park which we relaxed in for a while (we wanted to sunbathe, but there were a lot of clouds, it was still warm though). Because it stays light so late we hung around there until we headed back into town, and to dinner in a cool cafe. To get there we tested out the new Paris system when you can basically hire bikes for free. There are bike stations all around town where you get a day membership (1 euro), or yearly for 30 euro, and check in/out bikes. Any trip under 30 mins is free and there are stands all over the place (almost every two streets). It's brilliant. We rode back to town along the canal and people were everywhere, hanging around, playing music etc.
Sunday we got to sleep in a bit (finally) and grabbed a quick breakfast at a nearby cafe. Because the bike thing had worked out so well the day before, we decided to grab some more and head to a park area in the south of Paris. Because it was a public holiday many roads had been closed off for cars and we ended up spending the day cruising around town on bikes, stopping every 30 mins to swap bikes and see stuff that ChouChou was pointing out. It was sunny and warm - an absolutely perfect day! We rode for something like four hours with stops on the way and covered a LOT of Paris. If anyone goes there, I recommend using these bikes to get around, it's perfect on Sundays or Public holidays when stuff is all closed. We also spent some time in Jardin Luxembourg (which was packed) sitting on chairs and people-watching in the sun.
That was about it for the weekend as we had to be the 7pm Eurostar back to London. I was VERY impressed to get on the train and see that my arms, neck and face were a little red, I actually managed to get a bit of sunburn. Amazing stuff!
As you'd expect, London hasn't been the same this week. The weather is very gloomy and raining. While my weekend was brilliant, this week at work has been a nightmare. The project I'm working on had a major migration planned over the Easter weekend which had to be postponed for two weeks because things weren't ready. So this week we had to clear up the fallout from that and get the project back on track. Most days I'm not even getting time to eat my lunch (properly), I just kind of scoff it in front of my computer while working. Anyway, it's the weekend now so I plan to get some proper sleep!
Anka
posted by Anthony Hawke at 8:33 pm
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