We were just about to have a leisurely breakfast at our fantastic overnight stop in Dinant when we saw two couples walking down the track to our park up. They had arrived very early for their stopover with two massive German A Class motorhomes. one was blocking the track so we couldn’t get out so they parked it beside us. It felt like the equivalent of early morning towels being left on the sun beds! We decided against having breakfast there and left them to it. We found a field a few miles away to eat in comfort (P4N#718421) before our long drive to Reims (pronounced Rance apparently).

We arrived around midday so, of course, everything was pretty much shut apart from bars and restaurants. We had found free parking by the football stadium (P4N#13068), which meant it was only a 20 min walk into the centre. Despite Reims being the capital of the champagne region and where kings of France were crowned, the place underwhelmed us. The huge cathedral felt more like a tourist attraction than a place of worship. There was a statue of Joan of Arc outside but even that was tucked into a corner so after a quick look round we returned to Dora to continue our way. On our way out of Reims we stopped at Veuve Cliquot and bought a friend a present. I’m not sure their champagne is any better than others but their marketing certainly is. Whilst Moet and Chandon is still the world leader in number of bottles sold per year, Veuve Cliquot is the market leader in the USA.

We went through lots of lovely villages and were amazed at how many champagne houses there were. Literally hundreds if not thousands. There was a lighthouse at Verzenay that acted as a centre for that region but we had to decline the tasting as we were still driving.

Our stopover for the night was the champagne vineyard of Yves Saintot. They are part of the France Passion scheme so we get to stay there overnight for free, get a free tasting and buy some bottles if we so desire. What’s not to love about this?

We had a lovely relaxed tasting from 18.30 for an hour or so and probably tried 6 different champagnes. We also got talking to our fellow tasters who were Dutch. They decided to buy cases of the stuff to take home with them whilst we were much more conservative and bought 3 bottles.

After another peaceful night with no early surprises, we continued our exploration of the area. The highlight had to be Hautvillers, the home of champagne, where Dom Perignon lived and was buried. The village up in the hills was delightful and well worth the slight detour. Again, we managed to get there for midday so the place was quiet but that suited us. Lunch in the van overlooking the vineyards before making our way to Epernay, the centre of champagne.

We had booked the only campsite in Épernay (P4N#10051) as we had decided to stay for a couple of nights and meet up with Solheim friends, Maria and Jane, as well as friends from home, Ben and Liz, who had literally left the U.K. that morning! We arrived at the campsite around 14.00 on Thursday, September 17. After setting up camp and greeting our visitors, we had a leisurely afternoon chilling and walking by the river. Back to the vans to open one of our purchases to celebrate Liz’s retirement (not this Liz) before a BBQ and a lovely evening spent in company.

We had a champagne tasting booked for midday on the Friday so after a light breakfast, we cycled into Epernay. It was much bigger than expected but the old centre was charming. We found a restaurant to eat later that evening and went onto our tasting at Charles Mignon. The tasting was great value and very entertaining. Our guide, Ludwig, was informative, charming and very dapper. A cross between Ben Kingsley and Hercule Poirot, complete with waxed moustache!

Three hours later we stumbled out of the tasting (thank god there was some food with it) before getting back on our bikes to explore the Avenue de Champagne where the likes of Moet and Chandon are situated. The whole avenue was very refined although the Moet house was very modern in comparison.

Back to the van to recover before getting a taxi back into town to meet up with Ben and Liz for a lovely meal at Chez Françoise. By 21.00 we were all ready for bed so an early night for all of us as some had long drives planned for the next day.

Miles since last blog: 141

Miles this trip: 758