Its all about the bubbles....

...or so they say.  Our 2 days in the Champagne region suggest they are right!  From the barmaid in Reims who sat drinking a bottle at 11am (as we drank our morning cafe au lait) to to the sophisticated chic hostess at Moet et Chandon who says its perfectly acceptable with breakfast at 10 am, the bubbles are what this region is all about.  In that case, as the saying goes... if you can't beat them, join them! 


After managing to get ourselves locked in the Moet et Chandon premises (that was a real hardship) we set off on one of the champagne tourist routes.  Essentially this means that you drive (yes, drive) around as many champagne houses (the places where they make the stuff) as you want.  At each place, you knock on the door, ask to see the cellar and try some of their produce and most of the time they say yes!  It really is quite extraordinary.  We had a completely private tour of Henri's cellar along with an explanation of the process involved.  We told him that we would try the same with our grapes back in Woodford - but we got the feeling he did not believe us! 

Despite its name, the champagne route is not all about 'Les Maisons du Champagne'.  The scenery is stunning.  Rolling green hillsides covered in vines broken up by the churchyard spires from the hilltop villages.  

The pace of life is slow (as it would be if you regularly drank champagne with breakfast) and there is an air of clam and peacefulness about the place. We received a truly warm welcome from all of the locals and Henri's champagne went down very well with our home made, BBQ burgers. 

Not a bad Fridge!!!!