Champagne Weekend!

For my last weekend in Reims, I took plenty of time to relax after a long week at work, and I also toured several champagne caves.  Each champagne company has a "house", which is where there business is located.  They are usually very old, historical mansions where the champagne is made and where huge parties can also be held.  Underneath these mansions are the caves, usually about 20-40 meters underground.  This is where much of the maturation of the champagne takes place since the caves provide dark, cold, and humid environments.

Mercier Champagne

On Saturday Anne and I drove to Epernay, the next town over, also well known for it's champagne production.  We went to Menier Champagne, where they have a cute little train that drives visitors around the cave.  After the tour, where we saw thousands of bottle at different points in the champagne making progress, we also tasted one glass of their champagne.  On our way back we drove through the country side and stopped in a few cute little towns.

 

Mercier Champagne

Later that evening I went out with Camille and Olivier, the twins of the family.  We went to a bar and listened to a band from their school perform. It was a super fun environment (minus the cigarettes) and the music was good!

The next day I went with Anne and Clement to watch them vote (not much different than in the US) and then we stopped by the Cathedral.  We figured since I had never actually gone inside that I should do that.  It was beautiful, and I especially liked the stained glass windows that Chagall made.  The other fun/famous things about the Cathedral is the "smiling saint", seen in the photo below.

 

In the afternoon I stopped by another champagne cave that was near the center of Reims just to be able to see a different company.  The caves and process were mostly the same, though this company's caves are much more recent and now quite as charming.  But we got 3 glasses of champagne instead of just 1! ;)

Finishing up my last week at the hospital then off to my travels with Kristin! Can't wait!

Exclusive Blog Pic: Operating Room!

Here is a blog exclusive picture from my work at the hospital! On Wednesday I shadowed in the operating room at the hospital.  I got to wear scrubs (my new favorites), which they call pajamas here in France.  And since all the operating rooms are sterile, I also had to wear shoe covers, a hair net, and a face mask. 

I was mostly in the operating room to observe ophthalmology operations, which are eye surgeries.  I saw a few cataract repairs, and some few retina detachments.  They use microscope that also stream video, so I could watch both what they were doing, and see in detail on the TV screen.  

In the afternoon I heard news of an emergency surgery that was going to be arriving at the hospital soon.  Later as I was walking around the floor I saw the operating room where the patient was.  They were doing emergency abdominal surgery for an aneurysm on the aorta.  A nurse invited me in to watch.  It was super cool, and much more gory than eye surgery :) They were able to place a prosthetic link between the severed area on the aorta.  I saw all the organ and the added connection to the large artery.  Not sure if surgery is for me or not, but it's good to know I'm not squeamish about blood!

Saturday Market

 One of my favorite things about French culture are the outdoor markets they have at least one a week in each town, no matter how big (Paris), or how small (Vernou-Sur-Brenne).  Everyone gathers with their usually home grown produce, creating a huge melting pot of colors and smells.  Everything from flowers, to fruits, veggies, fresh fish, smelly cheeses, gigantic pots of paella, tables full of strawberries and homemade jams.

The family that I'm living with buys all of their fresh produce each Saturday at the outdoor market in Reims.  They hardy every go to the grocery store! Everyone has their favorite vendors, and always return to them.

 

I accompanied Vincent and Anne this Saturday to the market, even though I went last weekend. It was fun to see how they navigated and what they bought.  It was interesting how they bought certain fruits from one vendor, certain veggies from another.  If one table is out of rhubarb, they head to their second favorite.  And you know the produce is really fresh when you hear the vendors talking about how they aren't selling rhubarb because their plants in their garden are done growing. 

And as it always is in France, touching is strictly forbidden.  In the US, people like to take their time and find the perfect orange or mango, feeling, smelling, and sometimes tossing it to test its ripeness.  In France, that won't happen.  At a fruit stand, you tell the vendor you would like four nectarines and when you're planning on eating them.  He then picks out your fruit for you.  Last week I saw a lady (she was french, not a poor unknowing tourist), get yelled at for touching the fruit.  Reminded me of the market rules :)

 I really wish we had things like this in the US.  I know that we have farmer's market, but they just aren't the same, or maybe just not as widespread. But maybe it's something that no matter how good it is in the US, it will never be the same as it is in France.  The atmosphere just isn't the same.

Celebrating!

Although I would have loved to be home to celebrate the good news I received on Tuesday, it's hard to complain when I'm in the Champagne capital of the world! I simply hop off the train from work, sat down at a cute bistro, and ordered myself a wonderful glass of champagne...

Fêtes Johanniques

This past weekend in Reims we celebrated a weekend full of medieval festivities aimed at celebrating the life of Joan of Arc.

Since the apartment that I'm living in is right in the center of town, we were able to observe a lot of what was going on directly from our balcony! There were lots of artisan merchants with tents set up to sell their handmade crafts (jewelry, wooden swords, costumes, jams/jellys, toys, medieval replicas etc...). I bought a few homemade products, but what was the most gratifying at the time were the cups of cherries being sold for two euros! So delicious!

Fresh cherries!

A few of the beautiful displays (yep, real bread!)

There were also different performances and stations where you could see men and women welding swords, roasting pigs, making armor, knitting, sewing.  They had a few plays that were put on, a bird show, and lots of parades through town.

Hedwig made an appearance!

Sometimes the parades included camels (yes, to many of my friends' disbelief, there do see to be camels in France), other times horses, and once in a while geese!

 What a French camel looks like!

The most entertaining for me were the people who were all dressed in spirit and acting their parts as well. They were all very friendly and always answered questions about their crafts of costumes.  Overall it was a fun weekend of festivities, even though many of the locals grumble about it blocking the entire center of town.

Here are some of the people I saw over the course of the weekend:

France vs. Serbia

For the first time in lots of years (maybe 22?) the national french soccer team came to Reims to play a friendly game against Serbia before the Europe Cup this summer.  It was also the first time that the national team had played a game in Reims' stadium.

 

Ticket

 Vincent and I managed to get tickets from someone at the mayor's office after Vincent and his colleagues organized "worldwide no tobacco day".  So after the speaker finished his presentation around 8PM, we headed over to the stadium. We had really great seats and made it in time for kickoff.

 The stadium

 French flags after the goals were scored!

The french team played really well, scoring 2 goals in the first 15 minutes! They dominated the first half, but the second half not so much. Not too much action, but we still won 2-0! The Serb fans were pretty rowdy even though there were hardly any of them. Their reputation for being violent led to them being basically locked in the stadium until everyone else had left and then they were escorted out. Lots of police and national security people. A fun night at the soccer stadium though!

 Corner kick for France. Super close seats!

Paris for the weekend

This weekend was a three day weekend here in France. Not for Memorial Day, but for a church holiday. Weirdly enough it is celebrated by some and not by others as mandated my the government. So some companies choose this day to work unpaid while other businesses choose another day during the year. Part of "giving back" to the government... the term they use is "being in solidarity". Okay, end of side note.

So on Saturday afternoon I packed up my backpack, hopped on the TGV, and took the high speed train into Paris by myself.  This was the first time that I was going to be in Paris alone, and although I love traveling with my family, seeing the city on my own was a new and fun experience too!
When I first arrived, I took the metro to a little town right outside of Paris where the Durlach's grandparents live. They were kind enough to let me stay with them for the weekend. Check out their amazing view and cute little neighborhood:

 TGV ride!

 The cute neighborhood of Pont-de-Neuilly and the awesome view from the apartment!

Later that afternoon I headed back into Paris. I was hoping to go to the Musee d'Orsay but there was a long line and it was too nice out to spend the afternoon inside. Instead I wandered streets, zigzagging back and forth, taking pictures and taking in Paris. I passed Notre Dame, a cool outdoor flower market, and stopped on Ile St. Louis. Following in family tradition, I stopped at a central "brasserie" and ordered a glass of champagne (I wasn't even carded!!) and two scoops of the famous "Mme. Bertillon" ice cream (strawberry and salted carmel, the waiter's recommendation)

Ice cream and champagne!

 Notre Dame

Later, I walked around more neighborhoods, seeing the Latin neighborhood, stopping in a park near La Sorbonne, scoping out future museums, and of course taking pictures. I ended up at my favorite restaurant in Paris, "Bistro d'Henri" where I had honey magret de canard and a glass of wine. After a wonderful meal I headed towards the Eiffel Tower. I timed it just right and was able to see it "sparkle" at 10PM. It was lots of fun for my first day!

 

A delicious dinner at Bistro d'Henri  

The sparkling Eiffel Tower!

My second day started out with a nice run in the "Bois de Bourgogne", a forest/park area right near the apartment.  I then came back, showered, and headed back into Paris. Since it was Sunday I had to choose wisely what my plan was since most things are closed.  I headed to the Monet museum where I saw tons of great impressionist pieces. They had a special exhibit on Berte Morisot, it was spectacular.  Lots of great memories of being here as an 8 year old too! After a lunch "en terrasse" (outside at a little cafe table), I headed back towards Paris where I again did some walking around and spent time at the Jardins de Luxembourg doing some reading and relaxing. I stopped by the Musee de l'Organerie where I saw even more Monet pieces as well as other fantastic impressionist paintings.

Just for you and your love for Renoir, Dad!!

Les Jardins de Luxembourg!

I grabbed a sugar crepe as a quick snack before meeting up with Clement Durlach, the oldest of the kids, who lives in Paris. He showed me around some new neighborhoods and told me lots of stories about Paris' history! We had lots of fun before returning to the grandparents for dinner.

Monday I packed up my stuff and headed back into Paris for my last day. I did a tiny bit of shopping (limited myself to one purse), checked out some fancy areas with beautiful window displays, grabbed a hot panini and met up with Clement again in the afternoon. We saw Rue Mouftard, Rue des Goblins, and the Parisien Mosque. It was gorgeous, and afterwards we headed  around the corner to the garden where they serve mint tea and middle eastern pastries. It was delicious. We did a little more local sightseeing before I headed back on the TGV to Reims. My feet were absolutely aching, but I had had a great 3 days in Paris!!

 

Window displays at La Durée (famous macroon store)

 

 

The beautiful Parisien Mosque

Once more photos have been edited etc... I'll post them in a new post. Enjoy!