My parents have headed home to the US. The three weeks went by so quickly. It was so great having them here and the house feels really empty now. We had our final dinner Tuesday night at the restaurant in our neighborhood. Of course, my parents have made friends with the owners and they were crying as they told my parents goodbye.
We said our goodbyes Wednesday morning and took them to Frankfurt where they headed back home.
While they were here last week, I passed a big milestone: I’ve been in Germany for a year now! We were really busy with their visit so I didn’t have time to stop and think about it. But, now that I have a minute, I did have a couple of thoughts about a whole year being behind us now. First, I guess we have to stop saying that we ‘just got here.’ We definitely feel ingrained in the community here and we have a sense of normalcy. With that being said, it also doesn’t feel so much like a vacation every day as it did when we first got here. There is a little bit of a sad feeling because we are now technically one-third of the way through our tour. There are so many things and people that we are going to miss when its over. It also makes me feel really rushed; we still have a lot more to see before our time is up here.
Friday, I took off work for a long weekend with some friends. We went to the Champagne region of France, which is about five hours away.
We left first thing in the morning so we arrived in our first stop, Hautvillers around lunch time. We found a cute cafe that only served food in ‘cocottes.’ After some research, we discovered the cocottes are small pots with lids that food is cooked in and then served. We had ratatouille and chicken fernier. It was SO GOOD! I’ve never tried anything like it and can’t wait to try it again.
After lunch, we walked over to Tribaut Champagne for our first tasting. We each had a wine flight and left with several purchased cases.
The next stop was Mercier Cellars in the city of Epernay. Mercier was known for expanding the production and popularity of Champagne in the 1800s and today, it is the number one selling Champagne brand in France. The cellars themselves are famous for having over 18km of caves underneath their champagne house (and the surrounding buildings and streets).
We took an elevator down 30 meters under Epernay where we took a train ride through the cellars to see the wine where it is aged, the underground rooms that can be rented for events, and the art and sculptures that they have decorated the caves with.
After the ride through the caves, we went back above ground for a tasting of some different Mercier champagnes. I really loved one and picked up a case and some glasses in the shop on the way out.
We got checked into our hotel in Epernay and did some walking around the city, then had dinner at a restaurant downtown. Afterwards, we continued our walk for about an hour before I realized that my sunglasses case, with two pairs of sunglasses in it, was missing. I just knew it was a lost cause, being France, but I gave it a chance and rushed back to the restaurant. To my surprise, they had them at the bar. I could not believe my luck and I know better to not drop them again because I won’t be so lucky again next time.
Saturday, we had breakfast and headed to our first stop, Thibauld Chocolaterie. We did a chocolate workshop where we made our own chocolate and got a tour of the factory. Their chocolate was so good, I definitely purchased more to take home on the way out.
After the chocolate workshop, we headed to the Epernay hot air balloon, where we took a ride to take in the views of the city. The ride came with a glass of champagne, which definitely increased the enjoyment of the ride.
After our ride, we drove to Rheims. In France, most restaurants open for lunch, close in the afternoon, and then reopen for dinner. It was now about 2:30 and we were starved but most restaurants were closed. We did stumble upon a little hole in the wall restaurant that had the most delicious food. There were only three things on the menu: a fish salad, a pork dish, and a carpaccio. I went with the pork dish, even though it isn’t something I would have ever ordered given more choices, but it was so good. In fact, every meal over the weekend was so good; I think I need to give French food more of a chance.
After lunch, we walked over to the city center and saw Rheims Cathedral.
On the way back to the car, we stopped in another church, the Church is Saint Remy for a few minutes.
After we drove back to Epernay, we walked along the Avenue de Champagne and stopped for some more champagne at Collard-Picard, where we drank two more bottles and enjoyed a charcuterie board. Afterwards, we grabbed some pizza and more champagne and headed back to the hotel.
Sunday morning, we had breakfast and got ready to get on the road. We made a pit stop at a bakery in town to stock up on baguettes, eclairs, and other French pastries before we headed home.
Brooklyn had a busy weekend too. On Saturday, she had a camp out with her Girl Scout troop and then Sunday, she bridged to the senior level. We ended the weekend with dinner with two other families at the Italian restaurant by our house.
Gilcrests Abroad 