Champagne Region

I'd say this stop wasn't in our plans... but since none of this trip has been planned, that wouldn't much distinguish it from the other recent stops.

As many of you know, we have long had a habit of checking in on the daily to see how we feel, if we are happy, and if there is anywhere we'd rather be or anything we'd rather be doing. We haven't had any set plans after the chance to see our friends in the south of France, and so these conversations have been even more present than usual.

I think the overall pulse is/has been that while we're enjoying this chance to hop around Europe, we are also becoming keenly aware that we are — tired. As much as we love travel, hopping on and off trains and from Airbnb to Airbnb isn’t exactly our style. There’s a specific kind of tired that creeps in when you’re constantly moving but never arriving. We’ve felt it building for some time, and as beautiful as this whirlwind is, we’re craving something slower. Something more grounded (hows that for irony from people craving the ocean). ;)

We have long traveled with our home on our back (either van or boat) specifically because we prefer a VERY slow path and staying places as long as we can. In this case, we are really aware of how fast we're moving and also how much money we're spending — so we've made the decision to start working our way toward Amsterdam, where we can easily hop a flight to Bonaire — which for us means both ocean/underwater (happiness) and a place to stay without spending money.

That is several days of train rides away, so we quickly started looking for logical stops along the way... but we rarely make choices based in logic (which I came to terms with long ago).
After a quick perusal of possible routes east, it didn’t slip by without Jen noticing that the Champagne region of France was generally along the way. Next thing I know, tickets are booked and we're hopping on a train that way.

A couple of weeks ago, racing through the tunnels underneath Paris to make our way from one train station to the next was nothing short of culture shock, but now it seems like second nature (though... still far from how we'd choose to spend our travel days).

We arrived in Epernay, once again made our way up an impossibly tight spiral staircase, and settled in. In the morning, we strolled along what is dubbed "the most expensive street in the world," Avenue de Champagne (though, to be fair... all the money/bottles that earn that moniker are well under that street, in the tunnels and caves that store the champagne more than 30 meters below the surface).

The weather wasn't the best, and early in our day it felt like we would have the entire street to ourselves. We walked by the famous Champagne houses of the well-known brands (Dom Pérignon, Moët & Chandon, Perrier, etc.) until we felt like we had reached almost the "end" of the street and then ducked into Mercier. Having done no research, we had no idea what to expect... but may have chosen well.

Mr. Mercier, aside from making great champagne, apparently was quite the marketing genius. The house and cellar tour here taught us everything we needed to know about champagne as well as the storied history of the house Mercier (including how he commissioned the 20-year construction of a massive barrel — technically a cask — large enough to hold over 200,000 bottles of bubbly and then dragged it through the countryside to show it off at the 1889 World Fair in Paris).

While that put the Mercier name on the map globally, he continued in future years with hot air balloon rides and eventually a train to take visitors on tours of the 18km of underground cellars, which still goes on to this day (lucky us).

The air underground was cool and quiet, thick with the scent of stories and time. As we rolled along the dimly lit tunnels on Mercier’s little train, we felt like we’d stumbled directly into history itself. I'm not sure how the other champagne houses handle their cellar tours — but this was quite the start to our day!

While we had grand plans of hopping to a few of the well-known houses on our way back, we met new friends during the tasting that followed who invited us to join them at their favorite house (which happened to be just across the street).

Champagne Elodie D is a much smaller and less opulent affair, but the tasting was delicious and we stayed far longer than expected enjoying our new friends, hearing about how they all met, and sharing some of our adventures.

We’ve said it before — it’s rarely about the places, and almost always about the experiences and the people you meet along the way. One minute you’re strangers tasting bubbles; the next, you’re swapping stories like old friends and promising open invitations across borders.

We did get all-too-kind invitations to stay with them if our travels found us back in the UK... but there's a good chance that was just their bubbly talking. ;)

We eventually made our way back along the street, but the temptation to hit another house was quickly trumped by the need for food. Much to our surprise, it was still only early afternoon and most places were closed for lunch (something we're still getting used to... or at least timing poorly — in Europe).

This time, however, it treated us well, as the meal was exceptional — as was the conversation with the owners about their business (a combination italian and vietnamese) and our mutual travels.