I can’t believe we’ve been in France for almost two weeks. Time has flown by! We just got back from Paris yesterday and we absolutely LOVED that city. That can’t be a surprise though. I think it’s in big part thanks to Carlene who showed us around for a few days; we discovered a bunch of hidden gems that don’t scream ‘Tourist’ and learnt a bunch of interesting tidbits. So here is a special ‘Merci!’ to Carlene!

Before I talk about our Paris adventure, I want to go back to our arrival and our first week in Reims.

Sept. 1-8, 2009

Jordan explained the stressful arrival, so I won’t recap that part, but I have to rewind to the plane ride. It was fantastic! It made me want to travel overseas on a regular basis. The second we sat down, we got wine and our meal (I got chicken, rice, bun and chocolate mousse desert) and it was delicious! I couldn’t sleep so I watched a few movies and the next thing I knew, they announce that they will be serving a little breakfast because we land in less than an hour. I couldn’t believe we were almost there! I don’t know why but I imagined it would feel like a never ending trip because you just want to get there already. Then voila! Bienvenue à Paris. A quick walk by customs who stamp my passport without any questions and there we are in the train on our way to Reims. Well, not really, but you get the idea. If Jordan’s post about our Metro/Train experience taught me anything, it’s to pack LIGHT and if you can’t because of the duration of your stay, then spend the money on a cab/shuttle to get to your connection.

Our first week in Reims consisted of scoping out our new surroundings. We found some great little grocery stores, bakeries, butcher shops. It’s immediately evident how much pride they have in eating well and eating local food. We also find an area that reminds us of the Byward Market on Place Drouet D’Erlon – there is an abundance of restaurants and brasseries (pub). It’s also a big tourist stop and one of the only places we’ve we heard people speaking English and many other languages apart from French. Our friendly waiter one night informed us the following useful tidbits:

• If you want to see the menu, ask to see ‘la carte’
• If you want water, ask for ‘une carafe d’eau’
• If you are ready for the bill, ask for ‘l’addition’ (I had said ‘la facture’)

He was a really friend guy, and the second he heard my accent, he said it reminded him of Celine Dion. I’ve been told that numerous times since then – way to be Celine!

We also found out on our first few days here that there are a bunch of markets around the city where every few days local farmers in the region come to sell their fruit/vegetables/cheese/meat/etc. You can imagine how happy we were to find out that the biggest market in Reims is a two minute walk from our place! Every Saturday from 6am to 1pm. It’s already become part of our routine! The first Saturday we went, I observed how local residents talked to the farmers (most will just say how much they want in kilograms) and then I decided it was my turn. So I approach a farmer who has good lookin’ potatoes.

Me: ‘Bonjour Monsieur, j’aimerais trios patates rouges s’il vous plaît.’

Farmer : (giggling) ‘Pardon?’

I then realize how ridiculous my French slang must sound to him…what’s a ‘patate’??

Me: ‘Oh! Désolé, j’aimerais trios pommes de terre rouge s’il vous plaît.’

Farmer : (still giggling) ‘D’accord!’

I am proud to say we went to the market today and they understood every word I said

So after familiarizing ourselves with the city’s downtown area, we decide that it’s time to check out one of the local ‘Maison de Champagne’ called Pommery. After all, we are in Champagne country! This was such a cool place to visit. Very informative. We learnt about the history of Champagne and how they make Champagne. Check out the pics of our visit for more info. Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without Champagne tasting and needless to say, it was delicious! Now, I have to try to figure out how to safely bring a few bottles home.

That’s all for me for now! I promise we’ll update more often to prevent such long posts. You don’t have time to read all of this…do you?! I will post about Paris tomorrow.

Bonne nuit!