A Very Bubbly Weekend

Since today is a holiday in Holland (we all think it's Pentecost, but we're not exactly sure!), some co-workers of mine decided to plan a trip to the Champagne region in France. They were kind enough to invite me with them, and I gladly accepted! :) The group was made up of myself, Karyn (a co-worker and friend, also originally from the United States, but now considered "Ameripean"), Fabio and Alex (my two Italian co-workers), and Sam (Fabio's friend). We set off on Friday afternoon after work, and made our way to Brussels. It was the first trip to Belgium for all of us except for Karyn. I have to say, it was pretty excited to pass "Welcome to XX Country" signs in the same way I used to pass "Welcome to XX State signs" when driving back home. Anyways... we walked around Brussels for a bit, seeing some famous sights such as the town hall and the "Mannequin Pis" (seriously, a mannequin that stands peeing in all his glory for all to see). We also enjoyed dinner at a local brewery. New discovery - I love Belgian beer! It is delicous! :)

The Cathedral on the Town Square

Me with the Manneqin Pis

Karyn and Alex

Sam and Fabio

Brussels is kind of a weird city... well, I guess it's Belgium in general. It's kind of stuck in the middle, with no real culture of it's own. All of the signs are in Dutch and French, and I think most people speak both... just an interesting fact.

Anyways, the next morning, we headed to Eparnay and to our first champagne cellar, Moet and Chandon. This is one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) producer of champagne in the world. We started with a tour of the grounds and the champagne cellar (I think there were 28 km of champagne storage), and then we made our way to the tasting room. I'm not a huge fan of champage, honestly, but this was pretty good. The process to make champagne is pretty interesting... to make a long story short, the first fermentation occurs in the barrel, but the second one actually occurs in the bottle - that is why there are bubbles in it. Another thing I didn't really know - champagne is really just white wine with bubbles in it - it's made from three kinds of grapes - Chardonney, Pinot Meunier (sp?), and Pinot Noir. Like I keep telling people, I learn something new every day here! :)

The outside of the Cellar

Wall after Wall of Champagne Bottles

Champage on "Riddling" Boards, which are turned daily to work the sediment out of the bottle

Karyn and I sipping our cares away

Me, Fabio, Sam, & Karyn

That night, we hung out in the town where we were staying, Reimes. We had dinner at a local Brasserie, and I decided to go French for the night. We started with an appetizer of Fois Gras, then I had steak tartare (raw beef - yikes), and then chocolate mousse. It was all so yummy... until the next morning. I think the steak tartar did me in, because I did not feel so hot for the rest of the trip.

Steak Tartare

The next morning, we woke up and had some French pastries for breakfast, then checked out the local cathedral. The cathedral in Reimes is kind of like the Westminster Abbey of France - all Kings and Queens are crowned here. It was impressive, but was badley damaged during the world wars, and is still being restored.

Yummy French Pastries

Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims

The Smiling Angel by the Entryway

Stained Glass Windows Designed by Chagall

The light was coming through the windows in such a beautiful way that morning

After hanging out in town for a few hours, we went for our second champagne tour, this one at Mumm, which is the third largest producer in the world.

This morning, Monday, we woke up on the earlier side and began the 5 hour journey back to the Netherlands. We decided to stop in Antwerp, which is a really cute city in Belgium. We had lunch there, did a little shopping, and then made our way home.

The town hall in Antwerp

All in all, it was a great trip. It was so nice to be among friends, to laugh, and to drink bubbly! We're already thinking about our next trip! :)