Tag Archives: Champagne

Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips, chocolate, trip planning

A champagne drawing and a coin flip later…

Featured photo is Bill when we were younger and cuter… trying a flight of beers in Brussels, back in September 2008.

So… after a VERY dramatic weekend (detailed on my main blog), Bill and I finally figured out where we will be going on our next vacation. Although it’s not usually difficult for us to decide where to travel, this time it was really hard to make our choices. A lot has to do with what’s going on in the world right now. We wanted to avoid risk and hassles, yet still have fun.

For this vacation, which starts on March 21st, we considered Croatia, Albania, Poland, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Italy, and Austria. I didn’t really want to go to Italy, because we went there a year ago. I love Italy, but I wanted to go somewhere different. However, I had it in mind that I wanted to go to a nice spa, and a lot of the best ones are in South Tyrol, which is in Italy.

My mind started changing about the appeal of the spa hotels when I realized that a lot of them are resorts. Sometimes I enjoy the resorts, which usually come with half board. But they do have a drawback, because sometimes having included food means that we don’t try as many restaurants or get off the resort’s property as much as we should. Sometimes resorts can be noisy and crowded.

Also, some resorts kind of have a cruise ship feel, which I didn’t think I’d enjoy right now. We went to a resort hotel in the South Tyrol back in 2020– during the height of the pandemic– and we got the side eye from so many people because we were Americans in Europe at a time when Americans weren’t supposed to be in Europe. Now, our dumbass POTUS has taken us to war with Iran. The last thing I want to deal with is people blaming me personally for what Trump does, especially when I am on vacation.

When we were finally ready to make a choice, I put my hand in the champagne bucket and pulled out a slip of paper that read… CROATIA! Yea! I love Croatia, and there are a lot of places I want to see there, especially after our visit in 2021. But then I started looking into the logistics of doing what I really wanted to do, and I realized that it would work better as a road trip. We don’t have enough time for a proper road trip for this vacation.

However, March is a good time to go see places like Split and Dubrovnik, because there aren’t so many tourists at this time of year. It’s also not hot right now. Maybe next year, or in the fall, we can do that… if we haven’t been kicked out of Europe.

So, I drew again, and pulled out a slip of paper that read… BELGIUM! Great! It’s funny, because before I started getting totally overwhelmed with choices, I had thought to myself that I wanted to go to Belgium again. We’ve been a few times since we moved back to Germany in 2014, but we have not ventured back to the capital city– Brussels. Bill and I visited Brussels in 2008, when we were a lot younger and poorer. We had an absolute BLAST!

I remember just before we went for Labor Day weekend, Bill was working really hard and putting in a lot of overtime. He sent me a funny email that read, “I want to go to Brussels and see Mannekin Pis.” It was mainly because he was really pissed off! We spent the weekend eating frites, waffles, chocolate, and croissants. We also drank a shitload of excellent beer! And we also took a day trip to Bruges. I don’t think we’ll go to Bruges again this time, since we’ve been back there since our 2008 trip. But I do know of some bars I want to visit again. I have also booked us a very nice looking and rather posh hotel!

Check out these old photos from September 2008!

We last went to the city of Paris in May 2009, for Memorial Day weekend. It was right after Bill learned that we were going to have to leave Europe a year sooner than we planned. I was PISSED. This was something that had been orchestrated by Bill’s narcissistic war boss, who was later very publicly fired. Going back to the US a year early ended up working out for us, in the long run. Still, I was not happy about being yanked a year early, especially when it turned out that the job Bill had been “handpicked for” was just a bullshit billet so that Bill’s ex boss could move a different guy to a more prestigious job. But, as you can see, we got that year back and then some… many times over.

Below are some photos from our 2009 trip to Paris. I went there once before, back in September 1997, right after Princess Diana died. Unfortunately, that trip was with my sister, who was driving me crazy…

We had a great time in Paris. I remember at one point, we went to this very unassuming little brasserie and had the most wonderful lunch. Bill discovered a new favorite wine that we actually found a couple of bottles of in the States. I actually considered going to the the winery that produces that wine, down in Narbonne. I decided not to because, again, the logistics were a bit difficult for the amount of time we have.

We decided to go to Paris after considering going to the Champagne region. I actually wanted to go to Champagne, but realized that it would be a logistical hassle getting back to Frankfurt because we are doing this trip by train, instead of driving. Going to Brussels by train is a snap from Frankfurt. In fact, we went by the now defunct Thalys train in 2008. And going to Paris from Brussels is also easy; I think we’ll be using the Eurostar train, which is what replaced Thalys. Last time we went to Paris, we flew Air France, which was a mistake, mainly because it took FOREVER to get to the city from the airport.

We can still visit Champagne if we want to, as it’s only a 39 minute train ride from Paris. But I have a feeling we’ll just drink bubbly in the City of Lights!

I have found us a lovely hotel in Paris, too… in a different area of the city than where we stayed last time we visited. In 2009, we went to Montparnasse, and stayed in a hotel near the Luxembourg Gardens and a bar where Ernest Hemingway used to frequent. This time, we’ll be in the heart of the city, near the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. Maybe this time, we’ll even go up the Eiffel Tower, which I haven’t done on either of my previous visits. We’re also finally going to visit the Louvre.

Anyway… this adventure starts in twelve days, and will last until March 29th. Hopefully, all will go well, and nothing horrific will happen between now and then. Knock on wood!

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“Looking for trouble” on President’s Day weekend in Robert-Espagne, France… part four

We missed the chance to try another restaurant on Saturday for dinner because we were both full from lunch.  Also, the dogs were howling when we got back to the rental house.  They don’t usually howl, but I was afraid they might annoy someone.  Bill was also going through, obsessively cleaning everything.

Anyway, we had a quiet dinner in the house.  Bill found a rotisserie chicken at the same market where he found the detergent for my sister.  We enjoyed lots of wine, some music, and a lively discussion.  After we finished talking and drinking, we hit the sack…

On Sunday morning, Alexandre came over with his father to do some yard work.  It was kind of novel to see them out there working, since yard work is forbidden on Sundays in most parts of Germany.  Bill walked the dogs and they had a run in with a huge bay draft horse.  I saw the horse being led down the street after Bill and the dogs saw him.  He said the dogs went nuts and the locals were refreshingly cool about it.  He got no dirty looks from anyone.  It’s like the French know that dogs will bark sometimes.  That’s what dogs do.

When he came back from walking the dogs, Bill talked to Alexandre, and they bonded over their mutual “soldier in Iraq” experiences.  I always enjoy hearing Bill’s stories about talking to soldiers who serve other countries.  I think they’re more alike than they are different.  He says he’s bonded with guys from Poland, the Netherlands, Romania, Greece, and places all over Africa.  Of course, he’s also bonded with German soldiers and now, a French soldier.  I think the experience may be universal in some ways.  Bill asked Alexandre if he minded if the dogs stayed alone in the house.  It was fine, so we decided to go to a little town called Couvrot to see if we could try some champagne.  I had seen it advertised on a French tourism Web site.

Couvrot is actually in the Champagne region.  It takes about 45 minutes to get there from Robert-Espagne.  Bill and I had plenty of time to talk, as well as notice the Yellow Vests having a barbecue on a median.

I don’t actually know a whole lot about the Yellow Vest movement, other than what I’ve seen in the news and heard from Bill.  What I have heard is that they represent people from rural parts of France who feel unfairly taxed to bankroll the rich.  They’ve been obstructing traffic with their protests, but on Sunday, they appeared to be grilling meat at a turnpike.

We reached Couvrot at about 1:45.  The vintner would not be open until 2:00pm and I was hungry, so we went looking for a restaurant with little success.  Couvrot is an even sleepier town than St. Dizier is.  But then we came upon a bigger town called Vitry-le-François, which we would have easily found if we’d just turned south instead of west.  It was a much more interesting town than St. Dizier and, bonus, we didn’t have to pay for parking there.

This is where we had lunch… Le Maxime Brasserie.  We decided to eat there because they don’t “pause” at 2:00pm.

This was the very convivial bar area.  I was enjoying the 80s era pop music from America and France.

But I was hungry and a little depressed, so I ordered some champagne… and Bill had a beer.  Our very cute and young waitress spoke no English, so we took a guess with the menu, which was posted on blackboards around the restaurant.

 

Bill had an entrecote with steak fries and gravy.

 

I had a surprisingly good fish burger.  It was kind of like fish n’ chips on a very fresh bun, with a fun relish and sauce.  The chips were especially good.  It hit the spot, along with the champagne, which did a lot to improve my mood.

 

And then we had poached pears with chocolate sauce and whipped cream… I had originally tried to order raspberry tiramisu, but the waitress missed my request.  This isn’t the first time this has happened in France, but I didn’t mind having poached pears.  I can get tiramisu anywhere.

There was also a “tiny” carnival going on.  There was one ride and two booths.  But the weather was so nice, it looked like people were enjoying themselves.

I loved this cathedral, COLLÉGIALE NOTRE DAME DE VITRY-LE-FRANÇOIS… the largest classic church of the Marne.

 
 
 

And these gates were situated at points around the city.  It really was an attractive town.  We may have to come back and explore it some more.

After lunch, we went back to Couvrot and drove into the open driveway at the Bourcier Winery.  It was about 3:30pm.  We were a bit confused when we drove in, since it was hard to tell where we should go.  It appeared to be a very small vintner specializing in champagne, but there was no obvious shop.  Instead, it appeared to be and actually was someone’s home with a cave in the basement.  A pleasant lady came out to greet us, but she spoke no English.  Still, she was game to show us her bubblies, and she did have some literature in English.

The inside of the cave.  I think they offer tours when the tourist season is nigh.   

We tried two champagnes.  This one was a rose, which was very good.

We also had a white…

We left with six bottles– three rose and three white.  I love my bubbly, so this is a good thing.

A parting shot as we left the winery.  There was a lone gelding standing in the paddock.  I would have liked to have said hi to him.  I could tell he was very relaxed.  If you’ve spent any time around male horses, you could probably tell, too.  😉

We drove back through the abbey to get back to the house.  I wished we had another day to explore it.  It looked like a lovely place to take walks and enjoy the peace of nature.

This tunnel is located very close to the house where we were staying.  I think it’s cool looking.

 

I must admit, champagne is a mood booster.  I was feeling a lot better when we got back to the house, even though we had to drive back today.  It wasn’t enough time.  I’d like to go back to Robert-Espagne when the weather is a little bit warmer.

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“Looking for trouble” on President’s Day weekend in Robert-Espagne, France… part one

A couple of weeks ago, probably between Bill’s two most recent TDY trips, I asked him if he’d like to take a trip over the long President’s Day weekend.  He said sure.  Off I went to Booking.com, my trusty source for pet friendly accommodations.  Next weekend, we have plans to visit a new Hunde pension, so maybe we can take a few more petless trips.  But, for now, Zane and Arran have to come with us when we leave town, so pet friendly digs are important.

I had originally wanted to go to the Czech Republic, like we did last year.  I found a really nice looking and pet friendly apartment near Chodova Plana, which is where Chodovar Brewery and Beer Spa is.  But the apartment I wanted to book was not available for President’s Day weekend.  It’s a shame, too, because we went to Chodovar for President’s Day weekend in 2009– ten years ago– and it would have been fun to go back this year.  They have done a lot of renovating since 2009, but it’s still cheap.  When we went in 2009, we stayed in the hotel at the brewery, but though the hotel is pet friendly, Zane and Arran are not hotel friendly.

Since the apartment near Chodovar wasn’t available, I went back to my list of saved properties.  When we were still living near Stuttgart, I saved a bunch of pet friendly accommodations that ticked all or most of the boxes of what I look for when I look for pet friendly places.

Luckily, we’ve found plenty of places where our dogs are welcome.  Our visit to rural Robert-Espagne, France was very pet friendly, as we booked the weekend at the charming, historic Maison Qui s’y frotte s’y pique, a house that was built in 1920.  The owners, Alexandre and Stephanie, bought the house about a year ago and renovated it with a new kitchen, bathroom, and electric shutters.  It now boasts mixture of old world charm and modern convenience.

I was a little hesitant to book at first.  For one thing, the rates for this house are dirt cheap.  Sometimes, when you get dirt cheap rentals, you get everything you paid for and less.  For another thing, I wasn’t sure what there was to do in the area.  I think I found it when I was looking for rentals near the Champagne region, but Robert-Espagne isn’t super close to Champagne, nor is it that close to Lorraine.  It really is in “the real France“… as in, it’s not really a tourist friendly area.  However, if your goal is to experience France, away from your American countrymen, it’s not a bad place to be.  And if you want to walk your dog out in nature, go kayaking, or visit historic sites from World War I, it’s also a good bet.

We planned to do none of those things… I just wanted a change of scenery and maybe the chance to pick up some champagne.  I had read there was a small vintner near Robert-Espagne that offered tastings and tours.  I also looked forward to good food and people watching.  We did manage to have a couple of meals and we have six new bottles of champagne.  I got some pictures, too, although our plans to do a lot were a bit thwarted because we were distracted by an issue that came up just after our arrival at our rental house.

Speaking of the house, here are a few photos…

The outside of the house.  “Qui s’y frotte s’y pique” is a saying that translates to “If you go looking for trouble, you’ll find it.”  Come to think of it, that sounds like the story of my life.

 

On our way to the this house, I got a message from Alexandre, the owner, who asked in French that we call his parents when we were two hours out from our arrival.  Neither Bill nor I ever studied French, but it wasn’t too hard to figure out his request.  His parents live two doors down from the rental home, and they are super nice people.  However, they really speak very little to no English.  It wasn’t a big problem.  We basically understood what they said.  Alexandre’s mom speaks a little English and Alexandre, who is a captain in the French Army, speaks a tiny bit more.  He visited yesterday, since he is based near Strasbourg.  He and Bill bonded over being soldiers.  Alexandre has been to both Iraq and Afghanistan and he said he was very impressed by the dining facilities on the American bases.

The stairs were very old fashioned and creaky!  The floors are wood or tile.

One of the bedrooms.  We didn’t use this one and kept the door shut after I shooed Zane off the bed.  Incidentally, the owners prefer that animals stay on the first floor.

The other bedroom.  Both rooms have flat screen TVs and schranks.

 

Upstairs bathroom.  It has a generous sized tub and a shower, and everything is brand new.

 

The downstairs toilet.  It doesn’t have a sink…

 

But it does have a rainfall shower.  We didn’t use it because it wasn’t convenient.

 

The living/dining room.  It has a table for six, a couch, television, and two chairs.  We put our own towels on the furniture, since Zane and Arran are couch potatoes.

 

We got a kick out of the owners 45s.  He had a bunch of 80s era pop music, some of which was from the US and some from France.  I was impressed to see that he had a turntable equipped with a CD player.  It looked like it would also accommodate an MP3 player, although I just used my laptop.  WiFi is free.

Very nice kitchen with a striking tile floor.  It has an induction stove top, a huge fridge, dishwasher, and most everything else you’d need.

Smoking is not allowed in the house, but you are allowed to smoke on the porch.  We don’t smoke, so this wasn’t a concern for us.

You can also play foozeball…

Grill out… or play darts.  The dartboard is on the wall next to the grill.

For three nights, I paid 180 euros (175.50 for the house and 4.50 in taxes)…  I think it’s a steal.  If this looks good to you, you can find this property listed here on Booking.com.  Or, you can just search for Robert-Espagne.  I think it’s the only property available in that area.

ETA: As of 2020, pets are no longer allowed.

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France and Germany… a send off from the Army– Part 2

My feet were horribly swollen after our long flight to Germany on the cramped plane.  

After a night’s rest, Bill and I decided to go to the Kaiserslautern train station.  We knew we wanted to go to France, but I also had an interest in visiting the Rhein.  We flipped a coin to determine where we would go next.  Heads would take us to Reims, France, which is Champagne country.  Tails would take us to the Rhein River.  Heads won, so we purchased train tickets from Kaiserslautern to Reims.  The train journey would take us to connections in Saarbrucken, Strasbourg, and Champagne-Ardennes before we reached our destination.  It was an all day affair.

On our way!

At one point, Bill ended up in the bar car to buy me the French equivalent of a sandwich you’d get at a gas station, along with a small bottle of wine.  Actually, it was pretty good.  I had a club sandwich, which had ham, bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato on very fresh wheat bread.  It had a nice mustard sauce on it, too.  The wine was local and excellent, of course.

I took this photo because I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen colored toilet paper.

Champagne! (check the sign)

Bill enjoys the view…

 

We got to the Reims train station in the late afternoon.  We didn’t have a hotel reservation and we were both still pretty jet lagged from our travels.  After fruitlessly trying to use the local interactive guide near the station with no Internet access, I finally suggested we hit the local Ibis.  You can pretty much find an Ibis hotel near most train stations in certain European countries.  Bill and I have stayed in a few of them during our travels.  They can be counted on to be clean, basic, and no frills.  The one near the Reims station is no exception, although they do sell champagne at a pretty good price at their little bar. We got a bottle of my favorite bubbly, Taittinger, for 42 euros.  Quite a bargain, given that we bought it at a hotel…

I thought it was funny that the hotel sold feminine hygiene products alongside its champagne…

The bar at the Reims Ibis.

Expensive bubbly at a cheap hotel!

We went out to dinner and ended up at this place called Cote Cuisine.  I think I was lured there by the sight of the cute little garden where they were serving dinner.  We didn’t have reservations and the waiters were very “weeded”– as in, they had more business than they could handle in a timely manner. It was okay, though.  The food was good and while the wait staff wasn’t all that friendly, we enjoyed ourselves anyway.

Serrano ham appetizer…

Our first bottle of champagne…

I had turbot.  Bill had monkfish…

The turbot was delicious, but the sauce was totally sinful and made mostly of butter.  I love butter, but I had to eat that sauce very sparingly.

Bill loved the monkfish.  I didn’t try it because of the mushrooms in it, but he pronounced it delicious.

Chocolate and vanilla tart for me…  

Chocolate mousse for Bill…  I think?

We walked back to the Ibis and got some sleep in the no frills bed after enjoying more champagne…  I wish we’d had more time in Reims.  I would have liked to have visited some of the champagne houses. We did manage a day trip to Epernay, which is where the champagne is produced.  More on that in the next post.

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Champagne!

I have been wanting to visit the Champagne region of France for years.  This morning, we tossed a coin to decide where to go next.  Reims won over Bacharach, Germany… So here we are, after six hours on a train.  We booked a room at an Ibis, which is basically a cheap motel.

Then we had an amazing dinner… It was served by very weeded waiters who didn’t speak much English.  Now we’re drinking my favorite Champagne in our cheap motel room.  The room is tiny, but it’s clean and has all we need.  We will stay in Reims another night, then head somewhere else Wednesday.

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