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.

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.