Day 28: Champagne & Clerics

Our 2nd day in Paris - we caught another train to a town called Reims: the former capital of the Champagne region (where curiously Champagne wasn't invented, but now to call your bubbly Champagne, you have to produce it in this region).

We made our first stop at the coolest information centre ever - stuck in some ruins, then had a look at Notre Dame Cathedral of Reims.

 Did I mention I'm a bit obsessed with Churches?

Very strangley, am loving these chairs:

We then went to the Basilica, before stopping off at for a coffee, and heading towards Tattinger.

Dad, this is for you! We did a tour around the 4th Century Roman Chalk mines that now house 3 million, yes, 3 million bottles of Tattinger Blanc de Blanc Champagne. It was amazing - there are 3 people employed to turn the every bottle 3 times a week. They can apparently turn 6,000 bottles an hour.

Thirsty yet?

Going from 8m underground to 20m - the deepest part of the mine. Apparently the chalk keeps the bottles at a perfect temperature & humidity.

 

One of the hundreds of stacks of bottles we saw.

Just in case you're wondering, yes, we had our arms twisted and tested the Champagne (for impurities of course) and I can vouch that they were divine. Roughly £35 or $70 for a normal bottle ....