Day 3 and final day in Champagne

September 14, 2022

Christopher and me riding the train in the wine caves

A statue that was excited at the world’s far in 1899 that was considered too risqué so it lives in the cellars.

Off from our hotel for our ride in the Marne Valley.

In the small villages the bread man comes to you by a van as in this photo.

The French military cemetery that we stopped at. Most of the graves were dates July 1918.

Hilary and Christopher in the vineyards.

A view of the valley and the Marne river.

The map of the region where we rode today.

After the ride we toured the Mercier champagne house that has been in operation since 1858.

We stopped at the Dom Perignon statue that is along the Avenue de Champagne in Eparney.

A giant barrel inside the Mercier champagne house that holds 200,000 bottles of champagne. It was displayed at the worlds fair in Paris in 1889.

There are plaster sculptures along the walls 18km of cellars in the Mercier house.

A map of the champagne region and the various grape varieties within the region.

On the way back from Mercier we made another stop.

Hilary and Christopher created this display for me along with some balloons.

We went for a very nice dinner at La Grillade Gourmand. Tim has the wine bible in his hands.

A single escargot was provided to John, Beth and me while the others enjoyed a full appetizer.

My main course was a beef tournade with a bake potato. Tim and Hilary had pigeon while the remainder had lamb.

Today was a very special day since it was my 70th birthday. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than with family and good friends. My only regret is that 2 of my sisters could not be with us due to health reasons.

Despite a terrible weather forecast we had a lovely ride through the Marne river valley. We had about 2 minutes of rain and 15seconds of hail but other than that it was lovely. This region is the heart of champagne so we saw multiple vineyards on both sides of the Marne river. We also stopped a French military cemetery dedicated to WWI since this region was fought over during that conflict.

Upon returning to Eparney we had a very interesting tour of the Mercier champagne house. We saw a short film about the history and then toured the cellars that are 30m (100’) underground. We took a small train train through the cellars since there are 18km (11mi) of underground cellars storing champagne for this cellar alone. After the tour we tasted 3 different champagnes none of which were awful. On the way back to the hotel Tim treated use to another tasting of Perrier-Jouet again not terrible. All of this was followed by an amazing dinner at La Grillade Gourmand in Epernay.

Tomorrow it is back to reality and we are off to the Loire valley for more cycling fun but perhaps a day to rest my liver.

Today's ride: 42 km (26 miles)
Total: 145 km (90 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	4
Comment on this entry	Comment	2

Yvonne McLeanwhat a way to celebrate your 70th, Margaret! I can't believe all the champagne vineyards and wineries....what fun!!
Reply to this comment
2 years ago

Gail JohnsonWelcome to the latest “0” in your lifetime. There are many of us on this side of the “0” that are here to ease the transition my friend.
Reply to this comment
2 years ago