Petersontravels

When we first received the invitation to Randy and Kari’s wedding in Champagne, our thoughts were “how did we make the cut?”,  “Who got sick?”,  “Does Randy need me to take care of a body at some point?”

We arrived a day before the wedding party at 5-Star Les Crayeres, one of the nicest hotels we have ever stayed in.  Our room wasn’t quite ready on arrival (that’s a first on this trip), but have no fear, we are in Champagne, so please have a complimentary glass of bubbles while you wait.  Oh, freshly made cookies too.  Twist my arm!

The hotel is gorgeous!

Our room was on the top floor in the left side of the photo.  If you ever stay here ask for Room 21, you won’t be sorry.

The rooms are impeccable.

The hallway is a little creepy…I kept expecting to hear Danny riding his Big Wheel down the hall.  At least we weren’t in Room 237.  Redrum!  (Yes, I’m a big Stephen King fan, having read nearly all of his books).

We took a drive into the center of Reims and checked out the Cathedral Notre Dame of Reims, constructed in the 13th and 14th centuries.  An excellent example of Gothic architecture, it was built to replace a cathedral destroyed by fire in 1210.  This site was originally a cathedral dating back to the beginning of the 5th century, constructed over the ruins of a Roman bathhouse built by Emperor Constantine.

The Cathedral was severely damaged during WWI by the Germans.

At first there was a thought to leave the Cathedral “as is” as a monument to the victims of the war.  This idea was rejected, and in 1919 a major restoration was started, with major funding coming from the Rockefeller Foundation.  The western portal rose window was made in 1938 to replace the original that was  destroyed by the Germans.

These windows were made to represent the Champagne houses that have made Reims so famous.  If you expand it you can see various steps in the Champagne process depicted in stained glass.

These windows were made by Marc Chagall, an early modern artist, in 1968.  He created several stained glass artworks for Catholic churches, even though he was Jewish.

The newest stained glass windows in the church were created in 2011 by German artist Imi Knoebel.  I like these a lot.

The Cathedral was very popular for the coronation of Kings, dating back to 496 AD, when Clovis, the first King of the Franks was baptized a Christian here by Saint Remigius, the bishop of Reims. He was the first Frankish king to receive this sacrament.  This inspired a long tradition of royal coronations in Reims, as evidenced in the below plaque.

Charles the VII was coronated in 1429 with Joan or Arc at his side, so she has two statues here, one inside the cathedral and one outside.

Since we were in Champagne, we of course visited Champagne houses.  First was G.H. Martel.  Nice tour, but just ok wine.

We also visited Taittinger, which was an even better tour and excellent Champagne!

The below photo courtesy of Randy’s daughters boyfriend, Kieffer.  He is much taller and able to take the shot over the stacks of bottles!

Our last Champagne tour was Ruinart, set up for the wedding guests.  If you only have time for one Champagne house in Reims, this is the one to hit.  Wow!  First the interesting artwork in the reception area.

Then down into the cellars, with the perfect 55 degree temps!

This is my kind of storage area!  The line down the middle is their version of a drunk test.

All of the caves in Reims were dug out during the 13th century by Benedictine monks seeking the chalk for buildings.  It wasn’t for another century until these caves were rediscovered and used for Champagne aging and storage.  You can see the evidence of the chalk quarry in the below photo, with the shaft being where they hauled out the quarried product.

Just to make themselves stand apart, Ruinart also set up a light show in one of the caves.

The only thing better than the tour were the Champagnes, the best we’ve had!  Thanks Randy and Kari!

Speaking of Randy and Kari, here are a couple of shots from a dinner had the first night the wedding party arrived in Reims.

You can see Kim in the background with Wendy, a friend of Kari’s from Florida.

The wedding had a string quartet…very classy, and very talented artists!

The Bridge and Groom.  The wedding was supposed to be outside, but the weather did not cooperate, and it was pouring when the ceremony was taking place.

Fortunately it cleared up enough for the incredible fireworks display.  We were very impressed, as I don’t think our home town has the Randy budget for fireworks!  Credit to Michael White for the awesome fireworks shot!

This was such an incredible wedding event, and we were very blessed to have been invited!  A huge thank you to Randy and Kari Wigginton!

Next up, we travel to Beaune in Burgundy, for more food and wine!

 

 

 

No visit to the Ardennes region of Belgium would be complete without visiting Dinant, perhaps the most beautiful city in the region.  On the way we drove to a spot to view Walzin Castle just south of Dinant, which sits on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Lesse River.

The castle is not open to the public, and getting there is a little scary, as it seems like it’s a one way road for about 6km, but it’s not one-way.  We had one point where I wasn’t sure we could pass a car, but somehow we both lived to tell the tale.  The fairy-tale castle view made it worthwhile, right?

On the way into the town of Dinant, you pass through this break in the rocks.  I had to take a shot from our boat ride, as there was nowhere to stop on the roadway.  Yes, the road cuts right through that gap, it’s one way, and I don’t see how a larger vehicle could fit.

Here is a shot of the gap from the web, where some idiot did stop in the middle of the road.  We can all benefit from idiots sometimes.

Once you make it through and realized you won’t have to pay your insurance deductible after all, you end up winding along a curvy route until you hit the middle of town and cross the “Saxophone Bridge”.  First, the incredible view across the Meuse River.

The main bridge in town is lined with saxophones dedicated to various countries.  Dinant is the birthplace of the inventor of the Saxophone, Adolphe Sax.  This bridge is actually named after Charles de Gaulle, who was a 24 year old French Lieutenant during WWI and was wounded here defending the city from the invading Germans.

The American saxophone is below.  In the background is the Notre Dame of Dinant, and the Dinant Citadel above it.

We took the gondola to the top of the Citadel for the view.  There are also steps up if you are feeling adventurous.  It was a tad warm and the steps were in full sunlight….and we aren’t poor.  There is a small restaurant on top with plenty of Belgian beer.  My kind of place to hang out!

The view from the Citadel is impressive.  The self-guided tour of the Citadel was well worth it.

This is the inside of the Notre Dame of Dinant.

Great views on the previously mentioned boat ride.

They have Belgian beer on the boat, so color me happy!

Our last day in the Ardennes we went to the little town of Durbuy.

Durbuy proclaims itself the “World’s Smallest City”, although it’s not even the smallest town in Belgium.  This is for commercial reasons, which we soon discovered.  The below is one of several high end hotels in the town.  There are restaurants everywhere, and if it was the Worlds Smallest City at one point, it is no more.  It was like walking around what was a quaint lovely spot that was transformed by Disney.

There is a beautiful castle in the center of town, but you can’t visit it.

They did have a corner cafe that had Belgian beer, so all was not lost.

We spent a little time in the Topiary Gardens here, as there really wasn’t much else to do.  The below topiary had the following description:

After having made all the men dream in the cult series of the 90’s “Baywatch”, the sculptural Pamela Anderson proves that the “bimbo attitude” is still relevant and still makes people fantasize.

Sorry, I don’t get it.  Now I didn’t watch Baywatch because I’m not into plastic women, but the least they could have done for the topiary was put fake plants on where her breasts are supposed to be.

This response was best….I pee on you Pamela Anderson!

The Razorback Pig was cool.

As was the Elephant.

Knowing what I now know, would I have gone to Durbuy?  Likely not.  I leave it to you to decide if you ever make your way here.  Now if you do make your way to this region, the hotel we stayed at, Ne5t Hotel and Spa, had some of the best food we’ve had on this trip, both for Breakfast and Dinner.  It’s very quiet as well, so a good spot to get away for a few days.

A special thanks to the Chef and staff who made this a wonderful stay!

Next up, we head to Reims, France for the main purpose of the trip, the wedding of Randy and Kari!