We just got back from a day trip to Reims (which, by the way, is extremely difficult to pronounce: "rh-ain-ss" in a very nasal manner) in Champagne. About two hours to the north-east of Paris, Reims is the largest city in the Champagne-Ardennes province of France, which gives its name to the sparkling wine produced in the region — as we all know, Champagne.
Our first stop was the Pommery cellars. Pommery's one of the many brands belonging to LVMH, along with Veuve-Clicquot et al. Definitely a pleasant experience, the tour of the Pommery cellars was also made more interesting by a series of random contemporary art installations (see pictures below). These included a large whirring propeller, an inflatable army tank which would inflate and deflate periodically and several audio-visual installations. And sure enough, it ended with a tasting session (dare I say, the part most of us looked forward to).
Next stop, Reims Cathedral. Supposedly one of the most beautiful in France, this cathedral has seen the coronation of every French king since that of Clovis in 496 C.E., including that of Charles VII (better known for being put on the throne by Joan of Arc). There's your little bit of French history. I do think it is a fairly stunning cathedral, especially the stained glass windows whose origins and creators range from the 13th century right till the present, including Marc Chagall (again, see pictures below). Our tour guide was very good — by far one the best and most engrossing I've had. Not once was I bored in the hour and 30 minutes we walked around that church, which is by any means, a lot. It didn't help, however, that the cathedral was absolutely freezing and that it was raining outside. We had awful weather that day.
And so, the day trip to Reims was a fairly enjoyable one, barring the bad weather. We ran into a blizzard on our way home as well. Thank god for heating in the bus.
PS: The grève universitaire is still going on, and playing havoc with my classes. I don't know what's happening and there have been several more manifestations. They say this may go on indefinitely (which means, around a month or two at least).
PPS: For all of Cody's readers, he has been having internet problems. He will return soon with a slew of posts from his travels.
3 comments:
Cathedrals are frickin' freezing. I remember being at the Chartres cathedral and being so miserable because of the cold that I could hardly bear it. Make sure it warms up a bit by the time I get there. Great, thanks.
My favorite stained glass window is the last one :O That looks awesome! Like a storm of grass!!!
I'm jealous. Your blog seems to get more traffic than mine. I never win the popularity contests, so this is no surprise. I'll just keep feeling unloved.
Post a Comment