Day 2 at Reims

Like I said in my previous post, Reims is full of history. Our first stop on our second day in Reims was the Surender Museum, the school house where General Dwight D. Eisenhower had his office when he was the Supreme Comander of the Allied Forces Europe. It was here on May 7, 1945 that German General Alfred Jodl surrendered on behalf of Nazi Germany, unconditionally to the allied forces. The surrender took place in the map room which is just an amazing site and hard to believe how difficult it would have been to keep track of everything going on all over Europe.

After leaving the museum, we went for a drive through champagne country - where they grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunièr grapes. It's a beautiful time of year to drive through this area, starting to change colours, while still appearing alive.

 I couldn't believe the number of little champagne houses we drove by. We then came upon an old moulin (mill) that is now a tasting centre for Mumm champagne. Really enjoyed our drive, even if the weather was meh.

Back in Reims, we walked over to the Palais du Tau, where the French princes would stay before their coronations. They had a great exhibit on including Charles X's coronation robe and Charlemagne's talisman.

From there it was over to the G.H. Martel caves, where we went on our champagne cave tour and tasting. I found it super interesting and learned a lot. Most importantly, don't wait to drink champagne. It can go bad.  You shouldn't keep it for any more than 3 years apparently.

So find something to celebrate and celebrate. I also learned about the different kinds of champagne and figured out what I like (which was pretty much all of it). The caves were also really cool. These ones are in these underground tunnels (over 200km of tunnels under the city of Reims) that were developed during the building of Reims and taking limestone blocks out from undergoumd to build the cathedral and other buildings.

Apparently these tunnels are a very good temperature for making champagne. Anyways, enjoyed the tour, enjoyed the tasting.

A good day, lots of history and a celebratory drink.