South East Vineyards Association Trip - Part Six

In our last post, late by a day, we revisit the SEVA trip ending in Reims and then the journey home.

Reims

The last afternoon of the SEVA trip to Champagne was more relaxed with no hosted visits. Instead we had a huge lunch followed by a waddle around the lovely small city of Reims (the cathedral is beautiful and highly recommended) followed by huge dinner.

There may have been some wine and beer in there too. The dinner was at Boulingrin, a fish restaurant, which I would highly recommend. The staff were surly as hell, but perhaps that was part of the charm? Good food and lovely inside, and although they had stuck Les Anglais out of the way at the back, we still had a great time.

After that was the highpoint of the day: (I can't believe I'm saying this) the 11pm son et lumiere at the front of Reims Cathedral. Yes, it sounds naff, but in actual fact it was stunning. Specially conceived to celebrate 800 years, the show has to be seen to be believed (see the link above). The creators managed to "dress" each of the figures in colourful clothes, bathe the facade in any number of graphic styles and project construction workers at key points. All in a 20 plus minute show, which was both mesmerising and beautiful. I lay on the cobbles with the large crowd and lapped it up, not noticing the hardness of the stones. Then off to the bus for a late return to the hotel in Epernay

Back to Blighty

It was a long trip today in the coach back north through northern France, then the tunnel. The weather was beautiful, hence terrible in a coach but I'm back in on e piece having had a splendid trip. I'm unsure what was better: getting to know people in the English wine industry or having a brief insider's view of Champagne. Or maybe the best bit was that just-disgorged 1983...?

Great trip. Many thanks to the Foss and to Lila for organising it all (and for all that hard work translating for us more linguistically challenged).


Also thanks to Kenzie Graham, who documented this journey, his blog can be found here and he has a separate blog on bee keeping, this can be found here.

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