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So Many Museums

Museums in Paris

Paris is full of museums. That’s a given.

Think about The Louvre, the Centre Pompidou, Musee d’Orsay, Petit Palais, Musee Picasso Paris, Musee de l’Orangerie, Musee Rodin…I could go on and on.

This time, we visited a smaller museum. The Museum of Montmartre, located in the oldest house on the hill of Montmartre, takes you a step back in time. Fourteen personalities lived here at one time. This bohemian quarter was home to Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Duffy, and more.

Now, it houses the permanent collection of paintings, posters, and drawings signed by Toulouse-Lautrec, Modigliani, Kupka, Valadon, and Utrillo. These artworks recount the history of Montmartre, including the infamous cabarets of the Lapin Agile and the Moulin Rouge.

One whole room is dedicated to the French Cancan. Another one features rare zinc plates of scenes from shadow theatre like Le Chat Noir, the first modern cabaret opened in 1881.

After viewing three floors of paintings and posters, take a walk in the gardens. Dedicated to Auguste Renoir, these gardens offer breathtaking views of the vineyard below and the entire northern cityscape of Paris.

Renoir lived on site from 1875 to 1877. During this time, he painted his famous le Bal du Moulin de la Galette, La Balancoire, and Jardin de la rue Cortot.

This is truly a relaxing spot just steps from the busy streets.

If You Go: The museum and gardens are open every day from 10 am to 6 pm. It is located at 12 rue Cortot in Paris. Check the Metro map to get fairly close and walk up the hill.

It’s definitely worth the effort to get there.

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Champagne…

World’s Oldest Champagne House

There are plenty of Champagne houses to visit in and around Reims, France. The first one we visited was the world’s oldest.

Created by Nicolas Ruinart in 1729, he leaned of tales passed to him from his Uncle Thierry, a Benedictine monk. Those tales include stories about experiments Dom Perignon had done.

This wine with bubbles soon became successful in much of Europe.

More cellars were needed. Since the city of Reims sat on top of Gallo-Roman chalk quarries, these presented the perfect solution. Claude Ruinart purchased eight kilometers of this maze of chalk chambers, some up to 38 meters deep (almost 125 feet deep). Runiart still uses them today.

Through the years, they have had issues. During WWI, fighting around Reims destroyed some of the buildings. He moved his offices underground into the caves, until they were flooded. He ended up running the business from a raft. Talk about creative.

Then, during WWII the Germans discovered these cellars and pretty much emptied them.

Today, Runiart is part of a larger group. You still won’t find their distinctive bottle in the supermarket, however.

We took a tour. The limestone chambers, caves, and tasting did not disappoint. What we learned…

  • Runiart uses chardonnay grapes
  • Their style is elegant and full of mouth taste
  • All their Champagne is made in stainless steel
  • Inert nitrogen gas is used throughout the wine making process to protect against oxidation
  • Long aging in their crayeres (chalk quarries) brings many layers to the taste
  • You can purchase vintage Champagne made with grapes from a single year’s harvest, that year is displayed on the bottle
  • You can also purchase non-vintage Champagne or NV, with is made with a blend of grapes from multiple harvests

Would I recommend this tour and tasting? Absolutely.

It was educational, beyond just how Champagne is made.

The caves were almost unbelievable. The age, the manner in which they were naturally formed, and their use today are all pretty amazing. All I can say is, you have to see them to believe them.

Tastings were educational as well. And tasty…

If You Go: Runiart is located at 4 rue des Crayeres, Reims, France. You can book your tour online at runiart.com.

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What Did We Eat?

Foods in the Alsace region of France

Spending time in the Alsace region of France, we discovered a definite German influence. Apparent in both food and wine…some we enjoyed. Some…not as much.

Here are a few we tried…

Flammekueche

This is to Alsace what pizza is to Italy. It’s basically a tarte flambee garnished with a blend of cream, possibly cream cheese, lardons or bacon, and onions. You will find it on most menus. The crust is thin and crispy. Some chefs bake this in a bread oven. Even though it sounds heavy, it’s not. The crispy crust adds to the creaminess of the sauce. We found it on just about every menu, with slight variations.

We enjoyed it with a glass of Alsatian Riesling.

Pretzels

Pretzels in Alsace are more like a savory brioche. Garnished with rock salt, these are slightly crisp on the outside. The insides are light and tender. We noticed these at the market with pepperoni and cheese on top, similar to what you might see as a slice of pizza.

Choucroute garnie

Sometimes called the national dish of Alsace, this is a version of German sauerkraut. The fermented cabbage is cooked in white wine, beer, or cider and seasoned with juniper berries and black peppercorns. We saw it served with boiled potatoes and a variety of different meat.

Kugelhopf

Looking like a bundt cake, we found these in a variety of sizes. Something between a bread and a cake, this is usually baked with almonds and raisins. We found it to be a little dry as a cake. It was better when we dipped it in our morning coffee.

Alsace Wines

Most of the wines in this area are dry Rieslings, similar to what we found in Germany. Gewurztraminer is also popular, as are different sparkling ones. If sweeter wines are your favorites, you can find those as well. We opt for the dry ones.

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Cossy Champagne

Champagne Houses

Champagne houses vary. We visited a smaller house in a small village west of Reims.

Walking up the hill, we passed rows of vines. Some belonged to F. Cossy and some did not. Seemingly, they all ran together on the hill side. In reality, they did not.

That’s what makes this area so special. Even though vines run up and down the hills, through the small villages, and next to the winding roads it’s different than in many places. You won’t find acres of vines for as far as you can see which are all owned by one winery.

Here, an entire row may be owned by different people. One person may have vines which go a few feet or a few hundred feet. It doesn’t mean the whole hectare belongs to one person.

We set off to the small village of Jouy-les-Reims in search of a Champagne house a sommelier friend suggested. Traveling on narrow roads through small villages, we thought we may have made a wrong turn and were actually driving on a private lane. We’ve driven on a lot of roads similar to these. This time, we were following the GPS and wondered if we had entered the wrong address.

Houses and buildings perched so close to the road we could reach out and touch them. Vines with small bunches of remaining grapes begged to be photographed. There would have been no room to meet another vehicle. Maybe we were on the wrong road.

Turning a tight corner, we arrived at the address. Since it was a house and not what we were expecting, I called the winery owner. We were in the right place and she was on her way to meet us.

Some of her vines were ones we had passed. This time, we could photograph them. And, taste the remaining grapes. So sweet. She has other vines in a neighboring village.

Sophie Cossy had taken over the winemaking part of their family business when her father unexpectedly passed away. She was only 25 at the time. Young for a winemaker of a Champagne house. Their family had been farming these vineyards since 1764. They had been bottling under their own label since the 1950s.

The tour of her operation and the tastings were outstanding. Of all the Champagnes we tasted…these were among the best.

If you are in the Champagne area or are planning a trip, do not miss this house.

If You Go: Located in the 1er Cru village Jouy-les-Reims. You will be on the western outskirts of Reims. Check their website for visiting information, champagne-cossy.com.

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Ay, France…I want to Go Back

Ay, France

We spent part of day in Ay. We should have spent more time there.

Why?

Only five minutes from Epernay and 30 minutes from Reims, Ay sits at the foot of the Reims mountain, among the slopes of a UNESCO World Heritage vineyard. For wine drinkers, these vineyards are classified as 100% Grand Cru. Special.

A thousand years old, Ay-Champagne is renowned for its vineyards since the Gallo-Roman era.

We went to visit La Cite du Champagne, a museum. Keep in mind, this isn’t a normal museum. During the guided tour, we learned about the history of the revolt of winemakers in 1910 and 1911.

They were revolting against the poor quality of champagne supplies brought in from other countries. Some of the larger houses were thought to be creating inferior Champagnes. A few smaller Champagne houses and growers got together and burned down big Champagne houses in 1911.

Yes…they burned several during these riotous times.

After a tour of the underground limestone caves, our visit commenced with tasting the Champagnes unique to Champagne Collet.

Wandering around town, we discovered more about Ay.

Rene Lalique, born here in 1860, is known as one the greatest jewelers of all times as well as a master glassmaker. His style is instantly recognizable, having a major influence on the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements.

Female figures, flora, and fauna were his main sources of inspiration.

Perfumers sought out his designs for their bottles, cities asked for him to design and build their fountains, and car manufacturers wanted Lalique radiator caps.

His presence is felt throughout the town with statues, glass displays, and special street markers.

There is still more to Ay, France. We just haven’t discovered it yet.

Guess that means we will have to go back for another visit.

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Does Your Phone Work?

Does Your Phone Work?

You have options for using your phone when traveling to Europe. You can probably purchase an international phone plan from your carrier.

Or, you can do what we do.

We purchase a Sim Card from Orange. You can do this one of two ways. If you want to purchase one after you land and have the store put it in your phone, go to an Orange Store. They will take care of inserting the new Sim Card. They will then give you the phone number to use while in Europe.

Or, you can purchase one before you leave. If you do this, you need to register it with Orange. That will allow the number to work as your new phone number. You can insert this Sim Card into your phone while on the plane. That way, you will be ready to use your phone once you land. This is helpful if traveling with others or calling the hotel or apartment where you will be staying.

By doing this we avoid huge charges on our phone bill.

A couple of suggestions:

  • Be careful when removing your Sim Card from your phone. It does contain your entire phone life and information.
  • Take a very small resealable bag to place your Sim Card in.
  • Store this in a reliable spot while on vacation. You will need to put it back in before you land in the US.
  • Remember to register the Sim Card.
  • When you receive your new phone number, give that to everyone who may need to get ahold of you. Both in the US and in Europe.

For more information and for answers to questions you may have, go to the website for the Holiday Orange card.

https://topup.orange.com/faq-transpays/faq-about-orange-holiday-france-offer/