J'adore...

In the last few months I've gotten the opportunity to travel to France twice. The first time I headed to the Champagne region and just a few days ago I was in Paris. Something about that country is so beautiful, passionate and nostalgic, that when you walk around the city streets or the country side, you can't help but wonder how you've gotten here and what you did to be so lucky.

Champagne, France

In September I had the opportunity to head on an all expenses paid trip to the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, to visit the Louis Roederer vineyard. Myself and six other colleagues traveled there for a one night, two day trip. The entire trip was a whirlwind, but probably one of the most surreal experiences of my life. When we arrived to Champagne around lunch time on September 18, we headed straight to see the vineyards.

Rows and rows of beautiful grape vines were in front of us. It was probably one of the most beautiful things  I have ever seen. It was definitely not what I expected, but it was interesting to learn that, not all the rows belonged to Louis Roederer, but because Champagne is such an old region, land has been divided up so much that the row next to the Louis Roderer grapes could belong to another Champagne producer. After we saw the vineyards, we had the opportunity to go pick some Pinot Noir grapes that would be used for the next Cristal vintage.

 We then headed to the press house to see where they extracted the juices of the grapes, and ofcourse had a little sit down and enjoyed some Louis Roederer.

That night we had a beautiful dinner in a French restaurant in Reims, and of course finished off the night by humiliating ourselves at karaoke. Waking up the next morning was rather a daunting task as a lot of wine and champagne usually results in a hang over. The next morning we nursed our hangover with some awful hotel buffet breakfast and headed off to the Louis Roederer cellars.

Now, this part of the trip was most probably the coolest experience. To be down in the cellars where all the champagne was held and aged, was just a really cool experience, there was an air about it, something I can't really put into words. To finish off the trip we got to go to the Louis Roederer house and have lunch. The house was stunning, passed down from generation to generation, but now usually just used for private functions. You catch yourself. Here I am, drinking 2002 Cristal, sitting around a table with great company and eating beautiful french food... what? How did I get here??!

Honestly. After that trip I realized two things, 1) I must return to France, it's a stunning country with so much beauty and history and romance and 2) I am so incredibly blessed.

Living up to my first realization, last Wednesday I got to go to Paris for the first time (well second, we passed through there on the way to Champagne). My sister-in-law (or almost) came to visit me in London for two weeks and while she was here we decided a trip outside of London was a must and that Paris was totally on both of our radar's. After getting a good deal on the Euro Star and a decent rate for a hotel about 10 minutes away from the Eiffel Tower, we packed our bags for a 2 night trip to Paris.

When we first arrived on Wednesday, the weather was stunning. We hoped into a cab and straight into traffic we went as we went across the city to get to our hotel. As we were driving through the city, I was in absolute awe about the architecture of every building, every one was absolutely stunning.

After we dropped off our luggage, we headed straight towards the Eiffel Tower to snap a few photos.

It was so surreal, standing near the Eiffel Tower, something I've seen in photos and films and a place I'd always love to go to, and here I was. After having an over priced lunch in a cafe around the corner from the hotel, we walked around a little more of the city to get a better view of the Tower.

We walked across the city later in the afternoon to go see the Louvre, another stunning piece of architecture. And of course, all I really wanted to see was the Mona Lisa and of course it was disappointing like everyone who has seen it told me, but I'm glad I can say I went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa.


That night we decided to have a proper french meal... or at least what I would call french, baguette, cheese, cured meats and delicious french mustard. It was amazing. The next day we took a little river cruise and got to see some sights of Paris, as the weather wasn't exactly ideal. But the sun finally came out.

We ended the day drinking lots of french wine and waited for the sun to go down so we could catch the Eiffel Tower sparkle in the darkness.

Getting the opportunity to travel to Paris this last week was absolutely unreal. France is a beautiful country and I can't wait to go back one day. Though it's not in the cards anytime soon, as there is the rest of Europe to discover while I'm still here in London.

If you're ever in Paris just take a second to stop a stare at the world, I think you give yourself a little bit of an "ah ha" moment and realize that those who travel, learn the ways of the world.

Not all who wander are lost.