Part 4 in a series about my travels to the Champagne region of France…
Day 4: Got up slowly and drank coffee in my room and studied the map to figure out where I was going that day. I was headed to the Champagne house of Mumm in the morning and then Pommery later that afternoon.
Figured out that I could walk to Mumm and back to the hotel and then would need to take a taxi to Pommery later.
I started my walk with enough time to sit at one of the cafes along the way to have a small breakfast, so I chose one of the many outdoor spots (most were very quiet as it was early on a Sunday morning) and sat down. I ordered a cafe latte, but nobody knew what that was. I had to do a lot of explaining to the waitress and then to another guy (hint: order a cafe au lait when you are in France), and finally it came out and was delicious! The thing is, after all of that, nobody came to get my breakfast order and I felt too intimidated to speak up for some reason, so I ended up eating nothing at all. I figured, eh, I have been eating giant meals lately, I can go one morning without food in my plump belly. Plus, it was already time for my walk if I wanted to get there on time…and on time means early because they want you to be there 15 minutes before your tour. Mumm would be extremely rigid, I thought, because they are run by a German family!
I started my walk, and by the way, I was wearing my lace-up wedges on this walk because again, these tours are pretty formal. I also brought a sweater along, knowing that the caves would be cool. Believe it or not, there was a heat wave going on in France at the time. Everything I packed was for cooler weather, but I did have the right mind to pack layers, so my tank top and skirt became the pieces I wore most often and then layered over the top as needed. I think I wore that tank every day for 8 days. It was ripe by the time I got home! And though they are heels, the wedges were perfect for walking on the cobblestone streets and sidewalks because the heels don’t get caught. Still, they are a little wobbly. Most of my walk was on smooth sidewalks, but there were times when i did have to wobble a bit through the streets.
Anyway, my maps did not let me down one bit on this trip, but there were times when I took detours just to see what was around the corner. This time, I found a cemetery that looked interesting and also looked like I could walk through it to get to the house of Mumm. I started my way through, looking at all of the crypts and tombstones. There were people paying respects and bringing flowers, and an old lady wandering through and stopping at graves. It was lovely, but I did feel a little strange just wandering through. And then I realized that this was a totally walled cemetery with no exit but the way that I came in! So I had to backtrack through the pathway to get back to the entrance where I started. No biggie. I was still early, but sheesh!
Finally got to the house of Mumm. I could see the big stately house on one side, and then the factory/facility on the other. These places are not vey clearly marked, and in many cases I had to use my instinct as to where the entrances were…so I guessed and walked through what I think may have been the “back way” through the factory buildings and finally found the entrance. I suppose if I’d have taken a cab they would have driven me through another way, but again, I found it and it was no problem.
Had to pass through another high security booth and into a courtyard where there were tastings going on. I wandered around (nobody said where I needed to go), and finally found a tiny sign that was the entrance to the tour. I walked in and told them in French that I had an appointment for the English speaking tour at 11 am. I was the first one there. They told me to have a seat.
People started showing up: a Japanese couple who I chatted with (limited English) had lived for a short time in [my city!], an Indian family with elderly parents, two Dutch girls, a couple from a Scandinavian country (couldn’t figure out where). I was the only American on this tour.
We started the tour by sitting in a theater room and they played a short movie…a trailer of sorts for the Champagne house. It was more like a commercial. Most of these Champagne houses are really proud of the fact that their bubbles are used as celebratory “trophies” in Formula One races, etc. So at the end they showed some famous (I guess) race car driver spraying Mumm all over the place. I wanted to test the waters here, so I made a joke with the tour guide and asked if our tasting at the end of the tour would be just like the celebration…with the spraying of Champagne everywhere. He didn’t think it was funny, so again NO JOKING AROUND, PEOPLE!!
Another cave under the city, but the caves were a bit different here - they were more structured and bricked up over the chalky earth. So a lot of this tour was similar to Veuve Clicquot’s, but quite a bit of it was different. One thing to note is that every Champagne house thinks their champagne was the first this or that…you know, the first to process in a certain way, the first to discover the XYZ system or whatever, and Mumm was no different. They were the first and best at everything, according to our tour guide (though you can’t dispute that Dom Perignon invented Champagne nor can you dispute that the widow Clicquot invented the riddling and disgorging technique that create the bubbles). Anyway, Mumm had a museum in the last part of the cave that looked like all of this Medieval torture instruments. Yes, they certainly did add to a lot of the technology of creating Champagne. It was an interesting tour, if not fun.
Then on to the tasting, which was similar to the tasting a Veuve Clicquot: two VERY full glasses of bubbly along with a story of each. It was nice, but again, I didn’t feel any warm fuzzies with the place or the people on the tour. I did share a bit of conversation with the Scandinavian couple, but it was all very light and superficial. It was cordial, but not warm. I did not attempt any more jokes.
The walk back to the hotel was direct and simple, no cemeteries this time. Once I got there, I was starving (no breakfast and two glasses of bubbles in my belly!), so I decided to try again at one of the beautiful outdoor cafes on the square next to my hotel. This time, everyone was eating lunch/brunch so there was no question that I was there to EAT a meal. I ordered a wonderful omelet (typical giant French omelet) with ham and cheese and a lovely salad. Everything comes with a baguette, and of course, I also ordered Champagne!
Time for a little walk around the neighborhood, took some photos, then back to the hotel to freshen up and get ready for the Pommery tour! Quite frankly, I was sort of not into going to Pommery because I thought that it was probably going to be yet another stuffy tour, two glasses of bubbly and that would be that.
But I ordered the taxi from the hotel, and the same lovely driver showed up (he’d taken me to Veuve Clicquot the day before), and he took me to one of the most cool-looking wineries I’d ever seen…behold the blue castle of Pommery Champagne!
Of all the three BIG houses I visited, I have to say that I enjoyed Pommery the most. I think it was because I was in love with the big blue castle AND I knew what to expect from these tours, AND I was relaxed and ready for the last tour. I took several photos of the facade of the building…other angles review a whole other type of architecture and even a kind of burgundy color added. I know it sounds tacky, but it just worked! I loved this place!
In the lobby of the place is a kind of hall where you can go to the wine store (of course) or wait for your tour to begin. You can also see a lot of the history of the house. I looked around and saw the Scandinavian couple from Mumm earlier that morning. We chatted for a moment and then I wandered off to look around.
My tour started and there were a few Americans on this tour…and lots of Germans for some reason. Regardless, I knew to keep my mouth shut and not to crack jokes (ha!) and just take in another cave. The very interesting thing to me is that all of the caves are different. They look different on the inside and are organized differently. Still they were used for living quarters during wartimes, but I found it fascinating how unique they all were.
Tour was nice…with every tour I learned something new…but 3 big Champagne producers caves were enough. I think I planned the prime amount of big houses.
Tasting was actually fun this time because there were HOT guys pouring bubbles behind the bar!! They were model gorgeous and super friendly! Yes, it’s all about marketing and advertising. Pommery had this stuff down the best.
There was a woman tasting with us and I’m not sure where she came from because I don’t remember her on our tour. She was British and said she lives in Dubai, and I could tell by her Hermes Birkin bag that she was potentially royalty. She was traveling with a stunningly gorgeous man and asking a load of questions to the model bubble boys. It was a sight! I loved watching this because I could tell that her boyfriend was getting annoyed with all of her questions, so he kept wandering away and then back and she was just asking question after question. I just stood there and watched, amused.
I also asked a lot of questions of the wine dudes because I could tell they were happy to answer questions in English and they were just so handsome and fun! I finally had some fun with this stuff!
Anyway, soon it was time to go - the place was about to close and I got a taxi and went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
I looked for dinner spots that got high ratings on Yelp and picked one based on the reviews. However, I started walking down these sides streets in the dark and it made me a little nervous. I actually got to the street where the restaurant was and there was a lot of construction and I couldn’t even see the place around the construction. I wasn’t sure what was behind the wall! I ended up walking back towards the direction of the hotel.
Decided to have dinner on the cafe street next to the hotel because there are a million and one choices and they were all well-lit, crowded and looked great, even on a Sunday night.
Ended up at one of the more fancy-looking ones right next to the hotel. I ordered some kind of chicken skewer dish with roasted vegetables and, naturally, another Champagne! It was a HUGE and flavorful dish! It was way, WAY too much to eat and I was so tired at that point. I played around on my phone and it was really the first time I was kind of lonely and missing having someone there to share the experience with.
The reason I was tired was that it was LATE to be eating dinner. I think I finished around 11 pm! I went back to the hotel and got into bed, ready and excited to be taking the guided tour of the vineyards the next day. I’d definitely had my fill of big buildings, caves and castles.
Day 4 = Done and DONE!
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