So Long, Farewell

Today draws a close to our wonderful time traveling around Europe. We've had the time of our lives these past 3 months. We saw, experienced, and learned so much while on this adventure, and we're feeling bittersweet that this time has ended. On one hand, we're excited to be coming back to Portland where we'll have some stability and be with the people we missed. But on the other, the lifestyle we lived the past 3 months has been exciting and always evolving. There was always something new around the corner, and we've realized that there's just so much more to see in this world.

So with this, we say "Goodbye, Bless, Tot Ziens, Ciao, Auf Wiedersehen, Au Revoir" to Europe. We had an unforgettable time, but know that we will be back to visit the other beautiful countries soon!

Next stop: Southeast Asia!

Paris Goes Car-Free For a Day

Yesterday Paris went car-free, and it was absolutely amazing. Well...most of Paris, and it was mostly car-free, but it was still one of the best things ever! From 11-6, arrondissements 1-7 and 10 and 11 (basically the center of the city) were shut off to traffic (but with the exception of buses, taxis, and emergency vehicles). 

We were super excited to be a part of this day. When will we be in Paris when it goes car-free again? It was too much of a fun and unique experience to pass up!

But first, we had a mission. And that mission was to get the best lunch ever at L'As du Fallafel. So we walked over to the Jewish district to accomplish said mission. It was amazing to see no cars on the way! We just couldn't get over it. There hasn't been a day while we've been here that the streets of Paris have been so empty.

Everyone was out. People were rollerblading, families were riding bikes together, and tons of people were just walking down the streets. The mood felt like everyone was happy to be out on this beautiful Sunday.

When we got to L'As du Fallafel, there was a HUGE line for take away. So we decided to sit inside again, which was no biggie. L'As du Fallafel is a very popular place to get a shawarma/falafel pita sandwiches. We came here about a week ago, and had amazing sandwiches. Since our trip is coming to a close, we just had to come back! 

Photo taken from last time we were here

I had the falafel special sandwich again

Adam is very happy to have his shawarma

After lunch, we decided it would be a great idea to rent city bikes and bike over to the Champs Élysées. It's not often that this popular street in Paris is blocked off to traffic. Usually its bumper to bumper cars all the way down. But today, it was free of that!

Paris' city bikes

Biking past the Louvre

And past the Tuileries Garden

So excited!!

When we got to the Champs-Élysées, it was packed with so many people! We started to ride our bikes down the street, but soon enough there were just too many people to wiggle through. So we eventually parked our bikes and walked toward the Arc de Triomphe...ON THE CHAMPS.

We walked around, enjoying the time. We were hoping that the roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe would be closed off to traffic as well, but unfortunately traffic was open a few blocks ahead. So we continued our walk, and then stopped for a hot chocolate break at the famous Fouquet's.

Tasty tasty snack

After our break, we hopped back on a couple of bikes, and biked back down the Champs, around the Place de la Concorde, along the Seine, and stopped just before Notre Dame. 

After parking our bikes around the corner from the church, we wandered around for the last hour of no cars before calling it a day, and heading back to our apartment.

Entertainment on the Seine

Yesterday was an unforgettable experience. It has definitely made my top 3 experiences while on this trip. And it seemed that everyone in Paris really enjoyed the day too! It's so cool that a big city can come together to get rid of cars for one day, and the added bonus of great weather made for a perfect day.

Drinking Champagne in Champagne

We took a day trip to beautiful Reims yesterday. As this city is located in the Champagne region of France, Reims is known for it's tasty bubbles, the city where the Germans surrendered in WWII, as well as it being the city of where the crowning of French kings took place. It is also home to some beautiful and eclectic architecture!

Initially, Adam and I were ho-hum about going to Reims. We're both burned out from traveling and are looking forward to going back to Portland. So you could say our motivation levels have been pretty low. It also didn't help that when we got to the train station, the train we were intending to get on was completely sold out. The ONE time we didn't buy tickets in advance, the train ends up being sold out, and the next train would take almost 2 hours to get there as opposed to 45 minutes. After spending some time trying to figure out what to do with ourselves, we finally decided to just take the plunge and go to Reims...even if we weren't exactly feeling the want to go. I was afraid I'd regret not going, even if I wasn't feeling up for it at that moment. When will we have the chance to go to Champagne after this trip? Chances are pretty slim. So with that idea in mind, we bought our tickets and off we went.

Within a half hour of being on the train, Adam said that he was happy that we decided to go, and so was I. The scenery was absolutely beautiful!

We got to Reims at 12:30...just in time for lunch! The main street in Reims, Place Drouet d'Erlon is right next to the train station, so we found a delicious brewery within minutes. 

After lunch, we walked down Place Drouet d'Erlon to check out the fountains, shops, and just to see the sites. 

At this time we had about an hour left before our tour of G.H. Mumm, so we just kept wandering through the city. What is really unique about Reims is the architecture. One building can be completely different from the one right next to it, and there's a reason why. WWI pretty much demolished Reims, where 65% of the city was destroyed. So in the 1920s, the mayor at the time just said to build whatever you wanted. It didn't matter the style, the goal was just to build.

While walking around, we saw sites like an old Roman Forum, the City Hall (Hôtel de Ville), and a WWII memorial.

Hôtel de Ville

WWII Memorial

Just after 2:30, we made our way over to G.H. Mumm for our champagne tour! The lady who toured us was very nice and explained the champagne making process very well. 

After a 5-minute introductory video, we went 7 meters (about 23 feet) underground where we saw where G.H. Mumm used to ferment the wines to make champagne. Initially, they used barrels, then moved on to cement vats, and now they use steel vats.

Cement vats that were once used

Inside the cement vat

Then we went down an additional 7 meters underground! This is where 8 million bottles of champagne are stored. Mouth drop!

Total length of the caves was 25 kilometers

At the end of the tour, we had a tasty glass of their champagne. Unlike the States, Champagne cellars only give you 1 glass of champagne after a tour. But I'll take it!

Tasty bubbles

The tour left me wanting for more! It was really cool to learn how champagne is made, and going 14 meters underground to see their cellars (or caves) was really awesome. If given the chance to come back to the Champagne region, I would love to rent a car and just drive to all the different champagne cellars (there are TONS). That would be so much fun!

After G.H. Mumm, we walked over to Reims Cathedral. Looking a lot like Notre Dame, this Gothic-style church carries a lot of interesting history. Just 4 years ago, the church celebrated it's 800th birthday. The first Christian king of the "Franks," Clovis, was baptized here in 496. Additionally, since his baptism, this church has served as the place for the coronation of 26 French kings.

Unfortunately there was scaffolding right in the middle of the front of the church. But the rest of the church was absolutely beautiful to look at. I could probably stare at this church all day! 

The scaffolding was a bit of an eyesore

Marker where Clovis was baptized

We spent some time in the church, just resting our feet and reading up on its history. By the time we left, we had just over an hour before our train was scheduled to depart. So we walked down the beautiful and busy streets, did a little bit of window shopping and ended up back at the train station early.

We are so happy we decided to go to Reims. It's a beautiful city, and worth a day trip. The region itself is stunning, and I hope to see more of this area one day in the future!