Life in a year full of Saturdays: Belgium

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Reims (France) -You ignorant entranger, its 'ranz'

REIMS (FRANCE)
02 August 2017

The gateway to Champagne country, the official capital of the wine growing region of Champagne, and the home base of many of the globally known Champagne houses, this was the place to come for our own small discovery and partake in tastings offered at the well known cellar doors.

Start of the day - a glass of champagne in Reims - Champage-Ardenne - France

You must know Louis Roederer!

Reims - Champage-Ardenne - France

The cellars of Taittinger - Reimes - Champagne-Ardenne - France

But for goodness sake, don't turn up and pronounce their much loved capital with your standard Anglicised view of the world, because R-ee-ms will be met with such distaste, contempt and scorn that you'll wish you had at least attempted to figure it out in advance. For those that want to know, there's a lot of work that needs to be done on rolling the 'r' from the back of the throat and getting that 'eh' sounds right before even contemplating landing the the constant of 's', which in this case is pronounced. The final pronunciation should come our as close to ranze/ranse, suffice it to say that we blinked many times on first hearing.

Approximately 200kms directly south of Brussels is Champage heartland, although the driven route will make it around 275 and will take approximately 3hrs of fairly easy motoring. The roads here are tip-top and counter to a few notes that I've read on Tripadvisor, the drivers in both countries are civil and courteous, no loony toon Italians here.

Taittinger - Reimes - Champagne-Ardenne - France

The vineyards of Moet et Chandon - near Epernay - Champagne-Ardenne - France

We elected to do a small day tour of the region which provided us with brief tour or Reims, which we also found out was the location where French Kings had been crowned for more than a 1000 years, and additionally of course, were visits to two famous Champagne houses, Taittinger & Moet et Chandon.

Additionally the tour took in the UNESCO listed Champagne Avenue in Epernay, the historic villae of Hautvillers and the beautiful visits around Epernay that help produce a product of impressively delicious quality.

Avenue de Champagne - Epernay - Champage-Ardenne - France

Epernay - Champage-Ardenne - France

The cellars of Moet et Chandon - Epernay - Champagne-Ardenne - France

Moet et Chandon - Epernay - Champagne-Ardenne - France

We did have one complete moment of stupefaction and that was during the tasting component of the Moet et Chandon tour in Epernay. There we were, prepared to be offered a glass or two at the end of the tour. Ahead of us a Chinese tour party were at the tasting table/bar, with drinks handed out. As they received their drinks most of them stood there, took photos, chatted very briefly and then some, but not all, took the slightest hint of a sip before placing the glasses back onto the table. All the members from our tour group observed and then wondered internally, with no real confidence but with some evidence, whether they would in fact leave their glasses untouched. The group of perhaps 15 milled around for a few minutes, no particularly concerned with their glasses and all the while seeming to be eyeing off the exit. Then it happened. The head of the party simply walked out and the rest all followed leaving their full glasses of champagne on the table, just sitting their, unloved and unwanted.

Moet et Chandon - Epernay - Champagne-Ardenne - France

Can you believe this is what was left!!? Oh, what a WASTE!!!

Moet et Chandon - Epernay - Champagne-Ardenne - France

In complete dismay we all looked at one another. What exactly was the protocol in a situation like this? Would it be a gross misjudgement, beyond all dignity and good manners to start drinking these abandoned glasses? Of course there was our own personal sense of decorum, and the issue with hygiene, but C'MON, certainly we couldn't let these perfectly fantastic glasses of champagne disappear into the ether.

But we did, sadly. And it hurt.

Our day ended back in Ranz where Inga & I had a glass of champagne to celebrate the day. Another gem on our honeymoon of excellence.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Brussels (Belgium) - Second leg of the tour

BRUSSELS (BELGIUM)
01 August - 03 August 2017

Why Brussels?

Other than the stock standard response of 'why not', for me, it was simple and surprisingly not even manufactured, not greatly in any case.

U2 were taking their 30th Anniversary Joshua Tree tour through Europe and were set for a final date at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on 01 August. This date aligned perfectly with our return to Europe and our desire to catch a flight to the Emirates for the second leg of our Honeymoon tour. It only seemed fitting that during our honeymoon I could convince my wife that seeing my favourite album of all time, The Joshua Tree, performed by my favourite band, U2, in a city that neither of us had been to, would be a viable option.

First stop Lisbon, next stop Brussels - Belgium

The bar at the Courtyard by Marrriot - Brussels - Belgium

Brussels - Belgium

Hard Rock Cafe - Brussels - Belgium

Flying back into Europe on the 1st of August we were effectively back on home turf for a short stay before heading off to Middle East. And by the way, for those that might want to ping me for suggested that the UAE and Oman are not considered the Middle East, I can categorically say that they are. These countries are considered to be part of a transcontinental area that straddles Western Asia, Eastern Africa, the Arabian peninsula and Turkey.

Now for some reason I recall the hotel we stayed at, the Courtyard by Marriott Brussels, particularly fondly. Not outstanding, no great amenities, no bells and whistles, but there was something homely and comfortable about it that just stuck with me. The staff too added to the the environment and mood, they were attentive, happy and seemed to know the right amount of interaction to provide to their clients. Additionally, the reception area also morphed into into a bar on the other side of the desk. With deep, dark panelled wood highlighting the bar, there was something particularly comforting and warm about the space.

Brussels - Belgium

You tell me how tasty this looks :)

Antomium - Brussels - Belgium

Our hotel was only about 1.5kms away from what we find to be a surprisingly vibrant and buzzing city centre. I had expectations of atmospheric and cool bars, restaurants and boutique like eateries, which were there, but there was also interest architecture, medieval style lanes, small hideaway spots, grand squares and palaces. It's a shame that we didn't put any more time into the agenda to allow ourselves to discover the town more. And really, I should have known, when you have a mix of Walloons & Flemings, and then the mixing pot of EU civil servants, all within a relatively compact town then you can easily come out with something of absolute fascination.