Epernay, Champagne ...Celebrating 50 years as Mr & Mrs

We were in a bit of a daze having made a fairly last-minute decision to celebrate our 50th anniversary in Champagne & Paris. After 2 days of tasting in Champagne, we were in more of a daze... (We're not sure why… Maybe there was a correlation to the visits to the tasting rooms and wine bars?). But wait, we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

We wanted a suitable place to celebrate our 50 years of wedded bliss.... And thinking about it we realized that Champagne & Paris just called to us.  We did the research to assure ourselves that, despite the August vacation period in France, sufficient fine restaurants would be open. Then we went into a flurry of booking flights, arranging a hotel in Epernay, finding an apartment in Paris, and browsing the web to get a better sense of how we might spend our days.

The team at Air France was delighted to help us celebrate and provided us free lounge passes, complete with a celebratory carrot cake and all the champagne we wanted.  The treatment continued to our “double” seats...fairly spacious so Bill could have his preferred aisle seat while Pat had her preferred window seat with no one in the middle! Not bad. Maybe we should have sprung to use miles and fly Business Class, but we preferred to take a non-stop flight from Mexico City to Paris. That was only available on Air France.

Upon our arrival at Paris CDG airport, we truly walked more than a mile (thanks to our Apple watches for checking that) to get through immigration, baggage claim and then out to our awaiting taxi for the drive to Epernay. Following the 1.5 hour drive, we checked into the lovely Hotel Jean Moet, got some Euro's and went to Orange cellular to get local SIM cards/phone service. We chose the tourist package 40 euros which includes a SIM card, ample phone minutes (Europe-wide) and 40 GB! of data. It’s only good for 2 weeks but that is precisely what we needed.  Yes, we are now definitely addicted to on-line access while we travel.  It facilitates accessing any of our roughly planned itineraries while also facilitating spontaneity.

We decided to have dinner at Le Banque, in a lovely old bank building. To accompany our meal we enjoyed four different Blanc de Blancs (white champagne made from white grapes...Chardonnay) and two Brut Roses (pink wine made from red grapes...Pinot Noir) with crispy cod with pistachio pesto, roasted vegetables and fries for Bill and roasted scallops with risotto and shiitake mushrooms for Pat. Both meals turned out to be a good start for our trip.

Scallops with risotto & shiitakes (above). 

Crispy cod with pistachio pesto (below).

After dinner we took a stroll around our neighborhood. It was nearly 9pm yet there was plenty of light for photos. We love the northern climes in summer with the long daylight hours. 

A couple evening views

Before continuing, here's your crib-sheet on champagne. This may help Champagne novices wondering about the details when we mention specific Champagnes we tasted. Others will likely just want to skip this section entirely.

• To be officially labeled ‘Champagne' a sparkling wine must be made from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France and they must have had a secondary fermentation in the bottle.
• Champagne is almost always produced using one (or more) of three grape varieties – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
• Extra Brut or Brut Zero is the driest sparkling wine — It has 0-6 grams per liter residual sugar  with no dosage or added sugar. 
• Brut tastes dry with no perception of sweetness. It is the most common style of sparkling wine  and contains no more than 12 grams/liter residual sugar.
• Blanc de Blanc (French for white from white) is made entirely from Chardonnay grapes.
• Blanc de Noir (French for white from black, ie red grapes) is a white wine made from Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier or a blend of the two.
• Brut Rose is a blush colored Brut made from red grapes. The color either comes from the juice spending more time on the red skins or from a small amount of red wine being added along with the sugar in the “dosage”.
• A vintage (Millésimé in French) champagne is made from grapes from a single year.
• Villages in Champagne are rated by a Cru system as a basis for setting the grape prices. Roughly 9% of Champagne vineyards are rated 100 percent or Grand Cru and warrant the highest price. A Premier Cru village is rated 90-99 percent. The lowest rated villages are rated at 80%. 
• A cuvée is a blend of grape varieties or of wine from specially selected barrels or vats. It is also used to imply prestige or quality, but the term is not officially regulated.

First we wandered along Avenue de Champagne enjoying the ambience of the massive, ornate Champagne Houses. Then off to Charles Mignon, a smaller, somewhat out of the way “House”. There we sampled a flight of 6 wines (2-Blanc de Blancs, a Brut, an Extra Brut (the driest--see notes above), a Blanc de Noir and a Brut Rose. 

Enroute to our second tasting we passed a small park created around the ruins of an arch. 

The second tasting came with a light snack (foie gras and warm bread) at the George Cartier tasting room and wine bar.We chose to sample the "Prestige Collection", with champagnes from 5 different houses. Specifically: Grand Reserve Grand Cru Chardonnay, Cuvée Origine 100% Meunier, Millésimé 2006 Premier Cru (60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay), Millésimé 2009, and Rosé Cuvée Boheme.   

At George Cartier Wine Bar

We wandered along Avenue de Champagne. Along the way we got some good advice...

Then on to Boizel where we tasted their "Jewels", the term they use for their reserve wines, aged for 8 to 15 years before being released.  We sampled the Joyau de France 2000 (a white from a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Joyau de France Rose 2007 (another Pinot Noir / Chardonnay blend) and Joyau de France Chardonnay 2007. There we got into conversation with two young ladies from Holland (one a psychiatrist, the other a lawyer) and a couple retiree expats from California trying their hand at life in Normandy.  We enjoyed our conversation with them enough that we decided to order another glass of champagne and linger longer.

We decided to take a walk across the river Marne to the little town of Magenta. Along the way we caught a good view of the tower at the Castellane Champagne house. Magenta is a working town and had little to offer, although we understand there is one quite nice restaurant.

Back in Epernay we decided to go Italian for dinner. We arrived early and got a nice outside table at Sardaignia. We started with carpaccio with tomatoes, pesto, pine nuts and parmigiano. Pat had the prawns and veggies. Bill had cannelloni. All went well with our Premier Cru Brut Rose.

Stats Day 1: Three tastings. Two champagne houses. One wine bar. 15 glasses "sampled". One bottle for dinner. 

Next morning we are off to taste more Champagne. At Castellane we started with a cellar tour followed by a nice glass of brut. We’ve been on MANY cellar tours and usually pass them up. But we were in the mood to see some of the extensive cave system under the city.  Champagne cellar tours always include a demonstration of riddling. They usually show how in the old days they used a rack riddled with slanted holes where the necks of the bottles are inserted. The bottles start our fairly horizontal but each day they get a combination of a quarter turn and a slight shift toward the vertical. Over the course of weeks, this process causes the sediments to end up in the neck ready for disgorging. These days the process is automated with racks of several hundred bottles are turned a once. But here, we learned what preceded the riddling rack. Bottles were inserted upside down in sand.

On the way back to Avenue de Champagne, we stopped to enjoy the garden at the entrance to town.

We continued on to Venoge where we tasted their Princes (reserve) series, a Rosé, a Blanc de Blanc, a Blanc de Noir, and an Extra Brut accompanied by some nice little bites (Jamon ibérico, cheese, dried fruit and a piece of toasted bread). We bought the Blanc de Blanc. The best of our visit to Epernay! Robert Parker agreed with us. He gave it a 93.

After the tastings we rested for a bit before heading out to explore the countryside with Vintage Tour Company.  There were two couples, us celebrating 50 years and the other from Belgium on their honeymoon.  We enjoyed the views over the vineyards and the small villages along with some more champagne.

Back to La Banque for dinner. Since the wind had subsided we chose to sit in the garden. Our selections of lamb with risotto & crispy vegetables for Bill and duck with pommes frites for Pat. We also enjoyed the delightful melon gazpacho amuse bouche. All went well with the Brut Rose Premier Cru. To wrap it up, we chose a "coupe" (ice cream sundae) for dessert.

Stats Day 2: Three tastings. Two champagne houses. One tour. 7 glasses "sampled". One bottle for dinner. 

Thursday, it's bye bye Champagne Region. After a short walk to the train station we departed Epernay for the 1.5 hrs ride to Paris.

Maine June 2018 (Mid Coast, Portland)

Tuesday we headed back to the coast through Camden for some shopping along the Main Street (Polly bought a hat, Bill bought a shirt). On previous visits we have driven up Mount Battie for the views and enjoyed sailing around the harbors and islands.

Camden Harbor (at low tide). The shops are just off to the left of this photo.

Then on to Rockland for lunch at Cafe Miranda. Lobster Mac-n-Cheese for Polly & Pat, and for Bill a Crabstini (crab and tomato, in a tarragon cream sauce on a foccacia crostini). After lunch, more shopping including a visit to The Wine Seller which has a very fine collection of wines. 

Lobster Mac-n-Cheese

Crabstini

With more time we would have visited the Farnsworth Art Museum with its collection of works from many of America's greatest artists. The museum is especially known for its collection of works by the Wyeths (Andrew, N.C., & Jamie). On other visits we have enjoyed walking out along the breakwater to the lighthouse and touring the Owlshead Transportation Museum.

The hardest thing about passing through this area so quickly is that in recent years many very fine restaurants have developed in the Camden / Rockport / Rockland area. Most of them are only open for dinner which is frustrating for daytrippers. Thankfully Cafe Miranda's is available for midday dining!

We then continued on to Boothbay Harbor and the Harborage Inn. The Inn is located at the top of the Harbor and offers fine views and equally fine breakfasts.


First thing Wednesday morning we, Pat & Bill, took a walk around the harbor and the town to assess locations and access to the best dining, shopping and viewpoints. These towns are all easily walkable but Polly's days of long walks are behind us. Hence a little planning makes life more fun.

The outer harbor at Boothbay Harbor

Decor above the walking bridge that crosses the harbor

The Inner Harbor

Later we visited the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Having opened in 2007 the facility has developed into one of the largest & best gardens in New England. The expansive grounds (295 acres) include the Garden for the Five Senses, Meditation Garden, Kitchen Garden and Children's Garden (which includes numerous smaller gardens each portraying a renowned children story). In addition there is a fine collection of sculptures, the Native Butterfly House, and a wooded shoreline trail. We got a wheelchair for Polly (to preserve her stamina) and signed up for the morning tour which covered all the highlights (except the less accessible shore line trail.)

Picket Fence at the
Children's Garden

Lady's Slipper

Afterwards, we went for lunch at the Boathouse Bistro where we each chose risotto (Spicy Shrimp for Bill, BLT for Polly and Lobster for Pat) and then did a little shopping to work up an appetite for dining at the Thistle Inn later. We didn't build up much of an appetite so it was Clam Chowder for Polly and a shared Flatbread Pizza for Pat & Bill.

Risottos at Boathouse Bistro

Thursday we headed to Damariscotta and down a neighboring peninsula to serene Christmas Cove enjoying the combination of pastoral and coastal beauty along the way.  

We returned for a little shopping in Damariscotta and then had lunch at the River Grill. Great breads, potato latkes and a bottle of Pinot Noir accompanied three tasty small plates (Fried Pemaquid Oysters with spicy Cajun dipping sauce for Pat; Haddock Tacos for Bill; and Smoked Pork nested in a corn tortilla with pickled red onions and cilantro crema for Polly).

On the return to Boothbay Harbor, we stopped at the Edgecomb Potters, a vast collection of artisanal work (pottery, jewelry, & sculpture) from around the area. Before dinner we took a drive to Newagen & Southport (the less touristy side of Boothbay Harbor.

We had reservations at Ports of Italy for dinner. There are Italian restaurants everywhere but this one has an authentic feel and thoroughly Italian menu. Unfortunately our food photographer apparently took most of the the night off rousing herself only for a dessert photo.  


Following the bruschetta we shared asparagi parmigiana. Then Rigatoni alla Norma (homemade pasta with sautéed eggplant) for the girls and Agnolotti di Vitello (handmade ravioli with veal, mortadella and pork stuffing) in a sauce of mixed wild mushrooms for Bill. A Torta al Cioccolato (artisan flourless chocolate cake with whipped cream and raspberry sauce) rounded out the meal.

Friday we headed to Wiscasset, the self proclaimed prettiest village in Maine. Enroute we made a short stop to see the manually operated drawbridge to Barter’s Island. Just before the bridge we spotted a "shack" with an eyecatching display of lobster gear. 

While we were there the owner exited the shack and we had a great discussion with him.  Among other things he regaled us with the story of an American lady he met in Goa India. When she discovered he was from Maine, she launched into a story about the time she and friends were in New Hampshire and, realizing they were close to Maine, they decided to make a daytrip to Boothbay Harbor to visit a shop that specialized in thimbles. It was a longer drive than expected so the shop was closed but a young man allowed them entry through the back and then went on his way. It turns out the young man was, you guessed it, our new friend. ...We know, this is just such a typical story for travelers, but we still find them enchanting.

There was a nice park with an enticing walk nearby the bridge but we decided to continue on to Fort Edgecomb, a two-story octagonal wooden blockhouse that offers panoramic views of the area. The views enabled soldiers to protect the area from both water and land attacks. It was primarily used in the War of 1812.

Wiscasset is not only a lovely town, it is home to Reds' Eats and it's "#1 Lobster Roll". Reds' comes with a long line and outdoor tables. We decided it would be more comfortable and convenient to eat at Sarah’s across the street. We followed lunch with some afternoon shopping before returning to Boothbay Harbor for another dinner at Boathouse Bistro.  

Saturday we moved on to Freeport for shopping at LL Bean and the many outlet stores that have sprung up nearby. Realizing that none of us had ever been to Reid State Park, we took a slight detour and discovered it features sandy beaches and sand dunes—both rare in the state of Maine—plus rocky tidepools, salt marshes, and a tidal lagoon. 

Views at Reid State Park

Next up was Brunswick where we visited the Bowdoin College Museum of Art with its fine collection of classics and contemporary art. We enjoyed the special exhibit of "Winslow Homer and the Camera" which explores the Homer’s use of the camera and his art. Oddly enough, Bill noticed an article about the exhibit in the July 5 Wall Street Journal soon after we returned home.

Night Hauling by Andrew Wyeth 1944 (age 27)...look closely and you can see the lobster trap being pulled out of the water

Magnetic Space by Richard Pousette-Dart
- Try to find a pattern in this!!!

Sun Dance Ceremony by a Lakota Nation artist

We arrived in Freeport in time for a late lunch at one of our favorite spots there, the Azure Cafe. Although it was comfortable outside we wisely chose an inside table and felt smug when others had to move inside to avoid the downpour that soon developed. Nice timing on our part. Then on to our rooms at the White Cedar Inn. 

Bill's Lasagna

Polly & Pat shared an Eggplant Parmesan

Sunday we were off to Shapleigh (very close to the NH border) to visit Bill's cousins Maxine & Irene, Maxine's husband John plus children & grandchildren. We stopped at When Pigs Fly Bakery and enjoyed selecting from the vast offering with roughly a dozen Classic Breads such as Whole Wheat or Cinnamon Raisin and another dozen of inspired breads featuring combinations such as: 

• Baby Spinach, Onion & Garlic Ciabatta
• Red Pepper Hummus with Sesame Seeds & Garlic
• Blueberry & Raspberry w/Lemonade
• Orange,Toasted Walnut and Cranberry

After an enjoyable struggle we made our selections and were on our way to a great family get together.

Despite our plans to spend several nights in Portland, we decided to tour Portland from Freeport and then tour further south along the coast while staying in Portland.  

We started with a visit to a favorite of ours, the very fine Portland Museum of Art. The museum was founded in 1882.  A new addition designed by I.M. Pei opened in 1982. The remarkable collection represents American, European, and contemporary art with artists such as Claude Monet, Renoir, Whistler, and Andy Warhol as well as a large collection of works by Winslow Homer who for many years lived nearby in Prouts Neck.

Blue Savanah (Ipcar)

 Indian Jungle (Langlais)

Chihuly

Dark Harbor Fisherman (Wyeth)

View of Captain John Brown Coyle's House (Harrison Bird Brown)

Confidences (Renoir)

For lunch, we headed to the Old Port for another dose of seafood, this time at Gilbert's Chowder House. The Old Port has many fine shops and restaurants. We all loved the vast selection at the Leroux Kitchen store. 

We stopped at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods to shop for evening meals before returning to Freeport. Our B&B provided a microwave and cooking dishes so we planned to take the opportunity to "eat-in" for a couple nights. One night featured buttercup squash. Another night featured fresh corn. And on both nights the food photographer took time off. 

Tuesday we visited Eartha, the "World's Largest Rotating Globe" in Yarmouth. Eartha (41' in diameter) is located in the lobby of the Garmin building (previously home of Delorame Maps). Back in the day (maybe 5 years ago?) when paper maps were valued, there was a fantastic map shop here. All that's left is Eartha & an office building. Next we drove down to the atmospheric Freeport Town Wharf.  We returned to Freeport for lunch at another of our favorites spots, Linda Bean's Maine Kitchen.

Polly & Bill checking out Eartha

Working at the Freeport wharf

Pat's lobster at Linda Bean's

After lunch we made our way to scenic Bailey's Island & Land's End. Access to the island is via a Cribstone Bridge from Orr’s Island.  The 1,150-foot structure crosses a major tidal flow and is built of massive granite slabs in alternating lengthwise and crosswise layers with open “cribbing” (like a lattice work) between the stones. No mortar or cement is used. The granite slabs are sufficiently heavy to withstand wind and waves, while the open cribbing allows the tide to ebb and flow freely. The bridge is apparently the only granite cribstone bridge in the world.

Cribstone Bridge between Orr's & Bailey Islands 

Layered rock near the Cribstone bridge 

Pier at Bailey's Island

We continued out to "Land's End" for the views. On our way back to Freeport, we rediscovered a small pond with bright water lilies.

Memorial to All Maine Fisherman at Lands End

Water Lily Pond Orr's Island

Wednesday we moved to Portland, our last stop, and more shopping. We had lunch at Taj Indian restaurant. Mom enjoyed the food but thought it was a little spicy. 

Polly sampling Indian food at Taj

Later we wandered over to Cape Elizabeth for a look at Portland Headlight.

Portland Headlight

Thursday was a little rainy so we continued shopping in Portland and had lunch at ISA Bistro. Pat & Polly shared a very fine "Blackened Haddock Caesar". Bill had a panini with shaved local lamb. The wine (Garzon Tannat, a red from Uruguay) was a nice complement to both dishes.

Bill's Shaved Lamb Panini 

Polly & Pat split a Blackend Haddock Caesar

Friday we head south to Kittery (southernmost city in Maine) to visit the Kittery Trading Post and the outlet shops. We took the slow route through Old Orchard, Kennebunk Port, Wells, Ogunquit and York (Nubble Light) for some views of the coast. 

South of Biddeford

Inlet near Wells

Polly at Nubble Light

View up the coast from Nubble Light

For lunch we stopped at Robert's Maine Grill for more seafood including some Lobster Sliders for Pat & Polly and Fish and Chips for Bill. 

Bill attacking the Fish & Chips

Two of the five sliders shared by Polly & Pat

Saturday we headed back to San Miguel. During our stop in Houston we had lunch at Landry’s Seafood. 

Later at our local airport, we learned that the heavy rains that hit the area in June had taken out a bridge on the normal route between SMA and the airport. The alternate route took us over the dam on the major local reservoir, Presa Allende. And, as expected, they were releasing massive amounts of water. Pat caught a photo of the raging torrent as we passed by.

Overflow at the Presa Allende

Aside from all the touring and dining, we found time to play progressive rummy nearly every evening. Fortunately we pretty well shared at winning keeping everyone's spirits high.

FYI. Our next trip will be to celebrate our 50th anniversary on August 24. Somehow we were overlooking the momentous occasion. Fortunately we woke up in time to book 3 days in Champagne and 10 days in Paris.