11 days and counting...

so last weekend i went to champagne, the region northeast of paris. there, the birthplace of that oh so delicious sparkling alcoholic drink, hundreds of vineyards line the countryside of rolling hills. it was a well deserved break from all the concrete and stale air trapped by the most glorious city on earth. our group toured 2 vineyards, including the 10 kilometer underground caves where they house hundreds of thousands of bottles of champagne. these caves go on forever. it was unbelievable. the woman who gave us the tour explained all the different sizes of bottle they make (including the biggest which holds 15 liters of bubbly goodness... wow). 

every few days, the companies have 3, three, 1 + 1 + 1, bottle specialists who turn the hundreds of thousands of bottles ever so slightly to gradually remove white sediment from the neck of every bottle. to do a rack of 30 bottles, it takes the worker just under 30 seconds! at the end of the process, there is still a little sediment remaining, so they run it through this machine that literally blows off the metal top of the bottle, which carries the white sediment with it. slowed down, it looks like the bottle is spitting. after, they add a little sugar and a some other secret concoction to the champagne.

after an afternoon of tasting, we went to this giant grocery store in the middle of Reims. this place is huge... bigger than most Super Targets and Wal-Marts that i have been to. our director purchased over 500 euros worth of food for a picnic. we went to this little town on the top of a hill overlooking this giant valley riddled with grape plants. it was a sunny afternoon, low fifties... an absolutely perfect idea. we all had a nice little lunch, a photo shoot, a walk, and a bathroom break. then it was back on the bus to return to paris.

i have to say, leaving the city for a day and spending it in the countryside was a little refreshing.

cheers, jhabra