To Reims

Travelled:65km
Visited:Hautvillers,Les Faux de Verzy, Reims Cathedral
Stay:Reims- aire, free parking and services. GPS N49°14.936' E4°01.208'

With a chilly start to the day we made our way through the vineyards to Hautvillers. 

We walked to the abbey founded in 650, but later rebuilt by the monk Dom Perignon (1639-1715) who is buried here. As the cellar master he was integral to the development of champagne being credited with putting the bubble and cork into champagne! 

Ironically the abbey is today the property of Moët & Chandon.

 The town is perched above a patchwork of the Marne Valley country side and is also reknowned for its 140 or so forged iron signs on its buildings depicting what the occupant did for a living.

From here we made our way through the Reims National Park to the Faux de Verzy, which is 29 hectares of biological reserve of the worlds largest collection of unique beech trees (about 1000 trees) that have twisted trunks and branches.

After a pleasant walk we continued on to the Pompelle Fort Museum which was built in 1883 as part of a defence system around Reims following the Franco-Prussian War. Later during WWI it suffered from 4 years of heavy German bombardments. The museum had a great amount if information on the history if the fort along with many objects from that period. It also boasts a unique collection of 560  items of German army headgear. 

We then drove towards Reims via Les Crayeres, where several leading champagne houses are located (Taittinger, G H Martel, Pommery and Veuve Clicquot, just to name a few). 

We continued to the aire just 10mins walk from the Cathedral. Once settled in we braved the rain and went to visit this UNESCO site. It was here that Clovis, the Frankish king was baptized in 498 AD, so in 1211 this Gothic masterpiece was built and became the place where 30 French kings were crowned. One being Charles VII with the aid of Joan of Arc. It is the longest cathedral in France at 149m and has 2,300 statues. It suffered great destruction by German bombing in 1914, becoming a symbol of unification against German atrocities. Later in 1962 the Franco-German reconciliation was celebrated here.

Our visit completed we walked back in the rain to Bluey and tomorrow we will explore more of the city.