On the road again...

On the longest day of the year, and with the car boot packed, we set off on the first stage of our Brexit Exit tour - with a long drive to Folkestone. This was in preparation for boarding Euro Tunnel early the following morning. Our overnight accommodation was an old Victorian hotel, about a mile from the harbour. I'd never been to Folkestone before so after checking in we walked along the cliff top - towards the town. The English Channel was looking surprisingly blue and the white cliffs of the Normandy coastline were visible. Folkestone was a curious town. Like many English seaside resorts its clearly seen better days - but some efforts to regenerate the town had been made and were still underway. 

The English Channel with France visible in the background

A rather run down street had been re purposed as an artists quarter but surprisingly there were no studios or galleries open. Its hard to feel confident for places like Folkestone once the economic impact of Brexit starts to bite.

Early the next morning we checked in at Euro Tunnel - which went like a breeze. Having got used to airport queues in recent years and the general mayhem of airport security it was a pleasant surprise to pass through customs checks before driving onto the train, that left on time, and arrived in France 35 minutes later. Before long we were on the motorway headed towards our first stop: Epernay.

Epernay is a small town just south of Reims and its claim to fame is simple. Its the centre of the champagne region. After checking into our hotel early afternoon we set out to explore on foot. First impressions were positive. The town had a bustling centre and some attractive architecture. 

Before long the lure of champagne drew us inexorably towards Avenue de Champagne. This wide boulevard was the epicentre of champagne production.

Avenue de Champagne

Moet et Chandon's large headquarters, boutique shop and visitor centre was probably the least attractive building on the whole street. The prices inside caused mild palpitations with single bottles retailing for over €1,000. Further along the street were numerous 200 year old grand houses, each host to a different champagne producer. After reaching the end of Avenue de Champagne we spotted an interesting, colourful building with a distinctive tower and this turned out to be the home of Champagne de Castellane.

On an impulse we booked onto a champagne tour and after wandering through the museum and climbing the tower (237 steps) for panoramic views of Epernay we were taken underground. Our guide took a small group of us through the champagne making process and along the way we picked up some interesting facts. Our tour took us through brick lined tunnels and we learnt that Epernay had over 110 kilometers of these tunnels where champagne was stored during fermentation. Finally we got to the good bit.....the chance to try the product. I'm no expert on champagne but this tasted really good. Mrs B - who doesn't like champagne - enjoyed her glass too and commented that she could get used to drinking champagne in the afternoon. My impulse visit could lead to quite an expensive weekly shopping basket!

Mrs B with her favourite sized bottle of champagne... 

We only had one day in Epernay but before setting off we had breakfast in a superb patisserie and chocolatier - Florence et Vincent Dallet and the array of cakes and pastries was eye wateringly good. We settled for pain au raisin and coffee which came with a chocolate. 

Some of the patisserie selection....

.....and a superb pain au raisin.

As if this hadn't got us dribbling enough our final stop before hitting the road was a french produce market. The range of delicious foods on offer was tempting but some restraint was shown and we just bought half a kilo of juicy cherries at a cost of €2.63. 

Epernay market

After this feast of food, and provisioning supplies for a picnic lunch, we started the next leg of tour, headed south and east, towards the Vosges Mountains and the small town of Gérardmer.