Hello, everyone! We are still in France and are finally at our next hotel for the night. There were a few changes in plans, which kept us in France today, but we will most definitely be in Belgium bright and early in the morning before traveling the night by train to Berlin. We left Paris around 8 in the morning, the lot of us filling up in our new bus and equally falling back asleep there after.

Not too much was really on the itinerary for today, except for leaving Paris and driving directly to the hotel that we have here on the border of France. This town does have a name, but I don’t know it. There is really nothing in this town, except for a grocery store, a wine store, and this hotel. However, to avoid a full day of doing nothing in this little French town, our lovely tour guide Margaret scheduled a few things for us to do today while on the road towards the hotel.

Of course, it was a huge surprise to us when Margaret announced that we were on our way to a Champagne factory! It was the factory of Mumm’s to be exact, the only champagne making factory that can legally use the word ‘champagne’ on their bottles. That’s right folks, Mumm’s has the copyright of champagne and they know how to make it right! First we got a small tour around the factory, going down in the cellar where they store the aging bottles. This cellar was approximately 40 meters beneath the ground, and it was definitely a little chilly down there. Our guide at Mumm’s also explained to us how champagne is made and exactly what processes it goes through step by step in order to become the champagne we know and love today. Some bottles of champagne age about six or seven years underground to become the ‘premium’ of champagnes, while others can take shorter times such as one to two years. After the tour that we took, we were then able to sample taste the champagnes that we learned about, the group able to choose from dry champagne to sweet Pinot Noir champagne. Needless to say, the men of the group opted for the dry champagne while the ladies quickly went around to the sweet champagne. Properly learning how to taste the champagne, we enjoyed the glasses that were given to us and we went along to the gift store where some students thought of parents and bought them a bottle or two. See, the children are thinking of you, moms and dads!

Once we were finished with Mumm’s, we went back to the bus where we then found ourselves on the road to our destination of who-knows-where France. A few naps were taken once again, and it was lovely to watch the countryside pass us by through the bus windows. We made another stop not too long afterwards at an old World War I battlefield, where craters covered the surface of the earth. Just like Pointe du Hoc a few days previously, the sight left a lot of us speechless. It was extraordinary, and at the same time sad of what went on here those many years ago. Staying on the topic of World War I, we also visited a memorial dedicated to all of those who were killed for the defense of freedom of France. Among the thousands of crosses were Americans, and the thought of the Normandy American Cemetery immediately came to mind. After the two days of being in Paris and wanting to shop and see sights as the Eiffel Tower and Pantheon, the topic of what we came to learn about on this trip was back on our minds, and it was just an honor to walk on those grounds where those many men gave up their lives for others.

Being at the hotel now, we are now relaxing and enjoying our last night in France. Tomorrow is a very early day, where we spend a half-day in Belgium and finally reach the city of Berlin. But that will be discussed in the next couple of days. Good night!