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Our Last Day in France - Chateau Fere and Surrounds

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We decided to have a quiet last full day in France after such a packed holiday and knowing how exhausting the flights home would be. Accordingly, other than a drive to the nearby village of Tardenois for lunch, we spent the day exploring the chateau and relaxing before enjoying a delicious multicourse meal in the chateau restaurant. The current chateau is next to the ruins of the original castle. The building of this original chateau began in 1206 and not a lot remains from that period. In 1528 more work was done before, later in the century, the renaissance bridge which originally had a covered gallery was added. The ruins make a fabulous view from the existing chateau although, sadly, it was not the kind of weather to sit on the terrace with a glass of wine gazing at them. we did enjoy walking around them though. Tardenois is not a tourist village but most villages in France have some interesting points and we passed the covered market place as we wandered around looking for som...
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Reims Cathedral and Madame Pommery

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The chateau in Etoges was so lovely we were sorry to pack up and leave and also feeling a bit sad that we were moving on to our last stop of our trip. The weather wasn't doing us any favours either. We were however looking forward to visiting Reims on the way. The crit air requirements were an issue again so we took a tram into Reims from the park and ride. As we got close to the centre of the city the rain grew heavier and bucketed down making the city look a bit dreary. We alighted by the Palais de Justice and squinted through the rain at it before making our way to the famous Cathedral where French Kings were traditionally crowned. We rushed staight inside to take shelter from the pouring rain without paying much attention to the exterior. Although we were thinking the visit to the cathedral was a bit if a 'tick the box' exercise as we had seen so many cathedrals already, we were both stunned by its soaring height, length and beauty. Many of the original stained glass w...
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