Champagne

We tied up in Epernay, Champagne capital of the world, at the sailing/tennis club where very good amenities (power,water, laundry, showers etc) were provided. We immediately set out to explore the town on our bikes and within an hour, learned of a complimentary Champagne tasting at the tourism office at 1500 hrs. Whilst exploring the town we quietly entered the Notre-Dame Church and marvelled at the 16th C stained glass and organ by famous organ builder Cavaille-Coll. The acoustics of the nave were spellbinding and completely alone Nick and I gave our best rendition of Requiem.
Avenue de Champagne, is home to the Moet & Chandon headquarters. Needless to say, everything inside Moet (said with a "t") & Chandon was rather luxurious. During the tour a video was shown before our lovely French hostess led us through the grand foyers down into the cellars whilst telling us all about Dom Perignon and how to make Champagne. Underneath Epernay (and the surrounding villages), there is kilometre after kilometre of wine cellars; underground passages through the chalk. The moisture holding capacity of the stone ensures constant temperatures (11C) and humidity (80%) year round providing ideal conditions for the fermentation process of Champagne.
After the tour we tasted the non-vintage Brut and the Demi Sec. Both delightfully subtle, with fresh blossom fragrances and an elegance that rises into a fantastic time. Back to the boat and our French caretaker offered us a complimentary welcoming glass of bubbles. Superb.
The next day we rode out in search of more bike tubes and, of course, more Champagne. The later wasn’t difficult to find; the elaborate gates of Champagne houses are lined up along the streets of Epernay. We toured and tasted at the Castellane Champagne house and museum (gratis thanks to the sailing club), again we were impressed by the professionalism of the tour and flavours of their Champagne. Following this we ventured back to the tourism office for that days showcase in flutes. The differences between producers are declared with pride, whether the second fermentation is in oak, the duration in the cellars, the ratio of Pinot Noir, Pinot Munnier and Chardonnay grapes, the cuvee of the vineyards, the royal endorsements etc etc.
On the afternoon of the 3rd Nick and I rode 30 km to a town called Verzy to see some very unusual dwarf beech trees of which there are only 1000 in existence. It was a gruelling ride up into the Regional Nature Park and a fast ride back through the vineyards, forests and old villages back to Epernay.
Epernay is the first place we have had to pay a fee (32 Eros for 2 nights) since Arsenal marina in Paris. Nick and I have seen free power and water available along side pontoons for bateaus (boats) who are travelling the canals and need a place to stop. Most often, there is no one using the facilities.
After leaving Epernay we stayed at "picknick spots" along the banks of the canals and transit approximately 18-20 locks per day. At the town Vitry-le-Francois we were greeted on the banks by a familiar accent advising to tie up to the near bank because our draft would be too great for the marina. Bruce Blikey off the river boat Zizz is an Australian guy who has been travelling the canals on and of for over ten years. We departed at the same time as Bruce so as to conserve on "flying ecluseiers" and water in the canals. However, travelling through locks with other boats is not the best for us as on two of the three occasions we`have tried this the other boat has rammed our windvane. Nothing to serious so far, just a small ding in the servo rudder but we would hate anything to happen to that vital piece of equipment!
Because this stretch of the canal Marne a la Saone is predominantly broken up into 2-3 km stretches between manual locks each bateau has a dedicated eclusier who speeds in their little white citron vans opening and closing the locks before and after you. It’s a race against time that makes you feel very privileged and a bit lazy when they are working so hard. Each eclusier has a 20 km or so stretch of river to service before another takes over, and of course they overlap where there are boats travelling in different directions.
Whilst motoring along there is not a huge amount of time wasted. Either Nick or myself must be concentrating on the helm for the canals are only ~15 meters wide here, whilst the other is preparing a lunch of fresh local tomatoes and cheese on croissants, making cups of tea, estimating our next stopping time or coiling ropes and preparing for the next lock around the corner. Its very pleasant all in all. However, this part of the journey we have decided to travel continuously during lock opening times so that we may reach the Mediterranean within the month.