Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Travellin' Grandpa

A pair of single guys ready to take Paris. Watch out ladies!
We picked up my Dad on our trip to the UK and he's been with us in Paris which has been wonderful. I don't think I would have had the stamina to finish the move without the cavalry having arrived. He's gotten some good bonding time with Eric so it really has been a win-win.

Dad showered in our new Parisian shower and reported:
"It reminded me of a bit of folklore: 'White man build big fire, sit way back. Indian build small fire and sit real close'. French showers are plenty warm so long as you get good and close!"
 He's right, it is warm and comforting, just a bit different from American showers. The towel warmers though - Europe wins for those.

Yesterday they went out to Champagne to tour the houses and taste some bubbles. Eric was an angel the whole time. I swear he's not that way all the time, but he does seem to sense when he needs to behave and when it's ok to fuss. Hopefully he'll continue that! I stayed home to work but got to experience it vicariously through their report. Grandpa was particularly taken with the Cathedral in Reims. They toured Taittinger and noted the prodigious output of a vineyard - 288.84 hectares of vineyards generates X million bottles of champagne. (will update when I confirm the actual quantity) Impressive! They also really enjoyed the Roman caves where the champagne is aged. I hope to get a photo from them to post here.

2 comments:

  1. Hey there! Cris sent me a link to your new blog- glad to hear you're getting on your feet a bit.

    Epernay is really worth a trip- I really enjoyed it when I went there and toured the Moet cave. (I need to figure out how to do all the accents).

    Can't wait to hear more about your adventures!

    Cycler

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    1. We loved Épernay when we lived here before. Our favorite bike loop in all of France starts there. They've changed the trains though. Now it's a TGV with bike reservations. It's faster, but it costs more. We used to consider the trip for a random Saturday, now it's expensive enough to want to plan ahead and try for discount tickets. Maybe we'll find a slow train again...

      Miss you guys!!!

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