Reims- amazing cathedral

 

We left Tours at 10:15 for the long bus ride to Reims (pronounced Ronce). We made two gas station stops for coffee (Sue stayed on bus) and lunch. The line was long but finally we were able to order cheese sandwiches and cokes. They had some rugby World Cup merch for cheaper than we’ve seen, and Mary bought a t-shirt. 

We arrived in Reims around 4 pm, and wrestled the cases off the bus. We were unloading from the side with traffic, which Sue finds stressful. We lugged our stuff to the lobby where Sara was handing out keys. Again, ours were among the last to be delivered and we joined the long queue to the elevator. We finally got on and looked for our rooms. Sue and Nick were in 218, and the signs only went to Room 217. Sue went searching and found a maid who said there is no room 218, and there must be a mistake on the room number. Sue left Nick with the luggage and went down to check. Turns out Room 218 is in another part of the hotel, with a different elevator, which they didn’t tell us. Sue was not happy (head cold has been coming on.) They sent someone for Nick and while Sue waited in the lobby, Mary and Julie showed up with a maid. Their room - 381 - was also in the annex. The rooms are tiny. 

We settled in and took a walk to the cathedral - the guidebook says no description you read can prepare you for your first sight of it, and that’s right. It was simply magnificent. The outside is huge and covered with intricate carvings and amazing gargoyles. Inside the sun was streaming through the gorgeous stained glass windows. Julie sad she’d never seen such vibrant blues. The windows at one end are traditional and at the other end modern. There were some by Marc Chagall. There is a chapel dedicated to Joan of Arc who served a king that was based here. A number of Royals were crowned in this cathedral. We were incredibly impressed. 

We left the cathedral and walked along beautiful streets that had been rebuilt after bombings in the world wars, to the Ernest Hemingway Bar for champagne (Sue and Julie) and beer (Mary and Nick). Nick’s beer was served in a funky glass. While there, two of our favorites from the tour, Margo and Tom, joined us. They are fun and interesting. Margo had purchased a t-shirt for the Rugby that we all admired. We shared a bottle of champagne and then parted for dinner. We struck out at the recommended restaurant and were told to go back to the street we came from for a good meal. There are a number of them in a row, and we chose one very close to the hotel. We ordered a seafood platter to share that had various fried items and 3 sauces. We were still hungry so we ordered an Italian Tartar to split. The description did not mention meat, just tomatoes, pesto and buffalo mozzarella cheese. We waited and waited and it didn’t come. Finally we asked about it and they brought it. It featured raw beef and a little mozzarella - no discernible tomatoes or pesto. We ate it nonetheless. 

We went back to the hotel and decided to have a glass of rose from the bottle Mary bought at Chinon yesterday. Nick went with Julie to procure an ice bucket. Sue went to their room to drop her stuff. When Nick came to get her, they found they couldn’t get off the elevator at Mary and Julie’s floor, as a key for that floor is required to open the elevator doors. The stairs appeared to have locking doors so not an option. Sue called Mary who rode down to floor 2 to get them. All three of us were on, pushed floor 3, and the elevator started up. When it stopped and the doors opened - Surprise - there stood Julie holding 4 wine glasses. She was on floor 0. It was so unexpected that we all laughed uproariously and Julie almost dropped the glasses. Eventually we were able to stop laughing and push the button again and make it to Mary and Julie’s room for a cold glass of wine. Tomorrow we go on two champagne tours.