Two Days in Reims

When packing, one should take seriously the weather forecast of the destination. The weather at home had been so unseasonably hot, for so long, that I packed with that in mind. I could not bring myself to pack jeans, long sleeves, warm jackets, anything like that. The best I did was one pair of light weight pants, one long sleeve tee, and a long sleeve sheer shirt, which is not that warm. I brought a heavier weight hoody mostly for the plane. Of course we did all bring rain jackets, thankfully. Cuz the first week in Reims was unseasonably cool, around 18 C, overcast, and rain at some point every day.

That didn't stop us from setting out on our first day, a Monday. We slept late, Marc met us for lunch, and we continued on to do a bit of sightseeing.

Planking in Reims.

The Chagall windows at the Cathedrale de Notre Dame. Many French cities have a Cathedrale de Notre Dame, but I think this is one of the most spectacular. It was repaired to its original magificence after sustaining heavy damage during World War II, and is celebrating it's 800th year this year.

Words just cannot describe.

Monday evening we were invited to dine at the home of Patrick and Claire.Patrick is a work colleague of Marc's. Stefan was also invited, and so were about 20 other people. Their home was beautiful, their family and the company, delightful, and the food was fabulous! We were invited to arrive after 7:30 and the meal was put out around 9. We did enjoy some snacks and plenty of champagne, of course. Tastes much better here than at home!

A trampoline and ping pong table kept the kids entertained. The adults joined in for some sort of round the table ping pong game. Fast and fun!

Claire, Guimette and Gaby

Marc & Guimette, Patrick and Claire's children, Nick and Gaby.

Rainy Tuesday and a late start, again.

The French do love their chocolate cereal!

Lunch. Groceries are quite reasonable, so most of our lunches here in Reims will be at 'home'. Baguette, a variety of cheeses, pate, and some mushroom filled crepes hit the spot.

They call this a Chinese massage. My kids, that is. Apparently, when Nick's back is sore, Gaby walking on it provides relief. Here, or at home!