Epernay

The plan is to take the train to Epernay and visit a champagne bar. We have a tour scheduled for Moët and Chandon in the afternoon. It starts out as a lazy morning but looking at the train schedule we need to catch the 9:20. We have less than an hour. We rush and head off to the station. No time for the breakfast we bought. 

Good thing the station is so close. We are able to buy a ticket with an open ended return. A little confusion over where the train is but we board with about 5 minutes to spare. We just left 50 and sunny. I even move out of my seat as not to be in the sun. As we pop out of the tunnel towards Epernay it's foggy. When we arrive It's not foggy in town just cloudy now. 

Our goal is to find a cafe for breakfast. We pass several brassieres but no cafes. There are lots of shops with amazing looking food including this paella. 

Eventually we settle on a patisserie with an espresso machine. 

Croissant for Aparna. 

Epernay pastry for me. It has champagne and raisins. 

Since we have toured enough champagne caves and have one scheduled for this afternoon we find a champagne bar instead to sample. 

These are good but not not terribly complex. 

As I'm cleaning my camera, I notice this chip. 

This is why you buy a $15 UV filter when you have a $700 lens. 

I'm hungry already since we had a light breakfast. We find a restaurant where we can do champagne flights. However we find a place with outdoor seating so that wins. 

I get a salad. I like the potatoes on the salad. 

Aparna gets the cheese plate as she's not that hungry. It's a nice relaxed lunch outside. 

Moët and Chandon is just down the road. It turns out they make Dom Perignon. After the French Revolution, many properties were seized and sold off including the monestary where Dom Perignon was. The champagne house bought up the property over the years and produces it to honor him. They have a massive cave system including two levels. We do two different tastings again so we can compare. 

Afterwards we head back to the seafood market to buy the paella. We grab a Demi baguette from a patisserie. Aparna wants champagne with dinner so we stop at another champagne house and taste couple of more. Now with champagne in hand we have dinner. Back to the train station and our hotel. 

Tonight we eat dinner in and watch some TV shows on the iPad. 

It's the first time we haven't eaten in a restaurant. It's really quite nice and "normal". 

Food cost for the day is about $100. The champagne was more than the paella. 

Steps are 10.5k and 3.6 miles.