DAY 4 (5/2/00)

We spent the night at a lovely inn in the farm fields outside of the city of Rheims (in French, Reims). Here are some shots of the inn, Le Cheval Blanc.

Rheims, the capital of the French "state" of Champagne-Ardennes, is a beautiful old cathedral town and headquarters for the production of authentic French champagne. All of the major French labels distributed in the U.S.--names like Mumm, Moet, Piper Heidseck, Pommery and the like--have enormous, baronial headquarters in town that sit atop the actual champagne cellars, miles and miles of underground caverns and tunnels in the limestone underneath Rheims. We took a look at the House of Pommery:

That huge structure Mo is standing in front of is a wine (champagne) barrel built for the 1893 Paris World's Fair. Take a closer look at the exquisite, ornate wood carving, done in the Art Nouveau style of the period (yes, that's a real champagne glass embedded in the figure's hand).

For a great photo tour visit Pommery's site at:

http://www.pommery.com/uk/index.html

We did tour a smaller cellar in town, and came away with a new appreciation for the labor and time-intensive art of creating champagne. No wonder the real thing is soooo expensive!

But wait, there's more to Rheims than champagne...