on the way home

Ang, Ella and I had a great time on the boat with Barry and Margaret, from Paris to Remis, and got something like 9 fine days out of 11, which is not bad going, but I wont claim that it was mid summer hot! just fine and dry and mostly tee shirt and shorts weather, some of the evenings got a little cold. Anyway the scenery was good what ever the weather, and we happened to be there at the very start of harvest for the Champagne region, so that was interesting and everyone seemed busy and happy to be getting the grapes picked. Not going to be a reserve year by all accounts, the weather earlier this year has meant that the grapes will just be fine for blending to make the normal bubbles, but not one of those years that gets put away for special bottling.
here are a few pics from our few weeks while we joined Barry and Margaret.




We started our trip in Paris, with the unmistakable back drop of the Eiffel tower

Ella slotted straight into her bed for the holiday with new soft toy friends she was as happy as a bug in a rug...

Negoiating locks was no problem.

some of the Expansive wine cellars, in the Champagne region around Epernay

Ella sporting the life vest, (which was worn for the first few days, but then as she got the idea that she was not allowed outside without an adult she didn't wear it so much)

ever wondered what the inside of a 2.2km long tunnel with a river flowing through it looked like?

Ella spending time with Grandma while Mum and Dad went on a scenic bike ride...

Cezanne racing along at about 6km/hr...

Parked up for lunch...

Lunch...

Dinner... and what trip to France would be complete without a feed of snails...

Ella helping out with the driving...


Barry and Margaret will be back at Lagarde now where Cezanne will be 'wintering over' and no doubt packing their bags, as they are just under a week away from being back in New Zealand.