Mosel region Germany to Champagne & Paris -

Mosel region Germany to Champagne & Paris

Europe Roadtrip week 15 saw us in Germany, Luxemborg, Belgium and France and that was in one day! LOL. It is hard to relate to back home in Australia where you can spend the whole day driving in one state alone!

For this weeks youtube weekly wrap click here

Coming to the end of our time in Europe and due to head back to United Kingdom on 31^st by Ferry we are taking it easy, kicking back a bit and loving our final weeks here.

We have already started putting together plans for next years travels, I have been asked to come back into work for a week and I have booked a flight home to the Gold Coast to celebrate a special birthday just after we fly into Australia. So many exciting things to look forward to on arrival home in just over 5 weeks. Before then we have friends to catch up with in England, my bestie has some time off to spend with us and we will celebrate Miss B’s birthday late with her too.

The week that was..

21 August 2018

First thing we did was head to the ‘The Tyre Guy’ and have two new wheels put on Betsy. She was looking very swish now and provides peace of mind to us (and 220 Euro later, not kidding OUCH). Safety is always first when roadtripping and tyres are an obvious item that must be monitored at all times.

We get them checked before leaving each year. Replaced where necessary and never run on a spare for any longer than absolutely necessary. There are parts of Australia (home) that it is recommended to carry two spares! And we have needed them before.

Unfortunately, the truck the tyres was on, had had an accident. There would be a delay of about 2 hours. No problem, we were ok to wait where we were. So, school work all done, some work done by me and the tyres arrived.

So back on the road and off to christen them on the River Mosel. The Mosel region is one of 13 wine regions in Germany. The sloping hills full of vines, the lovely towns along the river banks make this a scenic and very enjoyable drive.

22 August 2018

Miss B requested a fish plait today for her hairstyle, a change from French braids and I think she is trying to send subliminal messages to hurry us along to France! With her birthday fast approaching we are very conscious of doing some Miss B favourites. Birthday presents while travelling take the form of experiences in most cases (not to mention the 5mth roadtrip) for all of us.

Stopping at Aldi for supplies Miss B was excited to find the bread delivery by button selection, like a vending machine (video on youtube). They have an amazing selection of pastries at some of the large Aldi stores, in the morning everything is fully stocked and looks (and tastes) fantastic.

Woinic

We headed towards the Champagne region of France. Made our way past the sculpture

Woinic. Why Woinic you ask? I don’t know about other parts of the world but in Australia they have a fascination with BIG things. Examples The BIG Pineapple, The BIG Banana, The BIG prawn, you get the idea. So when we are driving along the motorway and see a BIG wild boar statue, we were like OMG, got to get a photo.

Just so happened to be lunch time and we needed to stop anyway but lets not take away from the largest boar in the world (nearly 10m high and 14m long) surrounded by mustard fields at a French rest stop. Remarkably, it took over a decade to create and weighs over 50 tons.

Had lunch, took photos and on the road again to the Champagne region of France. Oh Yes, the Champagne region. I was very excited about this and have been known to support the Champagne industry well over the years (or in Australia the Methode Champenoise). So beautiful, acres and acres of vines, most on sloping hills facing the direct sun for sweeter taste. Mmmmmm.

Stopping at a Wild Camp in the middle of the champagne region. We met the most LOVELIEST couple from France and had a dinner party beside our vehicles. It was fantastic, learning more French. There was lots of hand gestures and lots of laughing. We had an Australian wine (a special bottle we brought with us), French Pate and Cheese and a Belgium Dessert – amazing!! One of our favourite things about travel. We look forward to meeting up with them next year on our travels.

23 August 2018

A lovely start to the day with a sleep in. Then off to visit Moet & Chandon. I mean any tour involving champagne can not be too bad can it. This exceeded my expectations, the

information shared during the tour was comprehensive and questions invited. We have done MANY wine tours and I really enjoyed the insight into one of my favourite beverages while on this tour.

We did the traditional tour which was 25 Euro an adult and Miss B being 10 years old was free (one glass of champagne each adult in this tour). Don’t know why the cut off is 10, they don’t drink the champagne.

Moet Champagne began in 1743 in Epernay, France. Chandon was added in 1833 when Pierre-Gabriel Chandon joined the company.

Did you know a Moet & Chandon Champagne cork is popped every second!!

We watched a short video, got taken through the underground caves which as you can imagine cover quite a large area (largest in the world). We learnt about vintage and non vintage champagne. Growing conditions and regions where they source the grapes and finished in the tasting area. The tasting room was beautifully presented.

This was a very enjoyable tour and a lot more affordable than the Veuve Clicquot one!

Headed into Paris, never get sick of saying that. It is no secret we love it and found our wild camp, walking distance to the centre of Paris.

24 August 2018

Walked into Paris, Brett had wanted to check out the HUGE local markets but for whatever reason not many were open so we headed for Arc de Triomphe. It cost us 24 Euro, kids under 18 are free and was a lot more to it than fitness climbing 202 steps, then another 80 odd to the top!

There is a mezzanine level that has some history about the Arc de Triomphe and then you go the balance 80 odd steps and have the most loveliest view over the city.

The most popular view, is the view with the Eiffel Tower and it is great if you go up on a clear day. Great visit and one of Miss B highlights along with our next stop….. The Louvre.

She has wanted to see Mona Lisa for years and last year we did not have time, the line was 4.5 hours long and it was boiling hot.

We knew we were coming back this year (and next year) so we were not too worried.

We got in within 15 minutes being later in the day, it really is an amazing museum, well priced and download the App to get extra information and make it a more memorable visit. Miss B was so excited to see Mona Lisa, we thought she would burst.

Louvre Museum App

As we had the App, the discussions even on just Mona Lisa were fantastic. Viewing the

painting from different angles changes her smile. He accomplished this mysterious smile using the ‘sfumato’ technique. It was one of the first portraits to use an imaginary landscape.

The App provides a one hour tour of the museum for those on time restrictions and information on main exhibits.

We love coming to the Louvre and to the City of Paris. The Underground and Subway is so easy to follow and one of the more affordable in Europe.

A HUGE day of walking and we slept well that night!

25 August 2018

Stopped in the lovely small town of Gace. Booked into a caravan park and caught up on some work, blogging and did all our washing, showers and relaxed a bit.

Miss B did a great nature art project in very windy conditions! LOL She made an owl out of nature items on the ground of the caravan park, but it was so windy she kept having to chase the plumage (leaves) so we did well to even get a picture. We love doing nature art! A far cry from the Mona Lisa earlier in the week but creative, resourceful and no waste!

Cheese platter, red wine, watched a great documentary on, The things we can’t see. In nature all around us whether too small, too slow, too fast. It was really good and raised lots of questions from Miss B, which is what it’s all about while worldschooling.

26 August 2018

Onward we went to Bayeaux where we visited the famous Bayeaux Tapestry. The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres long and 50 centimetres tall. It depicts

the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England.

This was a lot to take in even with an Audio tour, a video to watch (after the audio tour) and a museum. Best spoken about prior to visiting. Lots of dates, battles, long names and titles that will be a lot to take in for adults let alone kids.

I really enjoyed it and you will hear more about this in time from us.

How bad can a week be that involves the Mosel region Germany to Champagne & Paris!!

Until next week…

What did we take

If you are interested in what we took, electronics, kitchen and all things we needed for the duration of our roadtrip click here. (we are slowly adding each week as we have data/time)

Having done a three and half month roadtrip in South Europe in 2017 and Northern Europe Roadtrip in 2018 we were pretty confident in what we would need’this time. Also, what worked and what we would not bother taking again.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube