h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My journey started about Friday lunchtime on 14 June. I had taken the day off work, but had to go into the office to finish something off. One thing led to another, but I still managed to get home on my bike and get packed in time to walk to the station (3 minutes) for the first leg of the journey.

Everything was booked so there was no hassle with ticket buying.

Part one - local tram to Karlsruhe. Part two: TGV from Karlsruhe to Strasbourg, Part three: Another TGV from Strasbourg to Champagne-Ardennes, part four: the local shuttle from the TGV station Champagne-Ardennes to Reims. All well spaced out.

Those TGV are really comfortable. Plenty of legroom, wifi, electric sockets., etc, etc. But they are so fast, there's hardly time to use it! When you're standing on a platform in a station and they go through without stopping, they are frighteningly fast and noisy - they do nearly 300 kmh. When you're sitting in them, the countryside and the little stations zip through fairly quickly, but you don't get the feeling you're zinging along like a bat out of hell. Although it is rather difficult to decipher the names of the stations as you fly past.

I found the hotel and dumped my stuff, then went about 200 yards round the corner to the Sherlock pub, which is where we had arranged to meet. Superfrenchie, Wandrin Star, and Mazin Mad Fiddler were alreay seated with coffees Champagne, and I think Superfrenchie was drinking some hot chocolate, which she continued to do for the rest of the weekend, or so it seemed!

Then, from among the crowd slowly gathering on the busy Place d'Erlon, appeared the familiar friendly face of Loftyskywalker, and after some time and some , I decided to pop back to the hotel and get a jacket, as it was getting cooler. Who should I bump into, just coming towards us from the hotel but Beatrice! And when I got back to the table, TRiG had joined us. So there we sat, outside the Sherlock and drank and talked and marvelled, not only at the waiters in their kilts, but also at some coloured hot air balloons which seemed to be drifting above the rooves of Reims to the moon , and drank, and talked....

A band were setting up for an evening gig in the pub - they seemed to have endless equipment - some new, some battered. The musicians looked pretty "experienced", too.

Eventually we decamped to a restaurant further up the street with a Latin American theme, where we found something for everyone on the very varied menu, and the conversation continued without stopping for breath until nearly 11 pm.

Wandrin Star went back to her room, TRiG went to find his hotel, and the rest of us went back to the Sherlock to see what this band were like. They weren't bad, but they were far too loud for the tiny interior of the pub, 70s guitar-heavy stuff: Santana, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton. Whilst there, we were finally joined by DragonQueen and, as chatting was difficult with the background music, we paid and went on our way.

Beatrice, WS, DQ and I were all staying at the same hotel, which turned out to be really convenient and had loads of character. Hereafter known as the Girls' Dorm.

On Saturday morning, we had arranged to meet at a café. SuperFrenchie had organised a table for our group of 8 plus some members of her English-speaking group. In the end only one very nice lady joined us. She spoke amazingly good English and joined in with everything. The "Brunch" was plentiful and good. The café obviously did their own baking and had very exclusive jams and juices and even their own make of muesli. The boiled eggs were perfect and two coffees or teas as well as juice and water on tap were included in the price.

We stayed, talking, until 1 pm - which at least meant we wouldn't have to stop anywhere for lunch!

Released out on to the street, we all went our own ways, arranging to meet outside the cafe at quarter to two to be driven by SF and her friend to the Champagne cellars where we were going to be taken on a tour.

After buying a couple of necessaries (teabags! Bottles of water! ), DQ, WS and I made it back to the meeting point. The others had already left, so we got into SF's car and followed in hot pursuit. Well, actually, the heavy traffic prevented us doing that, so it was a rather sedate journey really.

After watching a short video, which was not very informative, rather a PR film, we were taken round the cellars by a charming girl who explained everything very clearly in English and just fed us enough information that we all learned a little, and without overloading us with facts. We learned of the history of the family who owned the cellars and of the caves themselves, which were dug out by the Romans in the 4th Century, the techniques of champagne production, fermenting and storage times and the sizes of the bottles, the markets that they supply and the huge amounts they produce.

Finally, we were brought to a light, airy room, where each of us was given a glass of the produce, and, if we had wanted, we could have bought a Jeraboam or two.

We drove back into town and walked up to the Cathedral, the main attraction of Reims, after all. The Museum in the Palais du Tau next door seemed the most sensible place to start - this contained all the coronation jewellery of the many French Kings who had been crowned there, and many of the sculptures salvaged from various fires, bombings, and other forms of destruction that had befallen the Cathedral at various times. Very memorable were a set of six candlesticks, each as tall as a man.

By now we had split up into smaller groups (some of us take longer to go through a museum, others are finished sooner). Each group went on to look at the Cathedral, the Chagall windows and the other modern, bright windows, as well as the impressive rose window and all the others with their minute detail.

By now it was early evening and we were tired and hungry.

We walked back into town in the evening sunlight. Lofty nearly got run over by a tram that he was photographing, but otherwise we arrived at the legendary "L'apostrophe" intact.

The reason he was photographing the tram, by the way, was because the fronts and backs of the trams are shaped like Champagne glasses (as are many many things in Reims!)

The restaurant was very fine, and we had such delicious choices as risottos, bouillabaisse, steaks, and then some amazing dessert concoctions. The profiteroles, apparently, are quite formidable (in the English sense of the word) so we veered away from them. Beatrice, for example, had selection of mini-crème brûlée and a tiny profiterole, a tiny coffee.

We'd almost forgotten, but the highlight of the visit was yet to come: A son-et-lumière show back up at the Cathedral. A cool breeze was blowing but we braved it because we were totally captivated by the coloured lights and the shadow play which was projected on to the famous facade of the building.

Sometimes this took the form of abstract effects, sometimes you could see projected onto the doors and myriad statues a coloured version of themselves, which almost brought the saints and angels and bible scenes to life. This was interspersed with a kind of shadow play, at first depicting the workmen building the Cathedral which was made to look as though just its skeleton was standing there, later some acrobats in silhouette dancing across the Gothic ledges, windows and spires.

Some of us walked back down into town after the 11 o'clock showing, which had gone on for about 15 minutes. The lights were still shining on the facade, however, and Beatrice and TRiG went to have a closer look, or perhaps just to make shadow bunnies, butterflies and birds. The second show started at 11.20 and they were caught up in it again.

Meanwhile, the rest of us had convened for a night cap at a bar right by the Angel Fountain in the centre of the Rue d'Erlon and conversation continued - MMF's puns included! - until we really did give in and go to bed.

I hope TRiG posts his story of his first night at his hotel. A strong contender the funniest thing that happened this weekend.

So this morning I returned home. The hotelier showed me his hobby when I went to pay. He told me about his children and their studies and careers and then added that they all sew. He himself, he said, made leather articles, using offcuts that a friend could get him from the Louis Vuitton factory. He cuts the scraps of different coloured leather and puts them together in art deco designs.

The train journey back was just as smooth as going, although, apparently, I got into the wrong train at Champagnes - Ardennes. The conductor gave me a stern look, and said he should really charge me extra, but didn't.

Because I had acquired a bag full of books from WS and some pink biscuits from Superfrenchie, a Union Flag mug (from MMF) and a teatowel (from Beatrice) , all nicely packed in a cloth bag from Kew Gardens (MMF), my husband picked me up from the station in the village.

Now I am sitting in our garden with some and drinking a cup of tea (boy I needed that!), and hammering away at my laptop - trying to capture the exhilaration and companionship which we enjoyed this weekend before it vanishes for ever.

Many many thanks to everyone for the thoughtful and original gifts (MMF, WS, SF, Bea) and for the lovely weekend. Just as much thanks to TRiG for his ever cheerful conversation and to Lofty for his charming way of asking interested questions. To DG for her interesting conversation. I feel all only scratched the surface, and I thought I knew you all after so many years here on h2g2.

I am so sorry that I didn't get to say goodbye properly to Wandrin - I was sure I would see her again at breakfast, but we missed each other.

In particular, I look forward to seeing everyone's photos and reading your reports and seeing what your highlights were.

oh thanks for sharing that so quickly, I've been dying to hear how it all went

A successful meet, then!

It's mind boggling that the Romans were so drink-crazed that they ended up digging big tunnels under the ground. And people think the Irish are bad.

(Sho, me and you will have to invade France another time!)

definitely

They didn't dig the caves to store wine in the first place -they were mining for chalk.

If you're invading, let me know!

Oh, right. Like we don't *all* use that excuse when we run out of drink.

KB and Sho : I have apparently been volunteered to organise another one in a couple of years.
Not sure how that happened, but hey!

TC: I'll write up the official report some time Tuesday, I think, as TRiG is still here tomorrow.


Oh! And, Sho: keep an eye on your letter box.

Everything the Romans ever did was about wine... Unless it was about beer... They were obsessed by it... Sounds a loverly time, and I guess at least t the weather was good for it, as the rainy bits parts of Europe has been having seems to have kinda drawn to a bit of a stop for now

Several of us actually got slightly sunburnt today

Yup, I'm home, gaving avoided Cameron and the japanese pm at the airport, and am currently examining the extent of my sunburn

Home, safe, after a panic over lost €€€, but found. Cabbie very kindly let me not pay. A favour I owe.
Journey home disrupted by earlier suicide and me getting 24 hour clock wrong but cab returned for lift home. Decamped and chatted to Mim before visit to pub, English and photo sorting.

Now , slow day tomorrow to allow leg and right arm muscles to relax, and to dwell on how fantastic a host SF was. I need to look to my laurels.

The next London Meet I really need to up the Anti. There's anew kid on the block.

MMF

And I particularly forgot to thank those who kindly looked after, and waited for, the disabled one in the group.

Thank you. It helped make the visit so much more enjoyable.
MMF

I got in, made a cuppa, opened hootoo, made a couple of short posts and started to sort thoughts on Rheims and have just woken rather stiffly to find all this (and half a cup of cold tea)
I would like to add my thanks here for a wonderful weekend. I enjoyed every minute with good weather, fine company (deliberate adjective reversal) and LOTS of champagne.

Lovely report, TC. How much did you pay for your train ticket?

I'm back home as well - and my luggage has been found and is on the way to w*rk.

Otherwise I'm still in very good mood after th lovely Meet - and I've got blisters in(?on?at?) my forehead due to much sun exposure Sunday afternoon. Long sleeves and a cap to w*rk today.

I hope I've managed to friend all participants to my PS. It was nice to meet new and old friends, and I hope there will be another Meet somewhere soon.

Flat Abby is resting. If the weather isn't too bad she will celebrate a traditional Midsummer Feast on Friday.