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Bonjour! - As I write this we're ending our week in the Champagne region.Memorable, alongside all of the Champagne, is the pronunciation of the region.I knew before coming to France that Reims was an issue.As you read it, phonetically speaking, you are probably saying 'rhymes' or even 'reems', but no, it's 'Rhance' oddly enough.And it doesn't end there.Most famous of all is the regular mis-pronunciation of Moet & Chandon.Common thought is to pronounce it 'Mo-ey', whereas in fact it's pronounced 'Mo-et'.Alongside re-doing the Moet tour, we went to the cellars of Champagne houses of Pommery and Taittinger, a wine I was comfortable that I knew how to pronounce, even highlighting the letter 'i' which most people miss out.Still, phonetically, it could be 'tat-in-ger', or 'tie-tin-ger' as I was saying, but no.I was mid-way through watching the obligatory information film you get at the start of a cellar tour, when I actually worked out what they were saying.It seems it's pronounced 'Tayen-Jay'.As I sit here in Troyes (pronounced 'Tra' in case you don't know!), I'm questioning everything.......Answers on a postcard if you know how to pronounce Fismes....!
It feels like it's been an age since out last site update, and reading through our notes, we've done so much in so little time.We're camping a lot more now, meaning that we're less likely to get free WiFi, and we've worked out a system of camping which is working for us - Good old experience.We're booking into a central base and then working outwards from there, instead of doing one particular area and moving on, and we're thinking of upgrading our tiny tent, so are on the lookout for a larger one.Some of the camps are really well equipped - I had believed that they were missing a trick, as they can be few and far between, and not always near to a restaurant etc, so why not have a shop on site!Bingo, but the site we are at today is so far ahead of the game that they have numerous washing machines as well, allowing us to get on top of the laundry!The May bank holiday wasn't a good first weekend for us, and we had under-estimated how busy the sights and campsites would be, but we're definitely a step further on now.
Thanks for all of your comments and texts regarding the site and our travels.It means a lot to touch base and to know that people are following our exploits out there somewhere.It sounds as if the weather is as good with you as it is with us which is great: but we don't have to work ;-)
In other news:We both wish Nicole a happy birthday on the 10th, and congrats to Karra on getting the new job! Don't leave before I can abuse the discount!!!!!!
Speak soon
Darren and Jo.
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