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-...

Hello from the Champagne region. Reims didn't go as expected as there was no room at the (Holiday) Inn.So instead of the added expense we headed off to Epernay (see our videos).We popped in to the Moet & Chandon shop to purchase a lovely Moet Rosé and tried to book a tour but it was fully booked.Stupid Bank Holidays!We have done it before so not too much of a problem.We spoke to Tourist Information (a Godsend in every town) and got details of local camp...

Well it's day four and, as I write this we're in another hotel room. Rain has washed away pretty much any chance of being able to camp anywhere, but when we did last night, everything got covered in mud, and it was all a bit loud overnight, so the accommodation budget for this week has now been used by Thursday. I've even used one of our 'lifelines' and on our second night we stayed at the very French chain "Le Holiday Inn" using the points earned thro...