St. Thierry to Reims

Mr Melezet
Jul 24, 2020
2 min read

Cellars

A simple breakfast and then out for the short walk into Reims. Today is a rest day and we are taking the afternoon off to look around Reims.

Today's date: 24.7.20

Weather: cloudy and warm

Steps: 32,151

Distance: 10.2 km

Climbing: 60 m

We could see Reims in the distance as we left St. Thierry and could look back at the abbey. And we crossed the Autoroute again.

The via enters town along the canal. There were lots of sporty people rowing, cycling and jogging and it seemed pretty busy for a weekday.

We visited the cathedral and got a stamp at the tourist office. The cathedral was very grand but somehow less attractive and welcoming than the cathedral at Laon. The stained glass windows were outstanding.

We walked around the city for a while, grabbed lunch, and just to prove it is a small world, bumped into an old colleague. Reims was busy and there were lots of people dining in the street and children running in and out of fountains in the park.

Later in the afternoon we walked a short distance from the city centre to the Taittinger cellars. They are sited in tunnels below an Abbey that was destroyed centuries ago. We took a guided tour which was really interesting. There are countless bottles of all sizes and vintages stored in chalk caves and excavations. Sometimes there is a gap in the lattice of bottles where a bottle has exploded.