Epernay and the Champagne Valley

After three days in "Champagne" we'd yet to see a vineyard, so we headed to Epernay, the "Capital of Champagne."  Seated at a major crossroads in the Marne River Valley, Epernay is at the very heart of the champagne region, surrounded by hills full of grapevines.  The city itself dates to the 5th century, but has a rough history of being pillaged and burned (at least 25 times!), so there is little in the way of Giant European Churches, etc.  It is, however, home to some of the larger champagne houses, arranged in grand splendor on the Avenue de Champagne.

This is a (small) part of the Moët & Chandon House.  Over 100 km of tunnels are dug into the chalk under this and the other houses on the avenue.  That's a lot of champagne!  Epernay was charming, but we had more important things to do (that would be lunch) so we packed back into the car and drove through the valley to the little town of Châtillon-sur-Marne.  There, we had a most wonderful picnic of French bread, cheese, and, naturally, a little champagne:

The view across the valley was incredible and after lunch and a bit of lounging, we met the local tourism office director, who was quite possibly the most enthusiastic, friendly, and eager-to-please Frenchman ever.  He stuffed map after map and guide after guide into our hands and even let us use his personal bathroom, which just solidified his outstanding reputation in our eyes.  We rewarded his unparalleled service with the purchase of 3 postcards and headed down the road to Hautvillers.

Hautvillers is one of several stunningly charming towns sprinkled along the valley.  In addition to the vast vineyards, each town in the region also competes for a special 'flower rating' based on each town's display of flowers.  Hautvillers is also home to the abbey where the Benedictine monk, Dom Pérignon, worked and dabbled in the improvement of the champagne process.  He's buried there:

We continued along the valley, enjoying the amazing view of the vineyards and the river Marne below.  Our trip to the champagne region was great, but we left feeling that an even better way to enjoy it would be to stay in a small hotel in one of the valley's towns, wandering each day to the next little town over and touring several vineyards and champagne houses of varying sizes. Thanks to the Number One French Tourism Worker, we have armloads of maps and books if we decide to go back.  However, our time in Champagne was up, and we drove on to luxurious Luxembourg...