Our celebration dinner at Le Grand Cerf

Day 8; Saturday June 5 was a free day and a chance for everyone to catch a taxi into Epernay and explore the township and maybe do some shopping. One of the great features of Saturday morning in Epernay is the fresh produce market which certainly drew plenty of attention. The display of pates, terrines, different meats, cheeses and vegetables were wonderful. The strawberries were particularly mouth watering and a punnet was quickly devoured.

After we finished at the market it was onto the wine shops to buy some Deutz champagne as we were unable to buy some at the winery the previous day. Alas we were too slow as others within our group had arrived before us and bought up all that was available. As we searched from shop to shop we would bump into members of our group carrying bags full of champagne. Les Australiens were certainly leaving their mark on the wine shops of Epernay.

The main event for the Saturday was still to come and that was our celebration dinner at Le Grand Cerf, a one star michelen restaurant in the village of Monchenot. This was a short 20 minute bus ride from our hotel and Stephen had prepared a quizz which he conducted on the journey. The questions tested our knowledge of champagne as they related to many of the things we had been told during the week. There were also questions relating to his observations of the different personalities on the tour, all very humourous.

As soon as we finished the quizz, we rolled into Montchenot and poured out of the bus and into the restaurant.

I cannot speak highly enough of Le Grand Cerf. The food and the service were fantastic. The staff were wonderful and the Sommelier was extremely helpful in assisting me to match the wines with the different dishes. This was a perfect end to a wonderful week with an excellent group of people. As tour leaders, Karen and I could not have asked for a better inaugural tour.

Day 9, June 6 saw us all have an early start as buses had to leave at 7.00am to meet flights from Charles de Gaulle airport and trains from Gare de Nord. In one way the tour wasn't quite over yet as bottles of champagne were opened on the early morning bus and consumed on the road to Paris. I think the tour members were right into the swing of things by now and I suspect this won't be their last visit to the beautiful region of Champagne.