Champagne in France olala!!!

Last weekend we went to France to explore the Champange area!We arrived on saturday morning and rented a car. We had a little bit of difficutly getting on the right freeway (all signs are in french!!!) After asking (in sign language) directions at a gas station we were on our way!Our first stop was in Reims. A nice city 2 hrs north east from Paris. We walked around the city center, saw the cathedral (pretty much ALL cities here in Europs have old and impressive churces and cathedrals) At this point, Jason brought up his lovely camera and after I posed for 5 min. he realized he had forgotten the battery.... YES, this means NO pictures throughout our whole stay in Champagne!!! (actually I was quite relieved, since Jason can go a little 'crazy' with his pictures... they do turn out great though!)Unfortunately the 'champagneries' were all closed around 5ish so we decided to sit outside at a terrasse and buy a nice, chilled bottle of chamapgne... it was GREAT!!! Drinking Champagne in champagne is very unique! We had a nice dinner at a local restaurant and had some typical french cuisine (teh dessert was HEAVEN!!!)The next morning we toured the Mumm winery, which was very impressive and we learned quite a bit regarding the fine process of making champagne as well as the history. (Champagne was discouvered by Dom Perignon!!! He was a monk of a nearby village. It seems these monks were all bored and had nothing better to do than inventing wine, champagne, etc...I don't blame them and actually appreciate them!). In the afternoon we drove to Epernay (a smaller city which is also a very popular champagne city with 200km of underground caves!!!)There are actually thousands of 'champagneries', some producing only a couple of bottles and others (ex. Moet Chandon) which exports 80% of it's production!!! We drove around the Epernay region and unfortunately did not find many wineries open (it was sunday and most of these places require appointment!), but we had a nice meal and enjoyed it with a bottle of champagne (of course!).On monday morning we went to a winery indicated by one of Jason's co-wrokers (who is french) and we had a great time. We were invited in their house and were treated to a lot of champagne and also the history of their vineyards and champagne production. Very interesting!!! We also went to see Dom Perignon's grave in a nearby city! (we passed on purchasing one of his bottle since they were more expensive at the wineries store compared to the price in the US!!!)On monday evening Jason dropped me off in Paris (I have a meeting until thursday) and he left France with 8 bottles of champagne and one bottle of wine!!! We need to drink them in a year (champagnes are not supposed to be aged once purchased!) So, if you get married, have a baby or come and visit us... we may treat you with a nice bottle of real CHAMPAGNE! Sante!