Grape Harvest with Ruinart in Champagne

Last week I was delighted to spend a couple of days with Ruinart to learn more about their champagne production.

Ruinart was founded in 1729 and is the first established champagne house!

The trip has started with a visit to La Cristal Room Baccarat, a museum and a restaurant ran by a Michelin-starred chef Guy Martin.

The french designer Philippe Starck has transformed the former dining room of art patron Marie-Laure de Noailles, who used to occupy the townhouse, into a restaurant.

We had some time to see the ball room and enjoy the amazing Baccarat glassware that is on display in the museum. Then we enjoyed excellent dinner in a truly beautiful setting – just imagine a combination of sparkling crystal chandeliers, big mirrors and exposed brick walls.

I had a few minutes to walk around Le Marais where we stayed before leaving for Reims to learn everything about champagne.

We walked along the vineyards and learned that each bottle of champagne contains 1,4 kg of grapes! It was an amazing experience to take part in grapes harvest and actually pick the grapes with my own hands!

Maison Ruinart (Ruinart house) where the magic happens.

Later in the afternoon we continued with a few workshops and then visited Unesco protected cellars.

Next day in the morning I had a few minutes for a quick walk around Reims and a speedy visit to Reims Cathedral.

Claude Monet's House and Garden in Giverny

Visiting Claude Monet's house in Giverny is like stepping into one of his paintings. 

Monet himself has chosen all the colours for the house and plants for the garden. He has decided to paint the walls pink and the shutters green.

The Gardens are divided into two different parts: a flower garden called Clos Normand in front of the house and a Japanese inspired water garden on the other side of the road.

The Clos-Normand was modeled after Monet's own artistic vision. He spent years transforming the garden into a living en plein air painting, planting thousands of flowers in straight-lined patterns. Depending on the time of the year you visit Monet's house you will see different flowers and plants in bloom. In 2016 the house and garden are open everyday from the 25th March to the 1st November.

All the rooms in the house are filled with lots of light and offer great views of the garden. 

Monet's first studio, that later became his smoking room where the painter welcomed his visitors, art dealers, critics and collectors.

Blue sitting room

Yellow dining room

Second part of the garden - the water garden shows Monet's fascination for Japan, with it's green Japanese bridge covered with wisteria, other smaller bridges, bamboo and above all the famous waterlilies that unfortunately were not in full bloom when I visited but should be in bloom all summer long. 

Those ladies looked like they've just stepped from Monet's paintings

France Christmas trip Part I: Etretat, Honfleur, Le Mont Saint-Michel

Our trip to France started with crossing the channel and driving to Etretat, most known for the white chalk cliffs - similar to the ones in Eastbourne and Dover in England.

We didn't stay too long as you can see from this photo - a storm was approaching.

Next stop was at Honfleur. It is especially famous for it's old port, painted many times by a few artists including Claude Monet. I loved it's narrow streets and wooden houses - so many beautiful details!

Le Mont Saint-Michel is a place I wanted to visit for a long time. It is an island located 0,6 miles off the French coast. The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times and since the 6th century AD has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. Nowadays more than 3 million people visit the island each year.

A group of people slowly walking around the island. It may get quite dangerous as the tide can get very high.

Narrow cobbled streets and a population of just 50 people. 

Same group as seen from Mont Saint-Michel.

Check out the shadow!

New bridge that connects the island with the mainland was opened very recently - in 2014.