Reims, France: Champagne Country

We managed another 715 k.m. journey through France and we're more than happy it's the last long stretch we have left to drive on this trip. At this point, we've been witness to several accidents and are fortunate we haven't been part of one. You would think that we'd be used to driving here by now but it's impossible to accustom yourself to people hovering between lanes and leaving signal lights on at all times. Ryan gasps and slams on his imaginary brake pedal every time a car moves slightly towards ours which immediately sends me into a panic. Totally fair when you consider I don't see half of the speed demons moving in my direction. A particularly stress inducing moment came today when Ryan saw the woman next to us asleep at the wheel, not realizing that it was a British car and the driver was at the other side.
Our hotel, Chateau Les Crayeres, is brilliant. It seems a lot more old world than the others we have been at and more... what's the word... proper(?). Don't think I'll be walking through the lobby in my flip flops with my pool towel wrapped around my head in this one. After a quick look at the hotel menu on the way to the room, we decided that we will definitely not be eating here unless we can get a good price for our car when we get back. Thanks to Ryan's 'months-in-advance' planning, we managed to snag one of the best rooms in the place. Not something you'd want to live in, per se, but lovely to experience for a few days and the view from the terrace is spectacular.

Can't you just picture the interior decorator as a young, apologetic, super insecure woman bringing the owners through for the first time. "Weeelllll? What do you think? You like blue, right? I love blue! You don't think it's too busy, right? I just LOVED the wallpaper. Do you like the wallpaper?"

We ate some lunch and went for the half hour walk it takes to get down to the city centre after getting a map from the concierge. We were a bit worried as we walked. The city was uber quiet and we saw very few people and cars. I'm talking, really quiet:
We eventually found a really cute city square full of blocked streets, cafes, and shops. As luxurious as four days with having nothing to do is, I was a bit relieved that we found some life. I'm not sure another three days of reading would have had the same appeal. Like most major cities in Europe, there is a famous cathedral and we went to check it out.
Not the best self-portrait but I was in no mood for capturing the perfect moment. You see, we have officially started the part of the trip where we have to start 'smell testing' our clothes. It has been hovering around 30 degrees celsius (86 F) for the bulk of our trip and the humidity has been quite high. I don't need to tell you what this weather, combined with a 3 hour walk, does to the netherregions of one's body. After looking at the hotel laundry sheet and having my eyes pop out of my head as I saw 'Men's Shirt - 15 Euro ($23)' printed in a lovely, scripted font, I thought I might try going commando instead of getting some clothes laundered. Right... so combine that heat, humidity, and walk with some really rough inseams. Not a pretty picture. It was right about at this point that I was trying to figure out whether to hike my shorts to my tits to make sure that my dewy thighs don't rub together anymore, or just take the fastest route home. I tried out every available option on the way.

We have a reservation for dinner tonight back at a little Bistro in the city centre but Ryan is konked out on the bed and not feeling very well. Part of me thinks that I might be using our taxi to do a McDonald's run. If things take a turn for the worse, not to worry. I found a hospital on the way back to our hotel that he will have no problems checking into.