It’s time once more (finally!!!) to write about one of my favorite destinations: France. If you’ve been following along on Instagram, then you’ve already gotten a little sneak peek of our latest adventures in the homeland! This time, Dan and I visited France on a super-delayed honeymoon, 14 months after our 2018 wedding! (See wedding photos here.) I have so much I want to share with you, but before I get into the details, I want to share a brief overview of our travel itinerary. Altogether, we spent ten days in France this time around. Four nights visiting my grandmother near Chaumont, followed by six nights in Paris – our longest stay in the city so far!
Here’s part one of the recap, covering our four day stay in and around Chaumont, France.
Chaumont & Beyond
May 20
After a long red eye flight, taxi protests and general confusion at CDG, and a three hour journey by car, we arrived safely at my grandmother’s home just outside Chaumont. We were sure happy to see her and get out of that car! I think we were all a little nervous about the considerable language barrier. Mamie does not speak English, and our ancient high school French proved thoroughly ineffective on our previous visit. I did my best to prepare this time around by looking up phrases and vocabulary words related to specific topics of conversation, like our recent home purchase or the things we might do around Chaumont. Worst case, we came prepared with Google Translate downloaded on both phones. You can imagine our terror when we couldn’t connect to the wifi or rely on Google to save our souls.
Luckily, Dan was willing to look a little foolish to get the party started, and Mamie’s friends Catherine and Pascal, who joined us several times throughout the trip, spoke a bit of English to bridge the gaps. As on our previous trip, we all felt much more at ease by the time we had to leave for Paris.
Every day started the same way. Mamie woke early as usual, and by the time we got up around 8:00-9:00 AM, there was already a full breakfast spread laid out on the table. Coffee, madeleines, and assorted breads, jams, pastries and juice were all part of the daily rotation. Talk about spoiled. I loved just sitting there in the kitchen, looking out the French doors and listening to the birds in the backyard. Then we’d all get ready for the day’s adventures, often coming home mid-day for a break or a nap. Yes, I could definitely get used to this.
May 21
On our first full day in France, we ventured into the heart of Chaumont for a delicious multi-course lunch at the Grand Hôtel Terminus Reine. We always enjoy dining here when we visit. The menu has both classic French dishes and more modern flavor pairings, and the staff is always so patient with our rudimentary language skills. This time around, we especially loved the starter of grilled scallops with wasabi, mango and passion fruit. Dan’s entree, a steak flambéd table-side with a freshly-made cream sauce, was the highlight of the meal. Mamie and I were both stealing fries off his plate and soaking up all that sauce by the end of the meal.
Post-lunch, we spent an hour wandering Chaumont, admiring the colorful shutters and doors in town along with the stained glass windows in the old basilica.
For more photos of Chaumont, be sure to visit my recap posts of our first and second visits to see Mamie!
We spent most afternoons at home, napping, watching TV, or enjoying pre-dinner drinks and snacks. The language barrier might have been uncomfortable, but we enjoyed unwrapping little cubes of Babybel cheese and reading the trivia questions out loud to one another. If nothing else, the drinks and trivia helped everyone to relax and have a good time.
May 22
Mamie drove us out to Bannes to have lunch at le Petit Charme, followed by a quick stop at the lake, which is actually a series of man-made canals. We drove through a picturesque storybook town on the way back to the main road, and I couldn’t help but take photos and video of our journey.
After our afternoon nap and a little bit of TV, Dan and I decided to perk up with a walk around Mamie’s neighborhood. We took lots of photos down by the river and fields before beginning the long hike back home. We even saw a gorgeous orange tabby cat who came right over to us when we called! It made me miss our little ginger boy back at home.
May 23
Thursday marked our final day spent fully with Mamie, and it was my favorite day of the trip, by far! We got to return to the beautiful city of Langres, a medieval city and former royal stronghold fully surrounded by stone fortified walls. Today, visitors can enjoy a stroll around the ramparts and gaze out over the countryside. Langres is well-situated in the Marne Valley, just an hour or so from the country’s famed Champagne and Burgundy regions. It has a fabulous little tourism office with plenty to see, making Langres the perfect day trip destination.
After our initial lunch plans fell through, we wound up eating at La Villa Vauban, a wonderfully modernized space with a patio overlooking the countryside. We chose to beat the heat and dine inside, and what followed was my favorite meal of the trip. As with the Grand Hôtel Terminus Reine, the staff here made us feel so welcome and encouraged us to continue to speak French. With Mamie, Pascal and Catherine at our sides, the transition away from the English language felt very natural.
After lunch, I expected that we would get back in the car and go home, or perhaps spend some time wandering on our own. I was surprised when we went instead to the Tour de Navarre, where we got to explore one of the towers and learn more about its history and use in defending the city in the Middle Ages.
After our self-guided tour ended, we took a little walk around the ramparts to admire the stunning views and the little homes and gardens set alongside the walking path. I would love to rent a little Airbnb and stay in Langres for a couple of days just to be able to wake up and have my coffee in one of those sweet little gardens.
The walking path around the ramparts is 2.2 miles long. We covered about half that distance and then took a convenient route back through town to the place where the car was parked.
Let me know if you’d like to see another post dedicated to our day in Langres! I’ve written about it and shared plenty of photos in the past (read those posts here!), but I’d like to write a more comprehensive guide to help travelers plan day or weekend trips to the city. What would you like to see covered in that guide?
May 24
Our final day in Chaumont was quiet but happy. After the day’s usual delicious breakfast, Dan and I got our things packed and exchanged photos with Mamie. That took a while, since there were over 500 photos on my phone alone!
We enjoyed a final lunch together on the back porch (with lots of champagne of course!) and made it to the station just a few minutes before our scheduled departure to Paris. Stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Hungry for Paris spoilers and don’t want to wait? Check out photos from this trip on Instagram, or visit the Paris archives to read more helpful guides, photo essays, and trip journals from our past travels to France.
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