We farewelled the Mellets, left our lovely mooring at Epernay and took to the river. Next stop was Damery, and yes we are still in the champagne district.
A stroll into town revealed another champagne cellar which just had to be visited. Located in a quite street we were led to the entrance via a small red Citron parked out the front. And this was the champagne house of Monsieur Haton and daughters! By the way nice champagne, and the purchase was delivered to the boat!Only 6kms along the river was the flower town of Reuil, but this was not the village that we set our sights on exploring. The village of OEuilly, was across the river and up a hill and is recognised as an historic hamlet, with a 13th century church and images dedicated to the winemakers of the early 20th century.Village lavoir 1900. The lavoir was where the village women did the washingThe lavoir 2023The chapel 1900The chapel 2023Road up to the village of OEuilly 1900Road to the village 2023A cool drink after the walk up the hill to OEuilly. Just a short mention…. the weather is tres chaud, hovering around 30 everyday. Not that I’m complaining but sometimes a cool drink has to be something else other than champagne.I mentioned in a previous blog that the vines producing champagne grapes are kept low to the ground. To achieve this a tractor like machine is driven above the vines to trim them back
It was time for a couple of days break from cruising at our next port of Dormans. There are a number of war memorials throughout this region, remembering the battles of the Marne in WW1. The first battle was at the beginning of the war in 1914 from late August to early September. It is not until you travel through the area, do you realise how close the Germans came to Paris. They attempted to overrun France within 40 days of declaring war, but were forced to retreat by the combined allied forces. The result was 4 years of trench warfare. The second battle was in 1918. This last major German offensive resulted in defeat and declaration of the armistice 100 days later.
This impressive war memorial in Dormans commemorates the two battles of the Marne and lies in a wooded park behind the Chateau Dormans. The crypt contains the remains of 1500 soldiers, of which only 11 have been identifiedWar memorial in DormansYes that’s us across the river from the town of DormansFinally, after much encouragement from James and Julie I took to the river for a swim. I know I said I would never do it but the heat finally got the better of me. And no, a week later I am not dying of some terrible disease contracted in the water
We were recommended to visit a champagne house in Dormans, but after a bike ride up the hill in the heat, which resulted in us getting terribly lost I contacted the wine maker who agreed to come to our boat for a private tasting
Introducing Tristan H and his delightful children. He recommended that we not consume this champagne for another 12 months, so if you are lucky enough to come aboard Joie de Vivre next year, you may get to sample some!It was in Chateau Thierry that we caught up with our friend and fellow cruiser Terry Hawkes. We also welcomed Jo Atkinson aboard for a 5 day stayThe hotel de Ville with the ruins of the castle behind, Chateau Thierry. This was the location of both battles of the Marne. There is a large American war memorial on the hill, which was a little to far to visit.Chateau Thierry was also the birthplace and home to Jean Fontaine, 17th century French poet and fabulist. He collected fables from a wide variety of sources, both Western and Eastern, and adapted them into French free verse. They were issued under the general title of Fables in several volumes from 1668 to 1694 and are considered classics of French literature.Humorous, nuanced and ironical, they were originally aimed at adults but then entered the educational system and were required learning for school children. In the town there is a museum dedicated to this famous poet, but as luck would have it, it was closed for renovation.Taking to the river and to the next village of Charley. Thankfully we were still in the champagne district, otherwise I think Jo may have abandoned us.Yes and champagne cave that was open for tastings. The boat is now slightly down by the bow due to the number of bottles safely stored in the bilge. Charley was our last champagne village on the Marne, but we will be back!
Karen’s Travel Blog 
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