Eva on the Via Francigena (and beyond)

Song of the Day: Brimful of Asha — Cornershop (Norman Cook remix)

This was one of my favorite songs when I was younger — I still remember listening to it sitting in the back seat of my dad’s car on the way home from basketball practice. I was listening to a playlist I have of songs I loved from my childhood, and this one jumped out to me for today.

Unfortunately I wouldn’t be walking today, given the constraints of the heatwave and the 90-day Schengen visa. However, when I looked back on the last few days of walking, I felt okay about this decision — yesterday would have been okay for a longer day, but the day before it would have been difficult to walk much longer (or later) than I did given the heat.

I endeavored to enjoy relaxing on my day off: I slept until 7:30, got up and headed to the boulangerie for breakfast of quiche and a pain au chocolat. After a bit of time back at the Airbnb to pack, I was out and headed to the train station, where I ended up being 30 minutes early for my train to Chaumont. After walking a few laps around the station out of boredom, as I was walking on the platform I heard someone on the other platform across from me shouting “Eva, Eva!” Weird, I thought, it sounds like they are shouting my name…but it can’t be for me, I don’t know anyone in Vitry-le-Francois. And yet, the shouting continued, so eventually I looked up — and lo and behold, directly across from me, was Monique from the gite in Chaussee-sur-Marne. I couldn’t believe it! I waved back and we shouted at each other across the tracks: she and her husband were headed to Paris. I told them I was headed to Bar-sur-Aube and would walk to Chateauvillain the next day. She asked me to send her a postcard, and I (of course!) agreed. Shortly after my train pulled up, and I waved goodbye and was on my way — what a crazy coincidence!

The train to Chaumont was an hour, and gave me a preview of what I could expect for walking in the next few days. Gone were the flat plains and fields, and we moved into rolling hills that got higher and higher. In town I had about 2 hours to kill until my next train, so I popped into the church, walked a few laps around the city center, had a coffee in the main square (finally, a decent cappuccino), had a jambon buerre sandwich and then headed back for my next train, only 20 minutes to Bar-sur-Aube.

Bar-sur-Aube is a lovely, albeit quiet, town. May of the buildings are still in the charming half-timbered style. I swung by the church, notable for its timbered porch, and then got a stamp at the Mairie. Then I headed for a champagne tasting at the house of Devaux, which Nathan had kindly organized for me.

I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting — probably a tasting with 3 glasses of champagne as was typical in Reims. But no. I was the only one there, and the guide (whose name I unfortunately forgot to ask) was happy to chat about all of Devaux’s champagnes. We started with their standard range, which ages only 15 months on the lees (the legal minimum), leading to very fresh, fruity wines. I tried their standard brut (80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay); their blanc de blancs, a rose, and two interpretations of their blanc de noir: one natural and one normal. The last two were the most interesting, as despite the fact that the makeup was the same, the differences in site and farming practices meant they tasted quite different. The non-natural was cleaner, crisper, while the natural wine had an interesting apple cider vinegar characteristic that I enjoyed. We talked about Champagne as a region and the places I walked — I hadn’t realized that the Cotes de Bar is almost exclusively Pinot Noir, and is the largest Pinor Noir region in Champagne. I suppose this makes sense given the relative proximity to Burgundy.

After this we moved on to Devaux’s next tier of champagne, which ages 5 years, rounding out the flavors more. I tried a traditional brut, an extra-brut, and a rose. All 3 were really delicious — I liked the extra brut the best but would happily drink all 3 again (even the rose, though I don’t normally love rose champagne). Even with the aging all 3 were fresh and crisp, with a bit more structure and yeast on the nose (though not as much as I am partial to!).

Finally, he broke out two vintage champagnes for me to try: first the 2012 (my favorite of the tasting) and then the 2009. The 2012 was divine — it had more structure and really interesting aromas, with more some dried fruit in addition to the red apple and yeast notes. It was well-rounded and still had good body. It was really fantastic. The 2009 had similar aromas, but on the palate was less powerful and a bit flatter (evidently, this was a vintage with a lot of rain). Even so, it was a really delicious wine.

We ended the tasting with a glass of Cotes de Champenois Chardonnay, a still wine that was fascinating. I thought it would have tasted like a white Burgundy, but not at all. It aged 10 months in oak and was fermented in oak barrels, so carried with it strong notes of toast — but also it was a riper wine than I expected, with a really overwhelming aroma of candied fruits. It was good, just nothing at all like what I expected. In the end, after 11(!) wines, he said the cost of the tasting was only 10 Euros — an absolutely insane price. I left a generous tip since I knew I wouldn’t be able to buy any bottles (typically, the tastings are priced low to entice customers to buy bottles or a case), thanked him profusely, and went on my way.

After a few calls to Nathan and my family, my next stop was the Bar-sur-Aube campground, where I had rented a “troll cabin” for the night. It was simple (and warm, though I immediately set about airing it out), but just enough for a night. I didn’t arrive until 4:30, so sat down to write and unpack before heading to the grocery store for supplies for the next days. I also booked an hour in the campsite’s spa, and was very curious to see what this entailed. It included both a sauna and a jacuzzi. While the jacuzzi was warm, at best (I set it to a higher temperature, but over the course of the hour it raised only 0.5 degrees), the jets were very nice for my back. And even without super hot water, it was very nice to sit and soak in peace. After about 30 minutes in the tub I switched to the sauna, which was much hotter (I can’t handle super hot saunas, so this actually worked out well for me) until I could no longer bear it, and then went for a final dip before my shower.

Tonight, I will meet Krista for dinner in town at a Moroccan place to celebrate both of our birthdays, which are right next to each other. I suppose I’ve been on a non-French food kick recently — honestly, it’s refreshing. As much as I love steak frites and tartare (and my issue really is that I feel compelled to order it every time I see it on a menu), I am in need of some more variety. I could be better about ordering other types of French food: chicken, duck, etc. — but the siren song of French beef reels me in every time.

Though I walked about 8 miles today, I’m not counting it as mileage toward the VF as it was not progress towards Rome, so I won’t include the details here.

Accommodation: a “troll cabin” at the “Village de Champagne” campground in Bar-sur-Aube. It was perfectly nice, with a comfortable bed and linens, and with electricity. The campground has a pool and a spa, but I would say lacked some of the natural ambience of the one in Seraucourt-le-Grand.