June 26 Luxembourg, Reims, and Paris

Last updated on September 6th, 2023 at 03:51 pm

Photos from Reims
Video Summary of the Day

We woke up early this morning as our suitcases had to be ready for pick up no later 7 am. Another look our our veranda saw a beautiful site of the houses along the river set against the small red cliff, with the reflection of it all in the still river!

After putting the suitcases in the hallway outside our door, we headed to breakfast. We ate with two ladies we had seen around the ship, but hadn’t eaten with. They were both originally from Chicago, now living in Las Vegas and Florida.

After breakfast we returned to the stateroom to pick up the backpacks, camera bag, etc. that we would take with us on the bus. We left the stateroom by the requested time of 8 a.m., sitting in the reception area until our bus (green) was called for our 8:30 a.m. departure.

We drove about half a hour into a new (to us) country: Luxembourg! We then drove to the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. There are graves of 5,076 American military including General Patton and one female army nurse, maps of the battle, two memorial pylons displaying the names of 371 missing in action and a memorial chapel.

We saw men being pushed solemnly among the rows of white crosses and stars of David. We could only imagine that they were there remembering a fallen comrade, or wondering what if things had been different. While we were there, taps and an abbreviated version of the Star Spangled Banner were played. It was a moving, yet peaceful place.

It was back on the busses for 2 1/2 hours – our destination, Reims, France. Reims is a city in northeastern France’s Grand Est region. It’s the unofficial capital of the Champagne wine-growing region. The population is about 180,000. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city in the Roman Empire. For more than 1,000 years, French kings were crowned at its Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims.  Reims was also the place where General Eisenhower and the Allies receive the unconditional surrender of the German troops on May 7, 1945.

We had a short bus tour through part of the city and then departed the bus for a short walk to the Cathedral area. After a toilet break, we walked across the square in front of the Norte Dame Cathedral of Reims to Au Bureau Pub & Brasserie for lunch. The restaurant had a section outside for large groups under blue umbrellas. The temperature today was cooler, in the 70’s with a light breeze, so it was very pleasant. Alan chose macaroni and cheese with a salad and Joyce chose summer tartine, which was a large slice of toasted bread spread with pesto topped with roasted tomatoes and eggplant, prosciutto, cheese and drizzled with a dressing. It was just okay. Joyce is not a big fan of eggplant and the picture in the menu had more fresh vegetables.

After lunch we met our local guide and toured the cathedral. It is such an impressive structure, with statues and carvings covering almost every surface on the outside. The cathedral church is thought to have been founded by the bishop Nicasius in the early 5th century. Clovis was baptized a Christian here by Saint Remigius, the bishop of Reims, about a century later. He was the first Frankish king to receive this sacrament. 

The present Reims Cathedral was begun in the 13th century and concluded in the 14th century, build to replace an earlier church destroyed by fire in 1210. It is an example of high gothic architecture. It was the traditional location for the coronation of the kings of France.

Although the structure was little damaged during the French Revolution, it was briefly used as a grain storehouse, and most of the furniture and funeral monuments were destroyed, the reliquaries in the treasury melted down for the gold, and the bells melted down to make cannons. Mobs hammered much of the sculpture of the grand portal and other evident symbols of royalty, though most of the mediaeval sculpture survived relatively intact.

One of the major highlights is the ‘Smiling Angel’ statue above the north west portal. The angel was carved in the 1200’s, and is one of the few depictions of angels who are smiling. The Angel statue was beheaded following a fire caused by a German shell on the cathedral of Reims, during World War I, and the head broke into several pieces after falling from a height of four meters. It became an icon for the French wartime propaganda as a symbol of “French culture destroyed by German barbarity”. After the war, the original fragments were molded and preserved in the Musée national des Monuments Français. The already famous sculpture was restored and put back in place 13 February 1926.

All of the statues in that portal have a ‘sin’ represented under the virtue statues standing above them. It was fun to guess what sin was being shown. The present cathedral saw extensive restoration in the 19th century. It was severely damaged during World War I and the church was again restored in the 20th century.

There are two enormous rose stained-glass windows on top of each other. Some of the side windows have been replaced with clearer glass to let more light into the massive structure. We were told that the Reims Cathedral is longer than Notre Dame in Paris. For sure, it is a very impressive physical structure!

Behind the alter are 3 Marc Chagall windows as well as sets of more modern stained glass of either side of the Chagall windows. Joyce will be interested to see how the Norte Dame Cathedral in Paris compares with the one in Reims.

After the cathedral it was back on the busses for the final 2 1/2 hour drive to Paris. We arrived about 5:30 p.m., after a lot of stop and go traffic, including through the underpass where Princess Diana was killed.

Our hotel is the Pullman Paris Montparnasse, in the Montparnasse district. Our room was on the 17th floor, so we had a great view overlooking the city.

We rested for about an hour while we looked at Google and Yelp for a place to eat. We decided to try the Maine Café and Brewery, which was close to the hotel. Getting there was a little challenging as there was construction to navigate and Google  maps is frustrating to use with all the curving streets and tall buildings. After taking a wrong turn, we retraced our steps and just decided to walk around the block and then we spotted it.

One of Alan’s favorite soups is French onion soup, so he had to have it in France! He added a two-salmon pasta, with both baked and smoked salmon. Joyce chose a salad with prosciutto, tomatoes, eggs and triangles of goat cheese in pastry. Both were very tasty. Crème Brûlée is a favorite dessert of Joyce’s, to we indulged in it is as well. It was large, and among the best Joyce has ever tasted!

We walked back to the hotel through a Food Society court that put us steps from the hotel door.