July 4, 2018

Reims, France

We've had a wonderfully French (albeit atypical) day! We woke up in Reims and went straight to the house of Champagne Taittinger for a tour of the cellars and a private tasting with Madame Taittinger, who happened to attend our concert nearby last night. A wonderful person who is keen on music (and The King's Singers!) and has some amazing family history and stories, perhaps unsurprisingly...We got an afternoon TGV (high-speed train) via Paris to the less-well-known town of Frasne in the south-east of France, just over the Swiss border from Lausanne, and were safely transported from there to our hotel, ahead of tomorrow's concert. Great to have an evening free amidst a general hectic term! The two Chrises and I ended up going for dinner at the local Auberge (a French inn, if you like) which was full of local character(s), as well as some Scots (of all nationalities!) who were visiting the festival and had a few things to say about England's World Cup position. The regional speciality here is Comté cheese so we had no choice but to get stuck into a few slices of that after our rustic, rare steak and wild mushrooms... Now back at the hotel and feeling rather bloated! Hopefully won't impinge on my sleeping well... T'was every the problem of a touring musician!