Day 7 - Paris

It took us almost 12 hours to arrive in Paris by bus. We drove North through the Rhone into Burgundy, stopping at Dijon for lunch. We continued on through Chablis and then into Paris. Although the ride was long, we passed through beautiful countryside and terroir.

We had about 30 minutes to freshen up before our champagne dinner with Jean-Laurent. Jean-Laurent's family has owned the vineyard for 1,000 years, and they have been growing champagne grapes for 150 years. They started Estate bottling just after World War II.

It is now day seven of our trip, we were supposed to be flying back to Boston today but because of Iceland's volcanic eruption all flights out of Paris are canceled.

Several people in the group found flights out of France for tomorrow, but some have already been canceled. Patty and Bill went to the airport today and booked us the earliest available flight to Boston, which is for this Saturday.

So we have another week in France - sounds ideal, but the reality is we are not guaranteed our rooms in the hotel. Fortunately we have a place to stay tonight and tomorrow, and in the meantime we will keep contacting the airport to see if more flights are opening up.

But because we had a beautiful, sunny day in Paris today we didn't hesitate to begin sightseeing. We did a lot of walking, passing the Arc de Triomphe, Champs E'Lyse, Louvre, and of course the Eiffel Tower.

We enjoyed a three-course prix fixe dinner at Cafe des Musees. We began with a champagne, then paired our salmon tartar with an Aligoté from Burgundy. Our main course of grilled pork and quinoa was enjoyed with a Côte Rotie, and we finished with a chestnut and chocolate dessert paired with a Sauternes.

So for now we'll continue our blog with our explorations of Paris, and we will keep you posted on our flight status!