After Lyon, France we headed to Reims, France (pronounced Rans) to catch a Tour de France stage. Although we didn’t know it at the time, we were actually watching the false start that began down in the center of the city. The sponsors were giving away all kinds of free stuff and they also awarded the day’s jerseys as well. I thought I had a great video of the false start, but apparently I falsely believed I pushed the start button. **insert palm to forehead here** It was still exciting to watch but we have decided that next time we will watch a mountain finish. Cute little city and hey, what’s not to love about having some free time in the official champagne region and trying some champagne. Whoohoo!

Yes, the traditional bike decorated with yellow flowers and right outside the train station. Yay!

Such a colorful street and seemed fun to walk down for that reason.

This is the city hall and I thought the building looked so pretty. Of course, I didn’t look to see what the building was until after I took the picture.

This is the Place Royale built in 1757 in honor of King Louis XV.

This is the rear end of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims, a stunning gothic structure and absolutely massive. It is famous for being the traditional location of the coronation of the Kings of France. I believe it was built in the 13 century.

A close up of some of the amazing detail on the front of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims.

Amazing visual of one portion of the interior inside the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims.

This was the main door to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims from the inside. Such amazing colors and carvings.

Here is the front facade of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims. Amazing, isn’t it?

Since we are officially in the champagne region, why not take a pic of all the champagne caps that are decorating a table top in the visitor center.

This is the Basilique Saint-Remi.

The Opéra de Reims next to the tram station where we planned to pick up coffee on our way out to Paris.