Pick your own glass of champagne

It's harvest season in the vineyards which means it's one of the best times to make a trip to the Champagne region in north-eastern France. A mere 1 hour 15 minutes by train from Paris and you've arrived in Epernay, the home of the great Champagne houses including Moet & Chandon, Taittinger and Mumm. It's also a stunning region with lots of little surrounding villages, sloping vineyards and chateaux.

For the whole month of September and early October, several winegrowers organise grape picking days for guests. You'll start with a big breakfast, then head out to the vineyards to pick grapes, followed by a lunch at the chateau with all the grape pickers. In the afternoon, the owners will give you a tour of the cellars, introduce you to wine pressing and then you can finally indulge in a nice glass of champagne in the sun.
For more information, visit: www.ot-epernay.fr
There are some gorgeous, relatively affordable chateaux in the area should you want to spend the night after a long day of picking and drinking.

http://www.chateau-etoges.com/

[Anouk]

Swimming the length of the Amazon, on film

Short post but to share something that caught my imagination when reading about it at the time he did it.

Martin Strel from Slovenia in 2007 swam for 10 hours a day, to take himself from Peru, across Latin America and out of a Brazilian estuary to the Atlantic Ocean.

3,274 miles in 66 days... Say nothing of the current! Plenty of that the dark water hides. And wild swimming.

A truely remarkable achievement, which is by a number of accounts captured in a remarkable documentary. For those reading in London, showing throughout September at the Institute of Contemporary Art, just to name one place.

[George]

A hidden gem in Jaipur

I have recently returned from a two week trip to India in which I stayed at a variety of hotels and guesthouses. Our specifications were basic – bed and air conditioning (it was hot hot hot!) – and as expected so was the standard of the accommodation. However there was one guesthouse, Pearl Palace in Jaipur Rajastan, that stood out because of the warm welcome and homely feeling they worked hard at creating.

On arrival I was handed a brilliantly crafted and carefully considered guidebook to the hotel and city entitled ‘An Alien’s guide to Jaipur’. It was created by the staff with the input from past guests. In slowmoves style, the guesthouse consider guests as pearls – being at the heart of the business. The slogan is engraved on the door of every room.

Most impressive is a beautifully designed roof terrace for guests to escape from the hectic pace of the bustling city below and leave your worries behind. The hotel features an elegant common room/ lounge where you can check emails, recline on a sofa, marvel the décor or read a book from their well stocked library.

Unlike other hotels we stayed at they enforce a policy not to tip individual members of staff. Instead they ask for you to donate in a communal pot at the end of your stay – a much less corrupt way of working and less stress for the guests!

http://www.hotelpearlpalace.com/

[Amy]

Picture of the Month

April's picture of the month is taken from the Zanzibar coast line, looking out to the sun and ocean. It was taken by a good friend on his honeymoon. The detail of picture is in four Dhows. Across the water to Madagascar, if you can get there, I've been recommended island hopping by Dhow as a means of slowmoves!

[George]

Great British Walks

As you've probably gathered by now, at slowmoves we are big on walking - the ultimate form of slow travel. So when I heard that the Guardian/Observer were doing a 6 day supplement of 'Great British Walks', I thought other ramblers should be informed.

It starts tomorrow (sat June 6th) with an Art and Literature walk through the places that inspired painters, sculptors, writers and poets.
And then:

Sunday - Film and Music walk to explore famous film and TV sets, and see the places that inspired great musicians.
Monday - War and Politics walk guiding you through the sites of great battles and the places that have shaped politicians.
Tuesday - Engineering and Architecture walk exploring awe-inspiring bridges, earthworks and stunning architecture.
Wednesday - Lost Worlds and Legends walk through giants, hunters' caves and stone circles.
Thursday - Castles and Churches of Britain walk.
Friday - Wildlife and Water walk to get a closer look at our native wildlife.

6-12 June
Free with the Guardian and the Observer
www.guardian.co.uk

[Anouk]

Pedalling around cities with the best public bike schemes

Montreal, Barcelona, Paris - apart from being incredible cities, they also all have successful public bike schemes. Have you ever come across the mini parking lots of identical 'velib' bikes in Paris? Or people riding around in red 'Bicing' bikes in Barcelona? You can pick up bikes at a number of stations - 20,000 bikes at 1,450 stations in the case of Paris - and just pay a small fee to ride around the city. In Barcelona, the first 30 mins are even free. They encourage short trips, for getting from a to b, as an alternative to the car, bus or metro.

But it's not just practical - it's also hugely enjoyable discovering these gorgeous cities on wheels. Last year, on a trip to Paris, the velib bikes were our primary mode of transport. It made us feel like real locals and allowed us to discover hidden areas and streets we wouldn't of otherwise ventured to.















Montreal has just launched their own scheme called Bixi. It made sense for them as Montreal has twice been named the best cycling city in North America. It is really compact and there are many lakes, mountains and canals you can pedal to within close proximity.

So when will Boris grant his promise for a much-awaited London public bike scheme? Personally, I can't wait...

[Anouk]

Hiring a bicycle away from home

Grand plans for cycling Barcelona to Biarritz have been put on hold as time hasn't allowed us to try that this year. It would take us longer than a week. We're instead cycling a different B2B, Bordeaux to Biarritz, doing a roubdabout route of 400km in 4 days. More of that when we have done it.

Whatever the start and end point, something we have thought about is the logistics of travelling with bikes. I have had issues with this before between Lyon and Paris. Not again. BikeRentalsPlus is the answer forFrance, Italy and a whole load of other countries. They will drop off and pick up your rented bike from any destination you require, within reason. They offer more types of bike than I knew existed, and will fit to your exact requirements. All the necessities come with the package (spare inner tubes, puncture repair kit etc.), as well as options, like panier racks.

We have taken BikeRentalsPlus up on just about everything they have offered and will have bikes delivered to our hotel in Bordeaux on a Sunday first thing and picked up from our hostel in Biarritz the following Wednesday night. Under £150 all in. No worries about dismantling and reassembling my bike at home, nor need for concern about the mood of French train staff and bikes only with us for the time we want them (not on the beach or outside the holte in Biarritz for a long weekend).

This isn't supposed to be an advert for the supplier, just promotion for something that will be a big part of a slowmoves holiday.

[George]