Basilica of Saint Remi
I was glad that I finally arrived at the city of Reims which is the center of the Champagne Region of France. I tried to check in at the Ibis Budget Reims Parc des Expositions but I wasn’t able to get a room, probably because there was no room available yet. Maybe. What’s worse is couldn’t leave my bags there yet because there was no one there. The reason for this is that reception of the Ibis Budget Reims Parc des Expositions is a machine. Imagine that they have two doors to get in the building. The first one lets you access to the kiosk/reception. It is from the kiosk that you get the password which will allow you get access to the main building itself and eventually to your room. However, it wasn’t able to get me a room yet for whatever reason.
View of the Massive Basilica of Saint-Remi
That would have been fine by itself, I thought maybe I was just a bit early. I wanted to just leave my bag here while they sort out whatever they need to sort out. Unfortunately, there was no one to help me. I couldn’t get in the main lobby because I don’t have a password. There was a message which says to ask the next door hotel for help if needed, which I did. However, the lady who talked to me wasn’t very helpful. “Maybe there is no room yet”. That doesn’t help me get my backpack off my back. If the two hotels were related, I would have appreciated being asked if I don’t mind leaving my bag with them. Unfortunately, the lady just went back about her business and left me alone. I thought that was quite rude and disrespectful especially to a customer.
I was left with no choice, I head back out and decided to start my tour of the city of Reims. I knew that there is bus number 6 which is just outside the hotel which will bring me to the city. I carried my backpack and boarded a bus back to the city. I remember seeing a massive church which I passed by on the way to the hotel. The bus stops right by the church. I got off the bus and it turns out that this is one of the places that I was meaning to visit here. The Basilica of Saint-Remi is one of the major landmarks of Reims and I was very excited to start exploring, backpack and all.
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