Meaux
(Pronounced Mo) is on a tight horseshoe bend on the Marne River. From what we
can work out the town has been here for ever – or so it seems with the age of
some of the buildings.
The
skyline is dominated by the St Etienne’s cathedral. Peter tried to find more
history of the building but it is all very vague. There was a church on the
site in the seventh century and construction of a cathedral began about 1175
but in the 13th century, defects in the design meant a new design
and total rebuild. There are grave stones in one small chapel that became part
of the cathedral, dated 1328 and 1364. The building was partly destroyed in the
Wars of Religion, 1526 – 1598. A lot of the statues of saints around the
southern entrance were decapitated at this time. They still are! There is a
tower to the building (known as The Black Tower) that has never been completed.
Cleaning, restoration and repair continues as funds can be found. The vaulted ceiling
rises to 48 metres and the windows allow in much light.
We
were meeting some visitors here, a group of five people from Victoria. Donna
and Craig, Sharon and Ewen and Dave. We
were concerned about five visitors but as it was only for two nights and Sleep-anywhere-Dave
was happy with cushions on the living room floor, it worked out well.
They
had a real mini sample of our life in three days, we went on canals, rivers,
picturesque moorings - as well as industrial ones, various locks, passed big
commercial barges as well as small ones, and even went through a tunnel!
They
enjoyed Marg’s cuisine. The French weather was kind and they had a good sample
of the canallier’s life.
The five left us in Neuilly-sur-Marne and caught taxis to Charles de Gaulle
airport to continue their various adventures. Although they were only with us
for such a short time, we really enjoyed their company.
We
continued on Matilda down the Marne towards Paris. We were booked to enter The
Arsenal harbour from the 2nd of July and had a few days to explore
the Seine. We turned upstream and finally moored at Villeneuvre St Georges where we restocked the
larder and relaxed before heading to Paris.
Our
mooring here was not the most attractive, in fact it was quite ordinary but it
was near transport, supermarkets and everything so we were comfortable for the
moment.
On
Monday we go to The Arsenal and meet Peter’s daughter, Erika who will stay with
us for a month.
There
will be more to tell, so keep in touch.
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