The girls depart

Elizabeth and June were now back on board after their Italian Adventure. They had spent time in Venice and Padua where they informed us that they had had the greatest time. We were now heading back to Paris. This part of the trip is still on the Marne river but we will be getting into big ship country. That can be exiting at times.

After some lovely rural scenery, we were soon in the outskirts of Paris and the riverside properties in the classic French design were quite plentiful.

We spent one evening  moored to the bank at Nogent sur Marne after missing our usual spot at the local port du plaisance due to a water festival.

The girls took the opportunity to tend Matilda’s garden.

We were pleasantly surprised that evening when a gentleman came to the boat saying how lovely it was to have such an elegant vessel moored in his “front garden”. He presented us with a bottle of champagne. We were very surprised and flattered by his gesture. We toasted Stephane a few evenings later as the girls prepared for departure. A very good Billecart Salmon, tasting all the better for the circumstances.

Next morning we continued into Paris and took the girls on a river cruise through that great city.

The weather was a bit miserable and we were pleased to find a small section of deserted wharf. We decided to leave Matilda and see the sights. We were moored almost under the Eiffel Tower.

Roland Garros was hosting the French Open tennis and the Champs de Mars was full of their promotions.

We passed the Australian Embassy on our way back to the boat.

On our return June went for a stroll along the jetty and chatted with the owner of the hotel barge behind us. He pointed out to her that the cost of our mooring would be 491 euros a night and we were moored right outside the offices of Le Ports du Paris. Fortunately it was Sunday and no one was there but we decided it would be prudent to leave early in the morning!

That evening we had a lovely meal with the Billecart Salmon as an aperitif and enjoyed the ambience of the location.

At 07.30 next morning, with the sun shining we departed, planning to do a small circuit around the Notre Dame Cathedral then down the Seine to a point on the outskirts of town where the girls could get a taxi to the airport. All was fine as we seemed to be the only boat moving on the river. Then –

We had broken the law!

Fortunately the misdemeanour was discussed and we were let off with a strong talking-to – all in French!

We continued down the Seine and after a pleasant day cruising we stopped at a commercial mooring in Ile St Denis and the girls caught a taxi to the airport.

We have had a wonderful time with them on board and hope they enjoyed their European holiday.

We were off to continue our wanderings, so keep in touch as there will be more to tell.

Meaux again

It is now early June. A week ago we dropped our visitors, Elizabeth and June in Paris to catch their flight back to Australia. The time has really flown. In the time they have been over here they have seen London, Paris, some cruising with us and a few days in Italy visiting Venice and Padua. All together a well filled holiday.

They met us at Chalons en Champagne on Sunday, 10th May after spending time in London and Paris. We then cruised the champagne country. Plenty of tastings of the beautiful bubbles as we visited various wineries.

We moored one afternoon at Dormans and the girls were enthralled by the athletic prowess of these boules players.

Continuing down the Marne we admired more of the country chateaux

Peter has always admired this one which is complete with workers dwellings and large sheds, all in order as part of a large farm.

All the towns have their own beautiful buildings.

This fully restored art deco theatre in Chateau Thierry operates as a live theatre as well as a cinema.

We moored in Meaux on the 16th May and Elizabeth and June left Matilda to catch a flight to Italy. They were off to see Venice and Padua. Marg and Peter stayed, there was a little job to be done on Matilda and we were going to see if the local marine workshop could help. It was out of their range so we found ourselves with nothing much to do for a week or so. Being this close to Paris we could not let the opportunity go to see some more of this wonderful city. We jumped on a train and in a few hours were ensconced in a hotel, the Odessa in Montparnasse.

Typical of these hotels the lacy ironwork surrounds a little balcony, ideal for an aperitif.

One of our outings was a visit to the Montparnasse Tower. This building was completed in 1973 and at 210 metres tall was the highest building in Paris until 2011. The 56th floor is an observation deck/restaurant while the 59th level is an open terrace.

The day was a little hazy but the air was still and the view quite spectacular. Obviously, the Eiffel Tower still beats it for sheer spectacle. The railings, antennae and other equipment on the terrace can all be hydraulically lowered in three minutes to use it as a heliport!

Back to earth and there was a grower’s market almost at the front of our hotel. All good produce but we couldn’t buy any. We were off to another type of market.

We went to the St Ouen antique and bric-a-brac market. Covering an enormous area (over 7 hectares), everything can be found there from absolute junk to completely over-the-top. Once again, we came away with nothing.

Next day we were back to Meaux, the girls were returning from Italy and we were heading off with them.

There will be more to tell, so we will keep in touch.