Peter - all by himself.

There was probably a time when Peter would have looked forward to being by himself in Paris but these days something seemed to be missing. There was no point in mooring in Paris so it was back to Villeneuve St Georges which we knew – easy to get to and close to Orly airport for the girls return.

Peter had plenty to occupy him on Matilda, mainly painting and the hand rails around the sides were the project of the moment. Galvanised pipe with years of paint flaking off.

Being under the flight path to Orly meant that there was a continuous stream of planes to be looked at and the challenge was to know brand and model. He knew the Boeing and Airbus types but a continuous stream of strange models and liveries was intriguing. Antinovs were common and of course the new breed of 100 seaters, Gulfstream, Fokker and Bombardier were plentiful.

Another game he played was to recognise the engines of the large planes – Boeing and Airbus. There is a distinct sound difference between Rolls Royce (British) and General Electric (American).

The birds were getting in the way.

Here is some trivia: We all know that the Rolls Royce Merlin aircraft motor powered the British Spitfire and Hurricane fighters in the second world war but few people know that the arch enemy of these two planes, the German Messerschmit ME109 was developed around 1935 using the Merlin motor in its prototypes and also that the last ME109s made used them as well! (these planes were made by a Spanish company, Hispano Aviaicon, after the war) and was actually the first and last production plane to use them.

The bridges of Paris have always been known for their beauty and grace as well as their innovative design.

This bridge carries a Metro line into Gare d’Austerlitz. The detail in the steelwork is beautiful.

 

This is a pedestrian bridge – a passerelle. Sort of suspension, sort of arch. Good fun for the engineers.

There are so many that it is difficult to see most of them by themselves.

 

There are many examples and the detail work is beautiful.

The Alexander bridge was an engineering masterpiece when it was built and still has more beauty and grace than any other.

In all there are thirty seven bridges within the peripherique. All of them have their own character

                      

This copy of the American's Statue of Liberty on an island in the Seine is one of two purported to be the working model used by designer Federic Bartholdi. The other is in the Jardin du Luxembourg – Paris.

Enough of Peter’s fascinations, the girls are returning and there will be more cruising. Till then, keep in touch.

Canals with a Difference

We said farewell to David and his colleagues, packed away one form of transport and headed to another.

Erika and I were off to visit some canals of a different kind. We left Orly Paris and flew to Marco Polo Venice on Monday morning.

We decided it was a long way to come to France and not visit another country.

This modern glass sculpture caught our eye on Murano. We also did the tourist thing and saw a glass blowing demonstration.

These chaps are so skilled however I have to say neither of us wanted to buy the chandelier

A high-light for us was a visit to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. This was housed in what was her home on the Grand Canal. She must have been some lady. A lot of the pieces were collected before the artists became famous and some done especially for her.

This bed head piece is still where it was when she lived here. No longer a bedroom of course.

An early Jackson Pollock

 These glass figurines we made from sketches by Picasso.
The Grand Canal is in the back ground.

It was such an eclectic collection, we could have stayed all day.

There was also a temporary exhibition which blew us away. This artist is relatively unknown, Charles Seliger. His range of works was also fascinating.

After a couple of days we said a fond farewell to Venice......

and caught a train to Florence.

We only had 24 hours here so we were limited to the odd church and the occasional shop!!!!!

This is not a market, it’s a church dedicated to the Madonna. Centuries ago, it was disguised to keep it safe. The interior was amazing.

We have no photos of the shops, only advice.

Girls….come to Florence with empty cases, don’t fly budget airlines (baggage restrictions) and.............. leave the men at home.

Still in Paris

 

We had a pleasant surprise early in our stay at The Arsenal, Kit and John (our niece Rachael’s in-laws) were in Paris. We caught up and had a very pleasant evening together on board Matilda. It was good to catch  up with all their family news. 

We were in Paris but we knew that far away in Moonie Ponds,  Dame Edna was making her plans for her  retirement tour. As a mark of respect Margaret cultivated – at great expense to the management, a wonderful display of Dame Edna’s favourite flower. Our gladdies were admired far and wide.

The evening of the 14^th July, our son Robert’s birthday, was marked by a massive and spectacular fireworks display, based at the steps of the Trocadero. We cycled through Paris along the Seine to get a good viewpoint and found our place on the Pont de la Concorde where we had a reasonable view.

No photos do it justice so you will just have to imagine! Peter’s second most favourite bridge, the Pont de Alexandre in the foreground.

Even though probably more than five million people were present around Paris watching and thoroughly enjoying the display, little old Perth’s Australia day show, set to music and with a theme, and Sydney’s New Year display off the Harbour Bridge would equal what we saw.

Erika was still with us and her plans took her to as many museums and galleries as she could. She was devouring the Paris art and culture. This was great to see. A trip to Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur was amongst the outings.

We departed the Arsenal and travelled under the Bastille Monument in the tunnel on the canal St Martin. This canal travels under Boulevarde Richard Lenoir and Bd Jules Ferry for about one and a half kilometres in a beautifully made “cut and cover” excavation.

 After the tunnel we passed through a series of locks to the upper harbour of the basin de la Villette where we found the Paris authorities were constructing beaches! Yes, beaches along the canal St Dennis and on the banks of the Seine -  advertised to have palm trees and places to sunbake in the Paris summer sun.

 

On, into the canal St Dennis via this very old and deep lock. Totally overgrown but very attractive. Normally traffic uses a newer and larger lock but that was shut for maintenance and we were glad, as this one was far more picturesque.

A little further on we found another of Paris’s dramatic bridges, this one a swing bridge that completely crossed the canal. A span of probably 50 metres, all pivoting at one point. Peter thought it was a good design. (Not the one with people walking over it, the one below.)

The bridge opening in front of us.

Closing behind us.

We made our way down to the Seine river through some of Paris’s newer suburbs as well as some old industrial ground. We spent the night “greenbanked” alongside this jetty which is in an area that used to be all Renault factories. An island in the middle of the river had the test track for their cars. All derelict, the factories have now been demolished and are becoming huge housing estates but the test track is being rejuvenated and was being used to test Renault’s small electric four wheel scooter as we were there.

 

Another surprise visitor dropped in, David (Thommo) was on a whirlwind business trip to Paris and beyond. He and two of his colleagues spent a pleasant afternoon with us. We cruised the Seine and caught the riders in the Tour de France making their way along the Avenue du President Kennedy en route to the Champs Elysees and the finish line.

After we dropped our visitors back at Gare du Austerlitz we made our way upriver and out of Paris to a mooring closer to Orly airport. Marg and Erika were off on a vacation!

But, more of that later. In the meantime, keep in touch.  

Time in The Arsenal

The Arsenal started its life in the seventeenth century as its name suggests as a secure harbour off the Seine River. It was a storage and supply point of weaponry and provisions to the Bastille Castle. Over time the Bastille Castle became a prison, then was destroyed during The Revolution and during Napoleonic times the harbour was used as an entry point for a Paris canal system.

Our entry into the port was difficult to say the least. The entry lock from the Seine is awkward and worked by the Captain of the port who also controls where boats moor and collects the mooring fees. The lock would not open for us so Peter moored Matilda at a waiting point and went to the captain's office to see what was happening. He was having a serious discussion with the English crews of three small boats regarding the fees he was charging. He could give Peter no time at all. Eventually they were let out of the harbour and Matilda was let in.    

At 25 metres Matilda is at the maximum length of boats mooring at The Arsenal. We gingerly entered the harbour and the captain directed us where to moor and took our lines. Now a very friendly chap. We were “rafted up” alongside a smaller boat which appeared to be almost a permanent resident.

So we were off to explore Paris. Peter’s daughter Erika was arriving in two days so we had a quick look around our environment. We found this interesting bronze sculpture dedicated to the French poet, Artur Rimbaud.

Wednesday morning, with a shock to all Peter's systems he was at Charles de Gaulle airport at 0620 to meet Erika. She arrived on time and they were back at Matilda about 0800. Erika, with qualifications in the fine arts, manages  Geraldton City Council’s arts and cultural department. She was exited and involved with what Paris had to offer.

To help her over jet lag and to acclimatise we took her on open bus tours for two days.  We saw all the tourist spots and she quickly got her feet and planned the galleries and other sites to visit.

We found a little church, St Severin on Rue St Jacques. Beautiful stained glass with a “tortured” column – one that is twisted top to bottom. Forlorn and forgotten from the street, absolutely beautiful inside.

Just to fill a little of Peter’s love of railways we killed two birds by visiting the Musee d’Orsay. This building was built at the turn of the 19^th / 20^th centuries as the terminus railway station of the Paris – Orleans Railway. It was built to a design by Victor Laloux and construction commenced in 1898. In two years it and an accompanying hotel were completed and were opened for the 1900 Paris Expo. (the one after the Eifel Tower.) The station closed in 1939 and remained derelict until 1977 when it was directed by President d’Estaing that it should become a museum. Voila, the beautiful building we see today! And of course a wonderful collection of works of art.

This is not a good photo but look past Erika at the sumptuousness of this dining room, the chandeliers, the painted ceiling, the exquisite mirror frames and wall treatments.

Of course we were there to see the exhibits and we did.

Unfortunately we are no longer allowed to take photos in the d’Orsay, these are just figments of your imagination. If you want to see more, - just come over here!

We will let you dwell on that thought.

We have more to tell, so keep in touch.

A small Post Script.

If you wish to see these pictures in more detail, just click your mouse on one and in a few seconds it will open full page with a series of thumbprints allowing you to scan them all. 
I learn something each time I open our own page.
PeterO

From the Marne to the Seine

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 13^th 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 2^nd 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.