On to Saint-Lue D’Esserant with CroisiEurope

Again we were cruising in the morning, but  being the weekend there was less commercial traffic and lots were tied up on the lock approaches.One chap who was out working was this push tug

Not long after leaving we passed under this double arched bridge, it looks quite low but was actually high enough for us to be able to use the top deck. A little later we passed where a new bridge was being constructed, it looks as if it will be a suspension bridge unlike the other new ones we have been under this week.

Most of the locks are twinned with one being larger than the other, this is because the newer one of the two is built to the modern standard size. They didn’t seem bothered which we used and put us into whichever was in our favour. Looking back you can see the pair and the weir to the right hand side under the bridges.

Before mooring up for lunch we passed this rather sorry looking sight as well as some people enjoying the river.

After lunch it was coach time again, this time to the rather wonderful Château de Chantilly. This was given to the state on the understanding it remained furnished just as it was given and that it would be open for the public to enjoy. Its probably the best one I have visited.

The amount of books in the library is outstanding, I think if you read one a day there would still be some unopened when you died. Floor to ceiling all the way round the room and two floors high.

Then there was the furnishings and décor of the whole building including a grand staircase.

Across from the lakes is the stables which we didn’t have time to see but looked as grand as the Château it’s self. There is also a horse racing track in the grounds which cover about 115 hectares

When we got back to the boat we were joined by a gentleman who gave a demonstration on making Chantilly cream, of course he required the assistance of some of our fellow guests

After dinner we were joined by our guide from the first evening who led us up to the church situated behind the Town Hall. This time we had electricity and lights to look round with. At one time it was a monastery and recently while carrying out repairs they uncovered part of the churches original floor.

  

.

Home to Paris for CroisiEurope cruise

Our original plan was to travel from home to our hotel for the night in Paris and I booked our Eurostar tickets with this in mind, later  we had second thoughts as it would have meant leaving home at about 7-30 am and arriving at our hotel around 10pm. What we did was book the Wardonia Hotel hotel in London and travel the day before, spreading the trip over two days.
We arrived in London around lunch time and stopped at the first pub for lunch before taking the tube across to St Pancras. Booked into our hotel and wandered off around the area booking a table at the local Italian Restaurant for dinner.

The next day was spent wandering along the canal, around the park, stopping for drinks and lunch.

We returned to the hotel at about 3 pm and made our way to the Eurostar terminal and went straight to departures. Yet again our train was late boarding, but somehow the staff got us away on time.
After all the hot sunny weather we arrived in Paris in the rain, however we were not going to get wet, as the next bit of out journey was something new for us, a trip on the Metro. This worked very well, I bought our tickets online, loaded to our phones, so just needed tapping in. We had one change and on to our final destination not far from the Eiffel Tower, by now the rain had stopped thankfully. It was only a short walk straight down the road to our hotel. When we arrived we found a pump out tanker parked outside and the suction hose running it through the open window. My boating friends will understand. Once booked in we headed to our room on the second floor, thankfully not the fifth, as the lift was broken.

A Day in Paris and off to CroisiEurope

Checkout was 10am so breakfast was about 8-30, we left our cases with the hotel and went exploring with a nice view of the tower down the road. The first thing we did was workout where the coach would be picking us up in the afternoon. Then we checked out the two local Metro stations for when we went home, as we would be very tight on time to catch the train back to London, of course we stopping for a glass of beer on the way.  

 

 

Since the Olympic games swimming in the River Seine has become the thing and we saw a couple of places where official bathing stations with lifeguards, pontoons and deckchairs have been installed along with changing rooms and showers.

The day was hot again so we spent sometime walking along the riverside until we reached the tower and then up through the gardens  before finding somewhere for lunch, collecting our bags and heading back to the river to await the coach to take us to the boat. Thankfully the driver turned up half an hour early and it was good to get out of the hot sun into the air-conditioned coach. There were 4 other passengers waiting nearby and soon came over when they saw us board. the other 12 were waiting a short way up the quey.

 

 

 It was about an hour and a quarter to where MS. Deborah was moored at  Pont-l'Évêque. This is the one near Noyon not Le Havre.  The crew were there to greet us, yet again Kevin was our Capitan and Baptiste our seaman just like our last cruise, in addition to this Jonathan the chef and Michelle our waitress, both who we have cruised with before, so it was like meeting old friends. After the introduction and room allocation we headed off ashore to explore where we found a working boatyard with drydock, floating drydock, slipway etc.

Pont-l'Évêque is a really pretty little town and I wish we had got the train here earlier rather than staying in Paris with is canal arm and houses.

One place that was very interesting was the Builders Merchant,   The old name on the brickwork is still visible along with a modern notice, so its been in the same ownership for a long time, but inside the building is the first two floor of a house, Probably to show off their wares.

Then back to the boat for dinner and introductions to the rest of our fellow travellers, it turned out we were the only English couple there, the rest were French apart from one English lady married to a Frenchman who unfortunately  was having major memory problems and was quite confused at times. This meant on all excursions the guides had to do both a French and English commentary, but they all made us very welcome and its probably the most laughs I have had on a cruise.
After dinner was our first excursion to visit a church at Noyon in the dark, using torches and a laser pointer so no reasonable photos.