It took us 6 cruising days to get there from Migennes. We shared a good part of the trip with some fellow Brit boaters we met along the route which was good fun and gave us all moral support. Bill and Jan on La Bonne Vie travelled most of the way up the Seine with us. The weather and scenery were beautiful, the river like glass.
As we got closer to Paris there were some stunning houses and villas along the banks.
We quickly had to get used to the huge river locks some of which can take up to 9 commercial vessels. Fortunately we were only ever in with two or three. The locks are operated on a traffic light system. As the French speaker of sorts I was assigned the job of using the VHF radio to let the lock keepers know we were approaching. Commercials have priority so often we would be told to wait until the big boys arrived behind us and went in first.
We had two mooring stops on the Seine. At the first, Melun, the wash from the passing commercials was unbelievable. Bill and Jan, whose cruiser is a lot taller and lighter than ours, had invited us on board their boat for dinner. It was like being on the ocean in a very choppy sea and we nearly had our dinner in our laps!
Needless to say we left early next morning to get to Port aux Cerises, a little sanctuary off the river where I had booked ahead for a few nights to await the arrival of Sophie and Mark. Here we were made very welcome by the bohemian French community living on their boats.Sometimes it really does feel like we are living in the pages of a novel. The French guy next to us had a different woman on board every night we were there!
Next morning as we cruised along towards Paris the scenery became more industrial and the commercial barges even bigger. At the T junction where the river Marne joins the Seine is the biggest Chinese restaurant you could imagine.
Turning left here we then had to count down the bridges to make sure we didn't miss the entrance to the lock at Port Arsenal which would be our home for our stay in Paris. We had been told to ring them 30 minutes before our arrival so that they could get the lock prepared for us. I knew Chris was quite rightly a bit anxious about this. We had heard of people having to circle around for 30 minutes waiting for the gates to open. Not something you want to be doing on this busy part of the Seine full of passing trip boats.
We were praying the lights would be green but no they were red. Another call and we were told it would be 10 minutes. We circled once, a boat came out and we were in. Phew!
We are snuggled in top left. A lovely secure haven below street level right in the heart of Paris with the Bastille monument, the July column, looking down on us. Walking distance from all of the major sights and a metro station right on our doorstep. Paris here we come!
We kicked our first evening off by setting out to to see the Eiffel Tower lit up. Sophie was convinced that when she last visited 10 years ago the lights were twinkling. We all said she must have imagined it but at the stroke of 10 they did indeed start twinkling to a cheer from the crowd. Beautiful.
We did a lot of walking across Paris but the Promenade Plantee which starts near the Bastille was a break from all the hustle and bustle. A 4.5 km elevated linear walk on an old train viaduct, it is a secret kept by Parisians and the odd tourists who happen across it. It gives some unique views of this part of Paris.
Coffee and pastries to sustain us along the way. Look who has his mouth full!
Later on Soph and I left the boys on the boat doing boatie things and went off for a walk on the islands. Ile de la Cite is the home of French luxury ice cream maker Berthillon. The caramel beurre sale, salted caramel, is divine.
Paris certainly sizzles in the summer and it was great to experience it at this time of year. In the evenings people are everywhere strolling the quays, having picnics, salsa dancing. There are whole sections of the quay made into a beach, the Paris Plage.
Complete with an alternative Eiffel Tower made entirely of metal deck chairs
The Pont des Arts, whose railings are completely covered in love padlocks attached by amorous couples who throw the keys into the Seine. But it seems there is such a thing as too much love as last month a section collapsed under the weight of them.
So many quirky things in Paris. This boat in Port Arsenal is lived on by an artist unsurprisingly!
A visit to a cemetry might seem a bit of a macabre thing to do when in Paris but the Pere Lachaise cemetry has some famous people buried there and has become quite an attraction. We saw Jim Morrison's (the Doors) grave, very modest but the most popular, and were treated to a rendition of 'Light my Fire' by a small group of fans. We managed to find Oscar Wilde, Chopin, Edith Piaf, Moliere but one of the most dramatic tombs is a Belgian poet and novelist most people have never heard of.
Mark and Sophie were keen to do a bit more cruising with us and we decided we would tackle the route around Central Paris that incorporated another 29 km of the Seine followed by 11 km of the Saint Denis and Saint Martin canals with a 1 km tunnel at the end taking us back into Port Arsenal. No mean feat and an 11 hour cruising day. It can't be said we are not up for a challenge! Very exciting though as it meant we would be cruising past all the iconic sights of Paris and under all the famous bridges.
Getting this one framed!
Sophie and Mark were returning to the UK the following afternoon but we spent the morning wandering around Montmartre.
We stayed on a while after Sophie and Mark left, in effect living in our own apartment in the centre of Paris. We wandered streets and people watched from pavement cafes soaking it all up. We had a fantastic time and are so glad we were brave enough to do it even though there were some heart in the mouth moments.
We left Paris and had a couple of long days cruising back down the Seine but are now moored up in the charming old town of Moret sur Loing, just off the Seine and at the very top of the Loing Canal. We intend to stay for up to a week. It has been full on the last week or two and we deserve a rest!
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