Sunday 15 October 2017

Time to head home

From Nogent, the navigable limit of the Seine for Antiope, we headed downstream to join the Yonne river, and turned south towards Migennes and Simon Evans boatyard where Antiope will sleep for the winter.

Nogent-sur-Seine, Antiope moored just above the Barrage
Nogent-sur-Seine was a great place to rest up for a week before the task of wrapping up for the winter.


                                      Autumn sunshine and misty mornings in Nogent

A busy day heading south on the Yonne river
Montereau-fault-Yonne, the junction of the Seine and Yonne


Harvesting walnuts.

Antiope gets to fly.


Frame building for the winter covers.
Antiope, all snugged up for the winter.

On our way home we take a break in Australia and a cruise on the Murray river. 
Long time friends of Annie invite us aboard two of their paddle steamers.


Emmylou, our home for a night on the river in Echuca.
Canberra, the world's oldest working paddle wheeler.

I get to drive.  






Saturday 23 September 2017

Seine Amont

                                    Up the Seine. More pics of our Paris and Seine cruise.

No we are not lost, 

This can only be Paris

Paris Opera house, and this is just the foyer

We also took a day out to visit Giverny and the home of Monet, 


Giverny, the lily pond

The sitting room/studio, 

 The gardens at Giverny




Marne river, Paris and up the Seine

Posting this blog has taken a while. It has been a busy time aboard Antiope hosting friends from New Zealand and cruising from Epernay to Paris and up the Seine to the navigable limit at Nogent-sur-Seine.  As I write from our mooring in a quiet backwater, the infant Seine river tumbles over the barrage mere metres away, on its journey to Paris and the sea.

The young Seine runs through Nogent

Nogent-sur-Seine lock. We reach the navigable head of the Seine

From Epernay we cruised down the Marne river through the Champagne region, vineyards stretching over the hills to the horizon. 


   The Marne river, Epernay

Vineyards line the Marne river



Antiope (bottom left) in the 'Arsenal' in the heart of Paris

In Paris we became tourists for a few days. Although we have been here twice before, there is always more to see and experience. Still our favourite stop

We queue to visit Versailles palace

Friday 1 September 2017

Through the hills towards Paris

From Nancy our passage is eastwards, continuing along the Marne Rhine canal through Toul, Bar le Duc, Vitry, Chalons-en -Champagne and Epernay.
We were warned of low water levels and weed through the Summit levels, A bit of rain would help.
It has been a very hot dry summer in this region. The Meuse river that we cruised up last year, has already been closed to navigation to conserve water for the Nuclear power plants further downstream.

The lost waterway and tunnel through Liverdun

I had to explore the old abandonned canal route between Toul and Nancy closed in 1966 when the Moselle was opened as a Rhine barge size waterway 
  
Slowly does it over the summit level, 
barely 50cm below  the keel at times

Mauvages tunnel, 5km long, 
We are accompanied by a safety guide on his bicycle

Crystal clear water, on the summit level

Big fish swim by , 
these waters are too remote for the anglers

Bar-le-Duc, an ancient city. 

A quiet mooring in Bar-le -Duc

The clock tower towers over Bar le Duc.
It has told the time for over 6 centuries

Once past the shallows, the rains came to refill the canals.

Patisserie on show in Chalons-en-Champagne

We find security barriers have suddenly appeared in public squares 
Chalons-en-Champagne

We are heading downhill now towards Paris

Jam making time, Blackberry and Mirabelle.

Next post from Paris




Monday 14 August 2017

Left turn at Strasbourg

Strasbourg is as far to the East as we can go and still remain in France, This year the plan has been to stay in French waters. We also have to make our way towards the Marne river, Paris and eventually Migennes where Antiope will sleep for the winter. Simon Evans boatyard has looked after Antiope before, and this winter we need to replace the ageing Teak deck, a job which has been put off for several seasons.


The European parliament building, Strasbourg, just huge.


Old town Strasbourg.

The cellars of Strasbourg hospital house a rare hoard of wine casks dating back to a time when patients could pay for their treatment in produce, and wine was dispensed instead of water.
A rare cask contains wine from 1472, and is reputed to be still drinkable, although a touch acidic.   

The hospital cellars

Wine from 1472


We share the route  out of  Strasbourg with the TGV train to Paris

Saverne, We are climbing int the hills.



Lutzelbourg. and we are high in the Vosges hills

We take the Arzviller lift, up the final 90 metres, 

Avery smooth ride takes only 20 mins, 

The Arzviller lift was completed in 1968 to replace 17 locks which took a full day to work through.

16m deep lock at Rechicourt.,

Once over the summit, we descend towards Nancy, and familiar territory for Antiope. 




Friday 11 August 2017

Up the Rhine into Switzerland

Mulhouse is only a few kms from the Rhine and its' navigable limit in 'Basel' Switzerland, the temptation to venture into yet another country, too much to resist.



Heading up the Rhine to the Swiss border

Basel is the navigable limit for these massive Rhine cruisers 

We are able to push on right up to the old Basel bridge

Basel town hall

The old trams still run around the city

A bizarre sport is floating down the Rhine through the city bridges

From Basel we head downstream through two massive Rhine locks before turning off onto the little known Colmar canal.


We share the Rhine locks with these two huge barges

The quiet Colmar canal

Picture book Colmar