Time to head home

The time has come to put Antiope to bed for the winter. This season has been 'one out of the book'.
The sun has shone down on us all summer, often dictating our choice of mooring spots preferably in the shade of trees. A season of slow cruising, spending more time in towns and villages that we liked the feel of, meeting other boaters, putting the world to rights over a wine or two, sharing Antiope with guests, and family.

Antiope is hauled out at Simon Evans boatyard.

 We have returned Antiope to Migennes for the winter, and she is blocked up back in her old spot.

Covers on, Antiope is snug for the winter.

Plans for next seasons' cruise? Nope. Another summer like this one would be great!

Cheers Charles and Annie.

In Paris

It is always a delight to arrive in Paris by boat, however we are late in the season this year and our favourite mooring place 'The Arsenal' is filling up with boats booked in for the Winter, we take our chances and get lucky with a very short term berth.

 'Pont Neuf' ,we have arrived

 

My Son Toby and Grand daughters, Holly and Charlotte.

   

It was great to be able to cruise through Paris with the family aboard, up from NZ in the School hols.

The view from the very top of Notre Dame looking up the Seine

A must see in Paris, The Opera 

Another must, is the Atrium in Gallerie Lafeyette

Two girls in a candy store

Sunday Market at the Arsenal

We take a cruise through the St Martin canal, the back door to Paris

Playing dodgems in the Basin de Villette, St Martin Canal 

The Stade de France, alongside the Canal st Martin

Marking time for a couple of days waiting for our slot in the Arsenal, we cruised downstream a few Kms to moor at Isle des impressionnistes. This was where Monet, Degas, Renoir and the like came to paint, drink wine and entertain their ladies. A magic tranquil place.

A wooden boat workshop at Chatou 

One of many restored craft in the boatshed.

Leaving Toby and the girls to visit Disneyland we head off on the last leg of our season's cruise back upstream to Migennes on the Yonne river. 

Moret-sur-Loing, home to the Impressionist artist Alfred Sisley

Moret-sur Loing, an artists paradise

Moret-sur- Loing

 

Briare to Paris

The great summer weather continues despite the days getting shorter. We head north along the Briare canal, last traveled by us in 2007 on our first French exploratory cruise. The Briare waterway linking the Loire and Seine rivers was commenced in 1604 and completed in 1640 and has been navigable ever since. Over the centuries the original waterway has been enlarged often leaving the the old stone lock chambers intact alongside the current canal. 

In Briare the the blooms thrive with daily watering

 The towns along the waterways compete with massive floral displays hung wherever possible.

Rogny les Sept Ecluses

The town owes its name and existence to the canal, an inland port and the site of a remarkable staircase of seven locks built in 1640 

Les Sept Ecluses. (The seven locks)

There seems to be a village in my beer!

Parts of the old canal abandoned but very scenic

Annie gets her daily workout

 While the locks are all manned along the Briare canal, boaters are welcome to help.

Near Montbouy, a Roman Amphitheatre. 

 This Roman 'stadium sized' Amphitheatre was uncovered in remote countryside when digging the canal, They dug round it.

The bar in Montargis where we watched Americas cup racing back in 2007

 We found the bar in Montargis where we watched the Kiwis racing Alingi in Valencia back in 2007.

The fortified town of Montargis

In Nemours 'Water Jousting' a French thing. 

In Namours we came across a festival weekend, and watched the sport of water jousting. Health and Safety, risk assessment???