Cruising again (01/06 – 11/06)

Migennes – Joigny – Sens – Montereau-faut-Yonne – Moret-sur-Loing – (Versailles – Paris)

Farewell Migennes

The morning was somewhat overcast, but we cared not one whit for that. It was time to go. I waved a fond farewell to dear Simon who had come to see us and Catharina Elisabeth off.

 

Joigny

Not that we ventured very far at all – two locks and a couple of kilometres and we tied up at one of our favourite wild moorings at Joigny.

 

Ian and Steve went off for a long walk up through the old town of Joigny, visiting several art galleries, churches and the cemetery.

 

[Ian] The cultural centre provided an exposition of the works of Hicham Echafiki.

 

He works by painting in layers of epoxy plastic. This gives his art a three-dimensional feel – and takes an enormous amount of time and talent.

 

The works were stunning.

 

Many of them had butterflies as a theme (Hi, Neil and Karen)

 

and other aspects of nature. One, of a bird beside a pond, apparently took over three months to create.

 

We also visited the lavoir again, the one which entreats you “not to wash your vehicles here”

 

Sens

Don and Linda would be leaving in the morning, while we planned to stay for two nights so Steve could explore a little. Drinks were on Hippo that evening.

Monday dawned bright and sunny. Mild, but it was great to see some sunshine. Ian wanted to fix the new solar panels properly in place, so Steve and I set off into town. It is a short walk from the mooring, but my knees were rubbish, so I rode a bike and Steve chose to walk.

We started at Cathedral Saint Etienne  

 

As it was market day we also had a browse in this quite ornate indoor market and bought some lunch items.

The stained glass windows at each corner of the building are very ornate [Steve’s photos].

After lunch we headed back to the museum which is in what was the Archbishop’s residence associated with the cathedral to look at some of the heritage objects including those related to Thomas à Becket from the time he was resident in Sens after fleeing from England. I have visited this museum several times and never tire of its offerings.

Meanwhile, Ian had finished the installation of the solar panels which necessitated a trip to a brico for just a drill bit. He picked the nearest one and arrived to find a display with literally a hundred or more hooks for drill bits but barely two or three actually in stock. He said it was the largest empty display he had seen since toilet paper at the start of COVID.

There was a little food van nearby and the prospect of a burger and frites was too enticing. Dinner sorted. The guys wandered over to choose our burgers and then brought them back to Catharina, where we enjoyed the late afternoon sun.

We set off to pass through the remaining locks on the river Yonne on Tuesday morning. The last three are fully sloping on both sides, about 3 metres deep and although there are bollards on both sides, there are no floating pontoons. We have found in the past that playing out our rope as we go down (which was our direction of travel this time) just pulled us too close to the stone wall for comfort. So Ian held Catharina beautifully on the engine alone, making small adjustments to her position as the water drained away. The only locks I have ever sat through.

Montereau-faut-Yonne

While we were in touch with several friends on various boats who were travelling ahead of us, we did not know if there would be room on the pontoon at Montereau-faut-Yonne, so we were delighted to find a spot just long enough for us, Hippo was still there and it was nice to touch base with them before they continued on their summer cruise northwards. There was a lovely cruiser in front of us, with a couple of Germans and their two dogs. While we only had a cursory conversation, Ian suggested to them that they might like to take up a mooring at Moret-sur-Loing if they had time as it is so lovely and they had not been there before.

At Montereau-faut-Yonne, there is a commemorative statue of Napoleon, right on the end of the bridge above our mooring. We have seen this before, but Steve wandered up to take photos. It commemorates the battle of Montereau which notionally, Napoleon won, but within a few months was forced to abdicate and was banished to Elba.

The following morning we wanted to go into the village which is mostly situated on the other side of the river. We wandered around, but it is one of those towns that appears somewhat tired with many empty shops where businesses have closed down. Fortunately for Ian, the shoe shop we visited every time we had been here was still alive and well. Great brands which are so expensive in Australia. So I persuaded Ian to get his next pair of sandals, and I thought it only polite that I too, should add to my shoe collection. It would have been rude not to.

Moret-sur-Loing

Large commercial locks do not close for lunch during the week and we called Laurette the capitaine at Moret to see if our booked mooring was free for us. Yes! So off came the ropes and Steve had his last cruise for this visit. We passed through the one commercial lock we had to use before the Seine turns off on its way to Paris, and then hung a left to join the river Loing.

We had organised our time so that Steve could enjoy a day exploring Moret before we would take a series of trains to Paris and then Versailles. Of course, there was the church,

the mandatory viewing of the statue commemorating Albert Sisley, one of our favourite painters

and various views of the environs of the bridge that crosses the (fast-flowing!) River Loing into the town of Moret-sur-Loing.

The following day we would leave Catharina safe at Moret while we ventured off to Versailles. Steve had thoughtfully booked a lovely apartment, very close to the Palace, so we could stay the night before returning to Paris. Sensible, as Ian had no intention of leaving the premises until the cleaners came in and shooed him out! Unfortunately, I did not feel up to the travel and the long day at Versailles, so I remained on board Catharina, but was able to go up to Paris the following day to meet the boys.

Versailles

[Ian] Batching in Versailles consisted of some 20,000 steps and seven hours inside and around the Palace of Versailles. Thirsty and footsore we had our meal and were soon off to bed. I had wanted to give the inside a full workout, which, despite it being fairly crowded, I managed to do although my phone/camera ran out of power fairly early on.

It is such a fascinating place. Unfortunately, the fountains weren’t working and we weren’t able to see the fantastic fountain – Le buffet d’eau de Versailles. Perhaps the best in Versailles it was renovated and reopened in 2023 after over a century of neglect and we discovered it (with our daughter Kathryn and her family) last year, in full flood. For Steve, this is what you missed and why I hoped it would be worth the walk.

Musée D’Orsay

Steve would not return to Catharina with us as he was starting his journey back to Tasmania the following evening. So we said our farewells at Gare de Lyon, and Ian and I made our way to the Musée d’Orsay for an impressionist exhibition we had booked to attend. That was brilliant. It focussed on the initial development and people associated with Impressionism – highlighted by many original works and what is considered to be the ‘type’ painting that triggered the naming of the genre, Impression Sunrise by Monet:

Relevant to our current mooring in Moret, one of the many Renoir paintings, was a portrait of Sisley – who apart from being one of the very original impressionists, finished his painting life in Moret-sur-Loing.

While there were many, many wonderful paintings – we have to include one of barges:

After a light meal in a café beside the museum, we returned to Catharina to prepare for our next visitors.

We knew that one of our friends, Lon and Pat, would be rafted against us at Moret for a couple of days, so, somewhat unusually I am sure you think, there were drinks on board C.A.R.I.B III the following night.

We had permission to remain at our Moret-sur-Loing mooring for a couple of days pending the arrival of our next guests, Catherine and Simon who would be joining us on my birthday.

and took a photo of the inside gone to weed.

Steve took a couple of great pictures of Joan of Arc in the two churches and one of the altars:

 

 

The detail in these stained glass windows is awesome – here she is entering Orléans in the centre panel (descriptions of the other panels HERE):

On their return, Ian brought Don and Linda back who were cruising in our direction tomorrow and had moored Mvuu (Hippo in Zulu) at the hospital mooring.  We all had drinks and nibbles on Catharina.

Our plan was for two solid days of cruising, a day off at Montereau-Fault-Yonne and then finish in Moret-sur-Loing. The last stretch is where the Yonne joins the Seine, we pass through a large commercial lock, and pop around the corner to Moret.

Both boats, (Catharina and Hippo) were heading off in the morning towards Sens, so we made a little convoy of it, sharing the locks. We maintained radio contact and had no trouble staying in touch.

Apart from the fact that we could see each other anyway. These locks on the Yonne, (between Joigny and Montereau-faut-Yonne, where the Yonne meets the Seine, are mostly sloping locks. We have discussed these in previous blogs, but suffice it to say, if there is a little floating pontoon in one of the sloping locks, it always seems to be situated near the far, downstream end of the lock, right in front of the stone wall that forms the end of the lock. And if there are two floating pontoons, they are right behind each other. We are more than twice the length of any one of them, and have both our bow and stern hanging off so much, that it was decided Don and Linda would raft Hippo to us. So we entered first, secured ourselves to the floating pontoon, then Hippo would come in and tie off to us.

Hippo would exit the lock first and at some convenient point along the river we would overtake them so that we were once again in position to be first to enter the next lock. With 2 -3 km/h current behind us, we were moving pretty fast.

 

That worked very well for the entire day. Partway through, a hire boat joined us in the locks and stayed with us for the remainder of the day. When we arrived at this last lock, a large commercial was exiting, so once he passed us we all went in and assumed our relative positions. An hour passed without any activity, and we began to wonder if we would be spending the night there. We decided it was likely the éclusier had gone to the next lock (the last one we had just passed through) to accommodate the movements of the commercial. No problem really, except there was no communication with us. So close to Sens, but not moving. Still, the whole cruising experience is one big mystery anyway.

Eventually, a different éclusière showed up and passed us through, so we arrived a little later in the day than we had hoped, but got a lovely spot right on the stone quay. The video below is a time-lapse of the last two écluses as we come into Sens.

 

Sens

Don and Linda would be leaving in the morning, while we planned to stay for two nights so Steve could explore a little. Drinks were on Hippo that evening.

Monday dawned bright and sunny. Mild, but it was great to see some sunshine. Ian wanted to fix the new solar panels properly in place, so Steve and I set off into town. It is a short walk from the mooring, but my knees were rubbish, so I rode a bike and Steve chose to walk.

We started at Cathedral Saint Etienne  

 

As it was market day we also had a browse in this quite ornate indoor market and bought some lunch items.

The stained glass windows at each corner of the building are very ornate [Steve’s photos].

After lunch we headed back to the museum which is in what was the Archbishop’s residence associated with the cathedral to look at some of the heritage objects including those related to Thomas à Becket from the time he was resident in Sens after fleeing from England. I have visited this museum several times and never tire of its offerings.

Meanwhile, Ian had finished the installation of the solar panels which necessitated a trip to a brico for just a drill bit. He picked the nearest one and arrived to find a display with literally a hundred or more hooks for drill bits but barely two or three actually in stock. He said it was the largest empty display he had seen since toilet paper at the start of COVID.

There was a little food van nearby and the prospect of a burger and frites was too enticing. Dinner sorted. The guys wandered over to choose our burgers and then brought them back to Catharina, where we enjoyed the late afternoon sun.

We set off to pass through the remaining locks on the river Yonne on Tuesday morning. The last three are fully sloping on both sides, about 3 metres deep and although there are bollards on both sides, there are no floating pontoons. We have found in the past that playing out our rope as we go down (which was our direction of travel this time) just pulled us too close to the stone wall for comfort. So Ian held Catharina beautifully on the engine alone, making small adjustments to her position as the water drained away. The only locks I have ever sat through.

Montereau-faut-Yonne

While we were in touch with several friends on various boats who were travelling ahead of us, we did not know if there would be room on the pontoon at Montereau-faut-Yonne, so we were delighted to find a spot just long enough for us, Hippo was still there and it was nice to touch base with them before they continued on their summer cruise northwards. There was a lovely cruiser in front of us, with a couple of Germans and their two dogs. While we only had a cursory conversation, Ian suggested to them that they might like to take up a mooring at Moret-sur-Loing if they had time as it is so lovely and they had not been there before.

At Montereau-faut-Yonne, there is a commemorative statue of Napoleon, right on the end of the bridge above our mooring. We have seen this before, but Steve wandered up to take photos. It commemorates the battle of Montereau which notionally, Napoleon won, but within a few months was forced to abdicate and was banished to Elba.

The following morning we wanted to go into the village which is mostly situated on the other side of the river. We wandered around, but it is one of those towns that appears somewhat tired with many empty shops where businesses have closed down. Fortunately for Ian, the shoe shop we visited every time we had been here was still alive and well. Great brands which are so expensive in Australia. So I persuaded Ian to get his next pair of sandals, and I thought it only polite that I too, should add to my shoe collection. It would have been rude not to.

Moret-sur-Loing

Large commercial locks do not close for lunch during the week and we called Laurette the capitaine at Moret to see if our booked mooring was free for us. Yes! So off came the ropes and Steve had his last cruise for this visit. We passed through the one commercial lock we had to use before the Seine turns off on its way to Paris, and then hung a left to join the river Loing.

We had organised our time so that Steve could enjoy a day exploring Moret before we would take a series of trains to Paris and then Versailles. Of course, there was the church,

the mandatory viewing of the statue commemorating Albert Sisley, one of our favourite painters

and various views of the environs of the bridge that crosses the (fast-flowing!) River Loing into the town of Moret-sur-Loing.

The following day we would leave Catharina safe at Moret while we ventured off to Versailles. Steve had thoughtfully booked a lovely apartment, very close to the Palace, so we could stay the night before returning to Paris. Sensible, as Ian had no intention of leaving the premises until the cleaners came in and shooed him out! Unfortunately, I did not feel up to the travel and the long day at Versailles, so I remained on board Catharina, but was able to go up to Paris the following day to meet the boys.

Versailles

[Ian] Batching in Versailles consisted of some 20,000 steps and seven hours inside and around the Palace of Versailles. Thirsty and footsore we had our meal and were soon off to bed. I had wanted to give the inside a full workout, which, despite it being fairly crowded, I managed to do although my phone/camera ran out of power fairly early on.

It is such a fascinating place. Unfortunately, the fountains weren’t working and we weren’t able to see the fantastic fountain – Le buffet d’eau de Versailles. Perhaps the best in Versailles it was renovated and reopened in 2023 after over a century of neglect and we discovered it (with our daughter Kathryn and her family) last year, in full flood. For Steve, this is what you missed and why I hoped it would be worth the walk.

Musée D’Orsay

Steve would not return to Catharina with us as he was starting his journey back to Tasmania the following evening. So we said our farewells at Gare de Lyon, and Ian and I made our way to the Musée d’Orsay for an impressionist exhibition we had booked to attend. That was brilliant. It focussed on the initial development and people associated with Impressionism – highlighted by many original works and what is considered to be the ‘type’ painting that triggered the naming of the genre, Impression Sunrise by Monet:

Relevant to our current mooring in Moret, one of the many Renoir paintings, was a portrait of Sisley – who apart from being one of the very original impressionists, finished his painting life in Moret-sur-Loing.

While there were many, many wonderful paintings – we have to include one of barges:

After a light meal in a café beside the museum, we returned to Catharina to prepare for our next visitors.

We knew that one of our friends, Lon and Pat, would be rafted against us at Moret for a couple of days, so, somewhat unusually I am sure you think, there were drinks on board C.A.R.I.B III the following night.

We had permission to remain at our Moret-sur-Loing mooring for a couple of days pending the arrival of our next guests, Catherine and Simon who would be joining us on my birthday.