We boarded our home for the next week at 6pm Saturday and were surprised to see Marco, our guide from 2 years ago in Italy helping people come on board.
Our guide Marco
After being shown our room, bigger than our one on Zwaantje thankfully, we went on deck for the introductory briefing. We met Skipper Peter and his wife Sheena (chef) and Dita (kitchen and serving). They had been aboard the Soleo when she hit the unmarked submerged object and sunk 3 weeks previously. In that time Girolibero had bought a new barge in Burgundy, cleaned it up, prepared it for us and got it here in 3 days. There are a few teething issues but so far nothing too serious so the company has done a good not disappointing clients looking forward to their holiday. Marco then told us a bit about the bikes which were only 4 weeks old and had an internal hub with variable gearing. For my non biking friends this makes them easy to use and no crashing of gears as you go uphill. Our group is made up of 4 other Aussies, 4 Americans, 1 Brit and 11 French speaking Belgians. As Marco does not speak French fluently it is lucky that the Belgians include a professional interpreter.
Biking in Provence
On Sunday we headed off for a 47 km loop around Avignon. Our first stop was Sorgues where there was a market. From here we rode through quiet country roads through the many vineyards. Next was Chateauneuf de Pape where we had a talk and taste of the wines from this region.
Chateauneuf de Pape
The French carefully protect their wines through the AOC (Appellation d’origine Controlle) system that stipulates what grapes can be grown and how wines are made. This region for example does not produce Rose. Lunch was at Roquemarue (where the AOC originated) and the day finished recrossing the Rhone and returning to Le Caprice.
We left Paris on Thursday on the fast train to Lyon where we changed trains for Avignon.
High speed train
It was a great trip but as we sped past fields with tracks beside them I contemplated how different it was to our days on the bike. We had to get a local train to Avignon Centre to our hotel and we ended up in the same car as 4 Aussies also doing our bike barge trip. Imagine our surprise when they told us our barge “Soleo” had sunk earlier this month! They had heard the news from their tour agent while we had heard nothing from Girolibero, who own and run the barge. A few quick emails confirmed the story and assured us that the replacement barge “Le Caprice” would be as good.
Avignon
We had 2 days in Avignon to see the sights before boarding “Le Caprice”. Avignon is a walled medieval town which was the home of 7 popes and 2 antipopes during the 14th century. They built the Palais de Papes which towers above the city.
Queen Joan who sold Avignon to Pope Clement VIPalais de PapesAfrican modern art statues in the Popes Palace
Also on the tourist trail is the 12th century Pont Saint Benezet. Legend has it the Benezet, a shepherd, had a vision from God and was instructed to build a bridge at Avignon. The locals laughed until he lifted a giant stone and cast it into the Rhone to start the bridge. The bridge had 22 spans of which only 4 survive. Flooding of the strong flowing Rhone kept destroying the bridge until in the mid 18th century, the bridge was abandoned.
We didn’t actually get to see much of the lights of Paris as it gets dark about 10pm here. But we have seen a lot of the rest of Paris. We had bought a 4 day Paris Pass before we left home and packed a lot into our 5 days here. We had booked an apartment in the Latin Quarter opposite the Sorbonne University through AirBnB. It was great and would recommend it to anyone coming here.
Roman amphitheatre behind our apartment
We were close to the Metro but could also walk to the town centre in about 10 minutes. On Saturday, we walked to our apartment on Rue Jussieu from the barge, being diverted by the filming of the new Tom Cruise movie, through the Jardin des Plantes and met our host Corine.
Entrance to our apartment block3rd floor apartment
We caught the Metro across town to pick up our Paris Pass and then walked slowly home.
The rest of our afternoon was spent washing, buying some food after a walk around the neighbourhood and planning our next few days.
La Defense from Arc de Triomphe
Sunday we planned to visit the Maritime museum but discovered it was closed for renovation so opted to climb the Arc de Triomphe and then walk down the Champs Élysées to visit the Hotel des Invalides which is now the Museum of the Army.
Champs Elysees
The magnificent chapel built by Napolean III houses the tomb of Napolean.
Napolean’s tomb
You could spend all day at this museum but we concentrated on the exhibits covering the Second World War. The story of the resistance fighters and the free French army were well done. Photos of the 1038 recipients of the Order of Liberation, created by Charles de Gaulle to honour these brave men and women, put faces to the bravery described.
Some of the recipients of the Order of Liberation
Monday was the day to ride the Big Bus and see the sights. We did the classic route and then the route up to Sacre Coeur for lunch and a look at the artistic region of Montmartre.
Sacre Coeur
From here we went to The Louvre, using the Rick Steve’s audio guide to see some of the key paintings and sculptures. This was in only 1 of the 3 wings of the museum.
Venus de Milo
Guess which painting
Tuesday we walked to the nearby Pantheon, which was built by Louis XV to glorify St Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris.
The PantheonMural of St Genevieve
It is now the final resting place of France’s most illustrious figures including Jean Moulin, leader of the Resistance that we heard about on Sunday and Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
This person had a sense of humour
We then crossed to Ile de la Cite to visit the Sainte-Chapelle and Notre Dame. The pictures tell the story of these 2 beautiful churches.
Notre DameNotre DameSainte Chaelle
It was then on to the Museum of Arts and Crafts which is actually a museum dedicated to inventions and scientific discovery.
Great setting for a museum
This is partly housed in an old church which made for a spectacular backdrop to their Transport section. The audio guide helped us understand the exhibits.
Glad I didn’t have to ride one of these to ParisNone as old as Prof Skerman’s Anton van Leeuwenhoek microscopeRemember this Ben and Josh
Wednesday was our last full day in Paris and we started with a guided tour of Opera Garnier.
Opera Garnier
They were working in the stage and auditorium area so the lights were off and we couldn’t see much, however the grandeur of this place is in the foyer and reception halls where Parisians went to see and be seen.
Grand Staircase
Designer Charles Garnier delivered an amazing building so it was surprising to hear that he wasn’t invited to the opening and had to buy tickets in the back! This is where the phantom of the opera lives and there is indeed water under the building that can be used to fight fires if required.
Opera Garnier
After lunch in the Tulleries gardens it was off to visit the Musee d’Orsay, home of the impressionists.
Musee d’Orsay
This museum is housed in the old Orsay railway station. We sought out Van Gogh’s painting of the church at Auvers sur Oise that we had seen a few days ago.
Van GoghThe church hasn’t changed much
The day finished with a guided wine tasting in underground rooms and a river cruise on the Seine. We finished the day like a true Parisian, heading out to dinner at 9.30 at a local restaurant.
After a day off, I was keen to do the final leg to Paris to end our 2 week adventure. The weather was cool and dry, perfect for cycling. Fred led us along a bike path along the Seine for the first 10 km before we turned SE and headed towards La Defense.
Grand Arch La Defense
This is a major business district west of Paris, noted for its spectacular modern architecture. We had coffee before riding around the plaza admiring the buildings.
La Defense
We then cycled down toward the avenue leading towards the Arc de Triomphe for some more photos.
La Defense in the background
Fred then lead us through some back streets and bike paths to the park that is home to the Louis Vuitton Foundation.
Louis Vuitton Foundation
After the quiet of the park it was on to the busiest street of the day, Avenue Victor Hugo which led us to our lunch spot for the day, the Arc de Triomphe.
Lunch stop
After admiring the skill or craziness of the cars and bikes negotiating the Place de l’Etoile, we headed down Avenue Kleber to Trocadero and our first sight of the Eiffel Tower.
Happy to be here
After joining the throngs for our pictures and dodging the people selling selfie sticks and Eiffel Tower replicas, we cycled across the Seine and along the bike path that runs beside the river. We were excited when we caught up with Zwaantje and waved and took photos of each other at Pont Alexander III.
MPS Zwaantje in ParisThe non cyclers enjoyed their trip alsoWell earned beer
We stopped for a beer to celebrate our arrival in Paris, then cycled past The Louvre, Orsay Museum and Notre Dame before finding Zwaantje moored at Quai Bercy, where the film crew for Tom Cruise’s latest Mission Impossible film were based. Sitting on the deck after dinner with our new friends as the sun set over Paris was a perfect end to the day.
Warren and I separated today – he rode the route and I stayed on the barge for a rest day. We both enjoyed our choice and the weather was better than predicted with mild temperatures and virtually no rain.
We both started the day with a trip up the hill at Auvers sur Oise to visit the grave of Vincent van Gogh and his brother, Theodore.
On the way we passed the Church that was the subject of a famous painting (L’Eglise d’Auvers) by van Gogh that is now in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.
The ride was easier than the previous 2 days with only 1 hill at the start and rain briefly at the start and end of the ride.
Wait – I forgot my raincoat
45 km in total through some muddy tracks after the overnight rain.
Martijn and Michael hard at work
The barge travel was very relaxing and we saw an impressive War Memorial and bridge.
WW 1 & 2 Memorial
Fred timed the ride perfectly so that our riders arrived at the junction of the Oise and Seine rivers just as we sailed past.
Junction of the Oise and Seine riversSeine cruisingRubbish traps keep the Seine River clean
We negotiated 2 locks and tied up at Bougival at about 3.30. Several of us headed into town to look around and then find a wine bar with wifi (pronounced wiffy in French).
Zwaantje moored at BougivalBougival streets
Route of today’s ride – Auvers sur Oise to Bougival – 45 kms
It was another hot day today but thankfully shortened by Fred and Martijn to 45 kms.
Our guide Fred – “Listen carefully, I’m only going to say this once”
We cycled from Creil to l’Isle Adam and then cruised for an hour or so to Auvers sur Oise. Highlight of the day was the Domaine De Chantilly.
Chateau de Chantilly
This impressive estate was created by Henri of Orleans, Duke of Aumale and son of King Louis-Phillippe and includes the chateau, extensive gardens and impressive stables.
Domain de Chantilly
Although we had a 2 hour stop here we didn’t get to the stables but enjoyed the audio guide through the chateau. Henri was the greatest collector of his time and amassed 60000 books and manuscripts and an impressive art collection that includes several paintings by Raphael and other Italian, Belgian, Dutch and French masters.
The libraryHenri of Orleans art collection
The riding after lunch was partly through cool bicycle tracks through the forest and partly on busy, hot roads.
Sharing the track with a miniature horse
You can guess which was the most popular. The last 20km of our day was on the London to Paris bicycle route. The final kilometres along the river Oise were very pretty and we were glad as always to find the Zwaantje.
Route of today’s ride – Creil to Isle Adam – 44 kms
Today our group was smaller than usual because it was going to be a long day so 6 stayed on board. We also split with 3 people taking a shorter route to St Jean aux Bois while the rest of us did an extra 10 kms to see the Chateau de Pierrefonds.
Riding through the forest
It was beautiful riding through the forest south of Compiegne on paved bike tracks. With a top temperature of 27 degrees predicted, we also appreciated the coolness. The Chateau was impressive – Walt Disney but real was Fred’s comment and he was right.
Chateau de PierrefondsEntranceCroc drain
We didn’t have time to explore inside but it was certainly worth the extra 10 kms. After we joined up with the other group we had our first real hill of the day – a long, steady winding climb that we thought would never end. By now the temperature was into the high 20s and we were feeling it after 9 days of cycling. The good thing about climbs like this is the anticipated descent, and it was great. Unfortunately we took the wrong road for the Roman ruins which meant either missing them or climbing back up the hill. Needless to say we pressed on. Lunch was in a park as none of these villages had bars or cafes.
Finally got my poppy picture
By now it was HOT and the search for a bar was on, success eventually in the village of Verberie. We purchased more water and Fred told us it was 10-15 kms to the barge.
Cycling in the shade was appreciated
We were stopping every 5kms in the heat and it seemed to always be 10-15 kms! We eventually arrived back at the boat at 4.30 after 68kms. A shower never felt so good.
Route of today’s ride – Compiegne to Creil – 68 kms
Off at 0900 but our first stop at the ruins of the Abbey l’Ourscamp was only 5 km away.
Abbey d’Ourscamp
Beautiful remains of what was a massive abbey founded in 1129. It was damaged and rebuilt over the centuries before being badly damaged during WW1.
We had a brief stop at the church at Tracy le Val. It is hard to comprehend how little was left of some of these villages after the first world war.
Before the war and 1917Gargoyle at church at Tracy Le Val
Next on the list for today was a visit to the clearing in the forest where the Armistice was signed on 11/11/1918.
Clearing
A few hills to get here and then a detour as the bridge was down but well worth the extra few kilometres. The negotiations and signing were done in a railway car in a clearing made in the dense forest for that purpose.
Railway car
In 1927 a memorial was erected here which housed the original railway car. Hitler used this same car to sign the French Armistice in 1940 before dismantling the monument. The central flagstone reads:
“Here on the eleventh of November 1918 succumbed the criminal pride of the German empire… vanquished by the free peoples which it tried to enslave.”
Central flagstone
Hitler had these flagstones removed, however they were not destroyed but kept in Berlin and they were retrieved and reinstalled in 1946.
Armistice Glade Memorial
Last stop was the Imperial Palace in Compiegne. Enormous building that was used by both Louis XVI and Napolean. Opulent and with many rooms with the original decor it was one of 3 palaces used by the King. No wonder there was a revolution.
We had a leisurely start to the day as we sailed with Zwaantje until about 1100. It was nice to sit back with a cup of tea and watch the world go by.
Start of our ride to the day at the canal near Noyon
Today we had some rolling hills and a headwind to test us. Most of the ride was through small rural villages with lunch at a small church (no bars or cafes today).
Lunch spot
We arrived at Noyon at about 3pm after 30 kms and went to the Jean Calvin museum where we were given an audio tour about this museum, the church and the Noyon museum.
Jean Calvin MuseumNoyon CathedralHotel de Ville (There is one in every town)Noyon was an important Roman town
No one that we met spoke English – we got by with our limited French and some pointing but the locals are all very friendly. We stayed here until 5.45 as Zwaantje had been held up in locks all day. We rode the last few kms to the barge which was moored at Pont L’Eveque. We had a nice stroll after dinner through this pleasant little village.
We wandered the streets of Peronne, visiting the market, the one church left after WW1 (6 others were destroyed) and other sights. The church was pock marked with bullet holes in the remnants of the old walls and amazingly a 1601 fresco survived the bombing.
St John the Baptist churchSomme RiverMarket gardenLunch spot
Dinner was at a local restaurant with an Algerian chef as it was the crew’s day off today.
The ride was easier than the previous 2 days with only 1 hill at the start and rain briefly at the start and end of the ride.
