Ports where we have wintered the boat
We have wintered Courlis in three ports now.
2004 and 2005 - H2O, St Jean de Losne - English speaking.
River Saone in Gare de l'eau
This port is very big and used by a lot of English, New Zealanders and Australians. It can be reached by taking a TGV to Dijon then a local train to St Jean de Losne. The town has many restaurants, banks and shops with two large grocery shops close to the port. It has proved a safe port, though the fees are quite expensive.
2006 - 'Navig' France hire boat port, Lagarde - English speaking.
Canal Marne au Rhine .
This port can be reached by TGV to Nancy then local train to Lunieville 10 k from Lagarde. The owner of the hire boat company said he will arrange a lift to Lagarde from the train. Large supermarket for provisions alongside the canal with places to moor near Nancy.
This port is in a small village, proved to be safe and is very well priced.
2007 - Maubacq Boatyard, Pont a Bar - French speaking, some English.
Canal Des Ardenne.
Port can be reached by TGV to Reims then train to Sedan or Charleville Meziers. You need to arrange transport from the station to boatyard. This port is in a small village. The boatyard changed hands early 2008 owing to a sudden illness of one of the partners.
We have found out it is important to have all transactions which have been paid for written down so there are no misunderstandings about what is included. At this boatyard we paid a fee for coming out of the water and one to go back in whereas in other places the one fee has covered both.
2004 and 2005 - H2O, St Jean de Losne - English speaking.
River Saone in Gare de l'eau
This port is very big and used by a lot of English, New Zealanders and Australians. It can be reached by taking a TGV to Dijon then a local train to St Jean de Losne. The town has many restaurants, banks and shops with two large grocery shops close to the port. It has proved a safe port, though the fees are quite expensive.
2006 - 'Navig' France hire boat port, Lagarde - English speaking.
Canal Marne au Rhine .
This port can be reached by TGV to Nancy then local train to Lunieville 10 k from Lagarde. The owner of the hire boat company said he will arrange a lift to Lagarde from the train. Large supermarket for provisions alongside the canal with places to moor near Nancy.
This port is in a small village, proved to be safe and is very well priced.
2007 - Maubacq Boatyard, Pont a Bar - French speaking, some English.
Canal Des Ardenne.
Port can be reached by TGV to Reims then train to Sedan or Charleville Meziers. You need to arrange transport from the station to boatyard. This port is in a small village. The boatyard changed hands early 2008 owing to a sudden illness of one of the partners.
We have found out it is important to have all transactions which have been paid for written down so there are no misunderstandings about what is included. At this boatyard we paid a fee for coming out of the water and one to go back in whereas in other places the one fee has covered both.
August 20 Pont a Bar - Paris - Perth
We left Pont a bar and took the TGV to Paris for two days before catching the plane home.
We had a good 2 star hotel right opposite the Voltaire Metro station and spent our time strolling around Paris. This year the Paris Town council have installed all around the city, bicycles which have three gears, a basket and lights. They can be used by anyone using either a credit card or a metro pass similar to our smartcard where the money is taken off and the bike unlocked when it is swiped. A 150 euro bond is taken out and under 30 minutes is free, 30 minutes costs 1 euro, up to 2 hrs costs 7 euro, the idea is to encourage short trips and then put back. They can be taken from one location and left at another. We saw at least 15 locations in one morning. It is easy to cycle around as there are cycle paths everywhere.
Each year for one month mid July to mid August, the quays along the Seine for about 2 kilometres are turned in Paris Plage (beach).
The roads along the river are closed and tonnes of beach sand, lawn, palm trees, trampolines, boules courts and a 50 metre swimming pool are installed. We had a pleasant stroll along the "beach" it was a great atmosphere with beach lounges and deck chairs spread out along the way. Unfortunately this summer has been very cool and many rainy days but I can imagine how busy this area gets when the sun is shining. The day we were there hardy people were laying on lounges under the umbrellas with rugs over their legs.
During our stroll we walked into this church with beautiful chandeliers and paintings. We enjoyed an organ recital and a great atmosphere.
On our last day we went to Montmartre and spent a few hours walking around and dining, soaking up the atmosphere of the artists area.
Soon it was time to collect our baggage and take the train to Charles de Gaulle for the long flight home. We worked it out that from the time we woke up this morning it would be 40 hours before we got home.
Back in Perth
Well here we are back home after another time in France. The suitcases have been packed away but already a few things have been put in ready for next year.
We had a good 2 star hotel right opposite the Voltaire Metro station and spent our time strolling around Paris. This year the Paris Town council have installed all around the city, bicycles which have three gears, a basket and lights. They can be used by anyone using either a credit card or a metro pass similar to our smartcard where the money is taken off and the bike unlocked when it is swiped. A 150 euro bond is taken out and under 30 minutes is free, 30 minutes costs 1 euro, up to 2 hrs costs 7 euro, the idea is to encourage short trips and then put back. They can be taken from one location and left at another. We saw at least 15 locations in one morning. It is easy to cycle around as there are cycle paths everywhere.
Each year for one month mid July to mid August, the quays along the Seine for about 2 kilometres are turned in Paris Plage (beach).
The roads along the river are closed and tonnes of beach sand, lawn, palm trees, trampolines, boules courts and a 50 metre swimming pool are installed. We had a pleasant stroll along the "beach" it was a great atmosphere with beach lounges and deck chairs spread out along the way. Unfortunately this summer has been very cool and many rainy days but I can imagine how busy this area gets when the sun is shining. The day we were there hardy people were laying on lounges under the umbrellas with rugs over their legs.
During our stroll we walked into this church with beautiful chandeliers and paintings. We enjoyed an organ recital and a great atmosphere.
On our last day we went to Montmartre and spent a few hours walking around and dining, soaking up the atmosphere of the artists area.
Soon it was time to collect our baggage and take the train to Charles de Gaulle for the long flight home. We worked it out that from the time we woke up this morning it would be 40 hours before we got home.
Back in Perth
Well here we are back home after another time in France. The suitcases have been packed away but already a few things have been put in ready for next year.
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