This young woman’s radiant smile comes from within. I sought to express it. In previous epochs a smile was impossible to capture as sitters can not smile for hours at a time. Look at Leonardo’s famous smile- captivating but hardly expansive. But with photography, art changed in many ways and the ability to study the smile is one such change.
This is a study for a painting.
Samois sur Seine sits behind a small island in the Seine. There was just one spot for visitors, in front of a day tour ship and an 18 meter live aboard barge captained by Blue. Or is it Bleu? She’s a character, as we soon learned as she quaffed the chilled white as we sat chatting on the deck. She told us she has a PhD in astrophysics, five masters degrees and teaches French in Charlotte. Seems like an awful lot of training for that position, but more power to her. She has a captain’s license for the huge ships that barge through the locks on the Seine. I am not sure what is going on there, but she is charming and helpful, a lot of fund, and for us that’s what matters.
The town’s center sits atop a cliff so up you must hike steeply some ten minutes, past walls of charming village homes, bought and renovated by well to do Parisians. There’s a very good bakery at the top, and as a plus a trio was playing some jazzy stuff on the main plaza. We at listening at the bar, enjoying some vastly overpriced beer. Our friends had come to find some glucose free items in the town’s only superette. They asked me to find some good wine, which I gladly obliged. Next day they got two more of the same, a St Emillion, a very good one and a Gran Cru even, for a very reasonable price.
By then I’d noticed that one of our four huge batteries was failing- if one in a bank fails, they all have to go. Bleu recommended a couple of places. At the second we found Carlos, who is the captain of the small port in Valvin, recommended by the French boater we met in Nogent sur Seine. Carlos has been taking care of his boat for 30 years. Carlos proved to be a gem. He had the batteries ready to install after retrieving them himself, as his supplier failed to deliver a few days before on a Friday and was non-committal on Monday, which is when he promised to be ready. He complained about the decline in the professionalism of his suppliers.
While we waited for the work to be completed, visited nearby Fontainebleau via bus. Fontainebleau is one of the three main royal palaces, offering a stunning display of wealth.
Chapel
One of the battery clamps failed. He fixed that after we came by again, although he had offered to come to us. So doing would make him unavailable to others. He let us stay two extra nights without charge, unasked.
The palace was preceded by the medieval castle, both serving as a residence for the kings from Louis VII to Napoleon III. The site was chosen for its spring, from which the palace’s name derives, and the abundance of game.
After a lovely lunch in the town and the trip back to the bus, Carlos completed his work and we resumed our journey. We spent one night at Lock Dommaine sur Lys, six barges snuggled in with us. There is safety in numbers, or so it makes us feel, so we were happy to see them even as they came just a couple of meters of scraping our sides or crushing us against the dock. They are excellent boaters and almost all are friendly. Everyone on the Seine is obliged to monitor channel 10 on the VHF (marine radio). They have almost all answered our calls, asking to pass or for information. You have to check in with the locks before you enter. The chart gives you the VHF channel for the lock. Most of the time our charts have an out of date channel. The barges know the latest.
Nogent sur Seine is the highest point on the Seine that is navigable for us. Along the way you share the narrowing river with large barges who slowly carry reduced tonnage loads, reduced so they can remain afloat in the shallow areas. From Nogent we traveled first to Bray-sur-Seine, Montereau-Fault-Yonne (on the Yonnne River) and then Moret-sur-Loing (on the Loing). There is lovely countryside galore and very neat old towns. You can pass by at a walking pace or moor in or near the towns and enjoy the sites, sounds, foods and goings-on, a fine combination of relaxation and learning history and witnessing architecture.
Nogent is the end point for barge traffic. Beyond that is an ancient lock, manually operated by appointment. A French boater had made an appointment so we followed him around to the moorings by the mill. The huge mill is fed by two channels, giving rise to two islands. One of them, named Olive Island , is entirely wooded and laid out for walking. The other island is connected to the shores by two ancient bridges. The islands are connected by the “spillway”, a long water reservoir surmounted by a footbridge.
Moret dates to Roman times.
These buildings typically date from the 1400’s. They are best referred to as Tudor style structures. They developed in Tudor England beteen around 1485 and 1600. Often they lean to one side or the other these days, yet appear to be stable. This is one of the many charming views you can find in Compiegne.
From about 20 km to the west from Notre Dame in Paris we cruised along the Seine, taking its curvy route past famous locations such as Ile de la Jatte in Courbevoie, famous for the impressionist paintings done there, to the Statue of Liberty, the Tour Eiffel, the Alexander III bridge, Concorde and the Île de la Cité. We’ve often stood on the bridges spanning the river as barges and pleasure craft passed beneath. I never thought I’d do the same one day, yet here I am.
There was nothing unfamiliar to me, as I’d been on ships that take tourists around the two islands, so for me it was more of the boat experience. While the Seine can be tricky when in flood, today it was barely moving so I could just enjoy the craft cutting through the water. There was little traffic, just one or two tourist boats and a half dozen pleasure craft. We passed the Arsenal, the major port for pleasure craft, behind a lock, opting to continue our journey south.
From earlier in the journey:
Acrylic painting of a Ukrainian mother and child. So many victims of Putin’s depravity.
Now it is an exhibition space. Currently showing photos by locals, some really nice stuff. A friendly elderly gent came outside to invite us in.
Compiègne, a town of some 40,000, sits on the Oise River. We moored just outside the town park where teen bands played to a largely teen audience. The bands need help, although the audience seems to not notice, or perhaps they are just too polite to boo. The grills fill the air with the aroma of sausage, and there’s cheap beer. Overall it’s better than a kick in the head.
But the rest of the town! Architecturally and historically it’s well beyond what it should be given its size. First, the Chateau. Built for Louis XV, who reigned from 1715 (age 5) – 1774, it was renovated by Napoleon. It was one of three royal palaces, Versailles and Fontainbleu are the other two, which tells you a great deal about its magnificence, even if it is a level below Versailles, and perhaps Fontainbleu as well. It was the preferred summer residence nonetheless, known for its excellent hunting as it sits even still on the edge of the large Compiègne Forest.
The Chateau is filled with furniture, but not from Louis XV. These were removed during the French Revolution. What we see now are from Napoleon. They are fine examples of the First French Empire style.
In this Chateau, Marie-Louise was greeted by Napoleon, Alexander of Russia visited, and Leopold I of Belgium married Marie-Louise of Orleans. Napoleon III resided during the entire hunting season. The National Car Museum is housed in the Chateau. There is an excellent and large collection of coaches, early bicycles and motorcycles.
The second very noteworthy structure is the Mairie (City Hall)
The town is of Roman origin. It was called Compendium. It was used for various governing activities by the Merovingian kings. Charles II 823-877 founded the Abbey of Saint-Corneille, now the library. There are several ancient churches. And just outside town is where the Armistice ending WWI was signed, as well as where Hitler humiliated the French in 1940. There is a replica of the train car used for these two events, and an excellent museum.
Amiens is a small city (pop 135,000) in the Picardie region, just 120km/75m north of Paris. It’s main claim to fame is its Cathedral, a large High Gothic structure overlooking the Somme River. There are extensive hortillonnages (gardens) where people were resting and playing as we walked in the cool May evening. There’s a lovely row of restaurants in the Saint Leu district along the river featuring moules frites (mussels with fries), huitres (oysters), as well as “macrons d’Amiens (almond paste biscuits), tuiles amienoises”, (chocolate and orange biscuits), “pâté de canard d’Amiens” (duck pate in pastry), “la ficelle Picarde”, a baked crêpe with cheese; and flamiche aux poireaus, a puff pastry tart made with leeks and cream. Gone are the Belgian beers, it seems, so readily available elsewhere in the region, so you are mostly getting lighter blond brews.
The first settlement here was called Samarobriva , built by a Gaullic tribe called the Ambiani. The Romans renamed the town Ambianum, which morphed into Amiens. Those marauding Normans wreaked havoc in 859, returning for more in 882. In 1597 during the war with Spain, Spanish soldiers occupied the city for six months. In the 19th century the defensive walls were demolished to allow for larger streets in the center. Rail arrived in 1848.
The 1918 Battle of Amiens led to the Armistice with Germany that ended the war. The town was fought over during both wars, suffering significant damage, including bombardment by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. The downtown streets were widened. New buildings used brick, concrete and white stone with slate roofs.
The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens was built between 1220 and c. 1270 CE, rapid for this type of structure. It’s style is High Gothic. This is a fine example of the stle, with it soaring ceilings and thin walls. It also has some Rayonnant features, a movement that came about in the mid-13th to 14th centuries. This brought more spacial unity, refined decoration, more and larger windows.
While we were waiting for the tour of the choir an English speaking volunteer appeared, so we joined in. The choir was built by highly skilled wood workers from 1809-1819. It portrays stories from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).
Jules Verne was born here, there is a museum in his name and the University carries it as well. The Musee de Picardie has a large collection of monumental paintings circa mid 1800’s, including a Lady Godiva. The large rooms with very tall ceilings make a good space for these. The archaeological section is in the basement. There are excellent examples of glass and pottery from the Roman era. In addition there
Samura Parc Nature is an open air museum exploring pre-historic times. We took the boat there, taking advantage of the mooring at the pedestrian entrance. Discoveries in this area include remnants of skin covered tepee-like structures, some with smoke exits, dating from paleolithic times. More sophisticated shelters appear, with thatched roofs with about 30 square meters ( about 400 square feet). Dwellings from the Gaulic era, 5000- 1st century when the Romans conquered Gaul, could be quite large and advanced. They show one example on the site.
The site provides demonstrations of flint starting with a huge piece so you could see what flint looks like before it is worked, and other tool making, including a forge with basic bellows. They demonstrated spear hunting, showing how using a sling greatly increases velocity. They made bread using nettles, honey and water as a starter. Honey feeds the yeast that naturally occur in the environment. There is a display of human skulls starting with Lucy, including a Neanderthal and a modern human so you can readily compare them.
The demonstrations are entirely in French, with explanatory plaques also in English . You can buy honey products, including drinks, at the store you find at the usual places, at the exit.
The boat moorings are very convenient to town. However they are close to the English Pub. On a Thursday night we were kept awake until the wee hours.
From our mooring on the Somme we biked to the ridge upon which stands Australia’s WWI Monument and the superb Sir John Monash Visitor Center. Given its height and the commanding view if offered, one can see why the German Army picked this spot. Facing away from the Somme it is less imposing and it is from this direction that the Australians came, and yet still struggled mightily. The tower at the center of the complex is about 8 stories high and from here the view over the now tranquil farmland and towns with their church spires is delightful. Corbie, where we are moored, shows us its lovely old church, closed for renovations (we got in by chance), a fine reference point.
The superb audio visual presentation in the Sir John Monash Cernter gives a well defined account of the efforts of these volunteers. At the time the Australian constitution prohibited its standing army from participation abroad. 416,809 men enlisted, there were more than 60,000 were killed with 156,000 other casualties. Some 24,000 died just taking this ridge.
There are 20 audio-visual screens sensed by the device the Center provides. The narrative takes you through the battle and some of the life stories of those who survived intact, handicapped, maimed, suffering from PTSD, or died, and words from loved ones. For more information see https://www.dataton.com/showcases/sir-john-monash-centre-france
Here the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux April 24–27, 1918. The losses were losses were heavy, gains small. They later fought the Germans in August, as the former sought to maximize gains in advance of the arrival of significant numbers of American troops and equipment.
Monash created a battle plan that was widely hailed, coordinating the efforts of air, tanks and ground forces, greatly aiding the effort to take the ridge. The Center opened in 2018. It
