Paris in the sunshine

Rueil-Malmaison to Paris, Port de l'Arsenal

A very pleasant Dutch couple who arrived in the evening told us the trip through the Canal de Bourgogne had taken them about 12 days, which seemed in line with my recollection. Lots of locks, but that's OK. We donated to their boat our Dutch gas cylinder and fitting, for which they were duly grateful, giving us some unused Paris metro tickets and inviting us for an after-dinner drink.

Our British neighbours, having been unable to make up their minds whether to head north and leave their boat on the Oise, or south to St Jean de Losne, like us, announced in the morning that they would come south with us, which sounds fun. So, having just come from Paris yesterday, they returned today.

The run up the river was a delight, with very little traffic and no delay at the single lock. As always, Paris exceeds expectations. Just coming to La Defence, the business district, is quite something:

The first sight of the Eiffel Tower always impresses. The trick is to get it upright in your photo – though a little manipulation helps with that:

Many of the Seine bridges are richly decorated, often with statues only really visible from the river itself, like this:

Paris, of course, has her own Statue of Liberty, albeit a rather smaller version of the New York one. Here she is alongside the Tower:

Here she is as we glided by:

Our cultural appetites were satisfied by a sight of the Musee d'Orsay. Unfortunately there is no special show on at the moment – too many Parisians away in August, I suppose.

Our route took us along the left bank, past the Ile de la Cite, with this friendly little park at the tip of the island:

I think this is the Pont Neuf, though with so many bridges passed, it is difficult to be sure:

The banks of the river are very handsome here:

We had lots of good views of Notre Dame, but I think this last one from up-river before we turned into the Arsenal basin is the best:

We are booked in here for three nights, and tomorrow will be without a blog, since I will be attempting a car triangulation in a single day. It means a 7.25 a.m. train to Utrecht, arriving about 11 a.m., taxi to the boat harbour in Ijsselstein, driving to St Jean de Losne (about 7 hours), taxi to Dijon, and train back to Paris. Wish me luck!