Montereau to Moret-sur-Loing

14 kms, 1 lock

Just the best kind of day.  Up bright and early, a quick walk to the boulangerie for a still warm “baguette tradition “(a baguette, roughly shaped, made from a different dough which is more dense and chewy, less refined – and oh so delicious) and we were off by 8.30. 

We are back onto the Seine with its huge 180m x 16m locks but we had only one to traverse today. We had to wait while a barge came upstream then we were in, tied up, and had a chat to the lock keeper who leaned out of his window to ask where we were headed – in English!).

The big, wide majestic Seine

Not so pretty, a boat graveyard that stretched a long way

We passed Saint Mammés where we stopped on our way upstream and took a sharp left into the Loing River – strongly influenced  by Pat and Jim.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  What a delightful town – and I have loooots of photos to prove it!

Turning into the Loing River

The Porte de Plaisance - good strong pontoons with water and electricity

 Here we go - my walkabout: lots of pretty pictures

Looking back across the Loing River to the old town

Now a barley sugar museum

 The old tanneries on the Loire River where they made fine chamois leather

A view across the Loing to the old town.  I was impressed by the number of families playing in the river

This section is lined by the old town walls that have evolved into residences, built into and on top of the walls

 There were so many narrow twisty alleys

The remains of a once grand fortified castle, called The Dungeon

The Church of Notre Dame

Amazing filigree work in stone

The facade of a grand house dating from Francois the First, early 16th century

Porte de Samois

Back at the marina, another boat has arrived

Tiny ducklings

And Mrs Swan with her sleepy brood

Ah, fast asleep with their heads curled back onto their backs

While I was going walkabout with the camera Ian went by bike to a boat electronics shop we noticed at the confluence of the Seine and Loing rivers, in search of new fittings to replace the really very old ones on the mast (which now has 5 coats of varnish – sorry, I haven’t kept track of all his sanding and varnishing activities) but it was closed – today is yet another public holiday, something like the 4^th this month!

When I got back to the boat a charming 15m barge had arrived, “penpals”  of Shaun’s from the DBA site: lovely people, Alan and Marianne on Dea Latis, who invited us aboard for a drink this evening.

This is a pay marina and it cost us €10 per night including water and electricity.  Well, you can’t argue with that, can you?