Melun to Moret-sur-Loing

(Pictures: Along a bike path, a cottage along the Seine, biking along the Seine, site of the water mill in Moret-sur-Loing, house of Alfred Sisley, a beautiful flower bed in town)





















































































Another perfect day for biking! The day started out a bit chilly and foggy in the morning but the sun came out eventually. We left at nine and began making our way to the town of Moret-sur-Loing. We kept a fairly decent pace, faster than yesterday, in order to make it into town in time for a guided tour. The ride was quite pleasant. We went on some nice bike paths along the river and traveled through some more little villages.

When we got to Moret-sur-Loing, we had lunch at a Creperie and it was delicious! Most restaurants have a "plat du jour" which usually comes with an appetizer, main dish, and dessert. You can choose from a few different choices offered. I had hard boiled eggs with some kind of a mayonnaise mixture as an appetizer, and a crepe filled with frankfurt sausage, cheese, and mustard. It was really good! For dessert I had a crepe with blackberry jam. We sat on the outdoor patio and it was very pleasant.

After lunch we met a guide to give us a tour of the town. Moret-sur-Loing is a medieval town with many buildings dating back to the 12th century. Many of the old watch towers that surrounded the city are still standing or partially in tact. The church in the center of town was started in medieval times as well, although it took several centuries for it to be completely finished.

Moret-sur-Loing's main claim to fame is that the Impressionist painter, Alfred Sisley, lived and painted there. Sisley was English by birth but lived the majority of his life in France, and more than half of his paintings were done in Moret-sur-Loing. The tour was very interesting because we were able to see many of the scenes that he painted, as well as the house that he lived in.

After our tour of the town, we went to a bicycle museum. This was very interesting too. We learned about the history of competitive cycling and Le Tour de France - this I especially liked since I love watching the tour every summer! The museum had a model of every major type of bike in its development as an invention and it was a very interesting experience.

We headed back to the barge and then Gramzie and I went for a nice walk through town before dinner. Tonight we had French onion soup, beef tenderloin, cauliflower, tomato and olives, mashed potatoes with chives, and upside down apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert! Yum!

Tomorrow we head to Fontainebleau, home of Napoleon!