Paris, Day 2

Today Gramzie and I met the rest of our bicycle group. As I predicted, I am by far the youngest member of our group. That doesn’t really matter to me, they all seem like a fun lot to hang out with for a week. We took a bus from the airport to the river barge, the Fleur. The barge is really quite nice. Our cabin is small, as one would expect on a river barge, but very cozy. There is a nice living room and dining area on the top floor as well as an outside deck.

The crew is very nice. Our bicycle guide is Odille (oh-deel). She is from Paris. The captain’s name is Reint and he is from the Netherlands. Akbar, the first mate, is also French, and Markos, the chef is German. Mandy is the housekeeper and I’m not sure where she is from, but she speaks French, German, Dutch and English! The most important member of the crew is the ship’s dog – her official title – a little Welsh Corgie named Cookie. I was quite thrilled to learn there would be a little dog going on our voyage with us!

After we got settled and unpacked, we had the rest of the afternoon free. Gramzie and I first went to see the Bastille, and then to the Place de Vosges – the oldest square in Paris. This is a very nice little park with trees and fountains, and each street block around the outside of it has very nice shops and art galleries, as well as a cute little outdoor cafes at each corner. Also outside the Place de Vosges is the Maison de Victor Hugo. We didn’t take the guided tour but were able to see a bit of the first floor which was quite interesting.

Next we walked back to Notre Dame so I could take more pictures, but unfortunately it rained all day today so they aren’t the best. Luckily it wasn’t very cold so it wasn’t too bad being outside all afternoon. I just hope the weather clears up for biking!

We had a delicious welcome dinner after a talk from the captain giving us all the information we needed for staying on the barge. Markos made pork tenderloin with green beans and pan-seared potatoes, and for dessert we had marinated strawberries with vanilla ice cream and a piece of sweet waffle. It was all very scrumptious.

A great day, check back tomorrow for more!


(Pictures: Gramzie and I aboard the Fleur, our barge The Fleur, sanctuary of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Cathedral, sculpture at the entrance of Notre Dame.)