Best of Burgundy Day 7
Best of Burgundy
DAY 7 - Sunday - 9-25-05 - Seurre/St. Jean de Losne/Home-hosted visit
Our barge engines started at 7:30 this morning and our captain was able to maneuver off this rocky area without too much of a problem. We had breakfast with Derk and Liz from San Diego. After breakfast Michel gave us a few reminders about the settlement of Seurre, a charming brick-built riverside town, where we would dock this morning.
At 10:45 we arrived on the waterfront of Seurre under dark skies and sprinkles. By the time the crew had gotten the gangplank secured it was "raining cats and dogs," or as they say in France, "raining ropes." We walked directly to the church, famous for its wooden pipe organ. The parishioners were attending Mass and we did not want to disturb them so we stayed only a few minutes. After walking through the town and scouting out a few delis we followed the locals, each carrying a long baguette in their arms. It was not long until we found the source, one of many city bakeries and purchased bread for our picnic lunch. We also discovered a mini grocery where we bought cheese, salami, and chips to go with our baguette. The sun was just trying to peek through the clouds so we took advantage of the improving weather and our free time and walked back to the church. We were able to take a few photos inside and then explored this quiet little village on the banks of the Saone River this Sunday morning.
We had to be back on board by 12:45 and we made it in plenty of time. We ate our little picnic on the deck and enjoyed seeing the great variety of foods our group had chosen for lunch. While we were finishing lunch we watched Richard and the first mate slip the lines and it was not long before we were cruising again. Our barge had to travel through another set of locks but we were delayed until a group of four pleasure boats were released and passed us.
At about 3:30 we ended our day's cruise at St. Jean de Losne. This is recognized as the traditional center of barging in Burgundy, where the Burgundy Canal joins the Saone River. This ancient village has become the largest inland waterway port in France. We disembarked and walked over the bridge to visit the church of St. John the Baptist built during the early Renaissance. We moved on to a local museum, the Maison des Mariniers, a permanent exhibition of the inland waterway transportation system of France. Our guide did not speak English but Michel did a great job of translating her historical interpretation of the barge and canal industry.
We finished our tour of the museum and were divided into three groups for a home hosted visit. Our hostess, Annie, greeted and walked us to her school where we first visited her office. We met her good looking daughter Natalie, a 24 year old graduate student who was working on her research paper on the diffusion French cinema in Spain. When I learned they had internet, she offered to allow me to upload Day 6 onto the web site. We left Natalie to her studies and with a twinkle in her eye, Annie asked us if we would like to visit her cellar. This portion of the school was an old castle and under the steep stairs and low ceilings we found her wine cellar where she told us about her hobby of collecting fine wines. She also explained about the shapes of the bottles that are indicative of the region where the wine is produced. We were next welcomed into her apartment where she gave us a tour of her spacious home. Annie served us a variety of wines long with a delicious dessert or Brittany cake. I chose a red wine and Gennie had a mixture of Cassis and white wine - a kier. We had an enjoyable time talking about her job and her family and then each of us shared a gift that we had brought from home.
We went to say goodbye to Natalie and Annie walked with us along the river back to our barge. What a delightful afternoon we had sharing the hospitality of this kind French woman. We returned to the ship at 6:45 with just enough time to freshen up a bit. At dinner we heard about the other two groups' afternoon adventures. We had dinner with Bill G and Zee once again, discussing many aspects of life in Martha's Vineyard and traveling. We celebrated Bill F's 80th birthday as well as Bill G and Zee and Clint and Ruth's anniversary with a fantastic cake baked by our French chef Jean and had a toast with true French champagne.
Accommodations: Lafayette - - - Meals: B, D
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