Heading South From Paris and its Hot, Hot, Hot

So it was time to take Elisabeth for a trip up the Seine towards the Yonne. This was a major routine to the capital for nearly 2,000 years incorporating Roman trade, medieval tolls, floating timbers and Napoleonic battles. We were truely following in history’s footsteps. Although the Yonne is designated as a tributary of the Seine, it is actually the larger and more powerful river, being fed by the rain soaked Morvan hills. But our trip would not involve rain, rather we were faced with a heat wave.

From Paris we would cover 127km and stop at Melun, Moret sur Liong and Sens.

Melun

The distance traveled on the first day was 60kms and 6 locks. Given that we were motoring upstream against the current I estimated that our travel time would be about 7 to 8 hours, depending on how fast we could get through the locks. As an aside, the same trip from Paris to Melun by train would only take 1/2 hour. But what’s the fun it that! There are not very many suitable moorings between Paris and Melun, so it was better to just go for it. We were now at the beginning of one of the most intense heatwaves ever recorded in France.

Exiting one of the locks on the Seine

Once we had settled the boat in Melun Elisabeth and I braved the heat and took an Uber to visit the local Chateau, Vaux le Vicomte

The Chateau is widely regarded as the blue print for Versailles, bringing together the elements of architecture, interior decoration and landscape design that reshaped European monumental buildings in the 17th century. Additionally the artists that created Vaux le Vicomte were employed to create Versailles. Unfortunately Nicholas did not get to enjoy his palace. After the inaugural celebratory banquet he was arrested by the king’s guards and spent the rest of his life imprisoned. The family emblem was a squirrel accompanied by the motto “To what heights will he not rise”. Someone should have warned him not to set his sights above that of a King.

We were retracing our steps that we took in 2023, when we traveled to the DBA rally in Auxerre. Unfortunately Peter’s very special Indian restaurant in Melun was closed, so it was dinner at Bistro Joie de Vivre. With Elisabeth on board it was her turn to delight us with one of her Thermomix meals! And surprise, surprise who should call into the port, but our harbour master from Brugge, Danny and his wife Hilda.

Travelling along the river from Melun to our next port of call Moret sur Liong are the most unusal riverside houses. Known as the “Affolantes” these Belle Epoque villas were built between 1830 and 1914 as summer residences for wealthy Parisans. They feature towers, elaborate verandas, exotic rooflines , mock medieval details and hugh gardens decending to the river. With most of them presenting shuttered windows you may wonder what the story is of these grand dwellings today. They are owned by a mixture of wealthy professionals from Paris, retirees, families who have inherited them and occasionally investors who renovated them for resale. Unfortunately they are not open to the public. We however are lucky enough to cruise by and admire these architecture wonders

Danny and Hilda followed us to Moret sur Liong, where a 2 day visit turned into 3 days as we sheltered from the extreme heat. In 2023 I had visited the nearby royal palace of Fountainblue but this year, after a short stroll through this medieval town, we enjoyed the coolness of the meandering waters of the Liong, (along with the rest of the population of the town).

And of course as the sun declined in the west there were drinks on board with new friends and old.

With the hot weather continuing and our need to keep the air-conditioning running 24/7 we made the dash to Sens, 60kms and 9 locks away. Yes I know this sounds mad, especially as we were travelling upstream on both the Seine and the Yonne but the ports between Moret sur Liong and Sens do not offer power. Not problem usually but impossible in the middle of an extreme heatwave.

And we were closely followed by Danny and Hilda

Sens is seen by many as the gateway to Burgundy and during the Middle Age was one of the most powerful cities in France. The cathedral is one of the first Gothic cathedrals ever built and the architectural ideas pioneered in Sens heavily influenced the builders of Notre Dame in Paris.

The son and daughter in law of Louis XV, widely know as the Dauphin and Dauphine were buried in Sens They both died of tuberculosis (Louis in 1765 and his wife Marie Josephe in 1767). Normally French royalty were buried in the mausoleum in the Basilica St. Denis but Louis requested to be buried in Sens. The tomb is one of the finest royal monuments of the 18th century. Sculptured in white marble it features the central figure – Time, draping a veil over the urns of the prince and princess. During the Revolution their remains were removed and thrown in a common grave. They were later recovered during the Bourbon Restoration. Luckily the monument was not destroyed. We lingered in the cathedral enjoying the coolness of this sanctuary. Peter was extremely pleased with the air conditioning in the cathedral and begged not to leave!!

Elisabeth left us in Sens to journey south. We remained an extra day before deciding to turn north again towards Paris. With the current heat wave and the threat of canal closures we elected not to continue to Auxerre but rather play it safe and continue our season cruising down the Seine to the L’Oise and finally the Somme. Although we have experienced hot summers previously it has never been this early or this intense.

We also said goodbye to Danny and Hilda as they continued south to Auxerre, hoping to cross paths again when they return north. If not we we see them in Brugge

PS today is our 10th day when the highest daytime temperature has been in the high 30’s to low 40’s

It’s red all over Western Europe

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