Today was an easy and peaceful day. We sailed a short distance to Les Andeleys in
a tight curve of the river. This is
what I always think of as river cruising.
We walked ashore after breakfast and the tiny town was nestled between
the banks of the Seine and the mountains not a mile away. Our leisurely stroll gave us time to chat
with a man riding his bike along the shore side path while his large, black
very fluffy dog followed or led him.
Dogs are everywhere in France and very well behaved. I only saw one ever on a leash but they stay
close to their people and have very good manners. The gentleman in his yellow slicker stopped
his red bike and enjoyed the chance to use his very good, heavily accented
English. During the course of the
conversation he let us know that he had had an uncle represent France in the
L.A. Olympics. We asked what sport and
he said, “Why rowing, of course!” He
himself had started a rowing club on the lake that breaks off the side of the
river. When I said, “Oh, you row?” He replied, “Why not? I am a young man. I am only 74!” And based on the number of joggers,
bicyclists and roller bladers we have seen everywhere in France, I would say
that I can see why that at the age of 74 this many knows he is young!
Ruth and I continued into the heart of the town and found,
of course, an old stone church. Built in
1203 it was a celebration of the completion of the Castle Galliard which Richard
the Bastard better known as Richard the Lionheart had built. We walked carefully around the inside of the
church over the uneven stone floors. It
was nothing spectacular except that it was built by the workers for the workers
and still today men and women sat in silent prayer on this Good Friday. It was a true parish church.
Behind the church we passed through a little park and
stopped to admire the fresh fruit on display at the grocers. Tiny cantaloupe looking melons imported from
Morocco and oranges from Spain looked delicious and were quite expensive. Not like the cheap winter fruits that fill our
stores from Chile when our own fields are too cold and out of season.
Next to that we stopped into a gallery and met the artist
who creates small metal sculptures from found objects. I especially liked the birds which were so
obviously birds but their bits and pieces could also be easily recognized. I will have to add a photo when I can.
At 11:15 we joined Claire, the Program Director, for a walk
up to Castle Gaillard. UP to the castle
is for sure correct. The very steep hill
was a real workout. And although Claire
had warned everyone not to take the shortcut because once off the road the path
was steep and the sand was slippery. But
of course one lady did and two gentleman of our group immediately climbed down
to rescue her.
The castle was interesting and since Richard never went back
to England he had built it to be secure and to control the river. Eventually siege was laid to it and despite
the first use of slit windows with wider interiors than exteriors, the castle
fell. The windows were unique because
the wider inside allowed the bowman to aim to the sides although they
maintained the safety of the narrow slits.
The walk down was
easy! You could have just rolled.
Back aboard the ship we set sail for Paris. The views were beautiful but the same as the
sailing out from Paris earlier in the week.
The weather remained overcast and our spirits were down a little as our
journey – part one – neared the end.
We met so many nice people on this trip. As we sailed after dinner we laughed and
chatted about our experiences. Everyone
agreed that Normandy was the highlight.
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