On the way to Paris

Wednesday 02 September

Not such a good day today. Engine problems to start with delayed our departure from Rouen and then at the end of the day we had difficulty finding a mooring. Ended up anchoring in a flooded quarry but by the time we did it was dark and blowing a hooley and just as Hev was about to serve our evening meal, the Captain decided that the anchor was dragging and he and Matt had to sort things out in the, by that time, driving rain. Had a bit of a sleepless night worrying about everything and a 'Dead Calm' scenario but we were still in the same place in the morning.

Thursday 03 September

A better day although weather not particularly wonderful and got a bit excited (for that read 'stressed') in the first lock. The second lock was even more challenging when the lock keeper decided to test us by letting the water in very fast but we coped, with quite a lot of help from the thrusters. Moored for the night in Meulan in a channel of the main river by a very pretty bridge and with lots of fromageries and boulangeries.

Hevster Lock assistant entry...

I hate locks.

Moving on. The route down the Seine to Rouen was beautiful. The river was wider than I had imagined and we saw more herons than other boats. The approach to Rouen itself was a bit less beautiful: at one point we rushed to close all the hatches to avoid getting engulfed in a cloud of dust. At first we moored up in a marina just outside of the city but with a back drop of a dual carriageway and some sort of fire choking us, we all looked at each other and decided to carry on for a bit. We're glad we did as we got a great spot right in centre of the city. It was hot, hot, hot but we went for an explore and made our first very important Rouen purchase: four icecreams. We all started to melt, so we headed back for an evening at the best restaurant in town: Chez Sequel with uninterrupted views of the Cathedral and the city lights.

The next day we followed Wally (aka Mattie) around the city ducking into churches and down tiny higgledy piggledy alleys. We overdosed on Camembert for lunch so had to have a Cidre du Normandie to wash it down.

We had a great meal in the evening at a tiny bistro nestled between the rows of medieval houses and in the shadow of the huge Gothic church. Mattie was pretty pleased with the lack of light as we realised that asking for your beef medium in France is like asking for a live cow in England. Lesson learnt.

We left Rouen (I'm swiftly glossing over engine problems!) and continued along the Seine. It was a long day on the water, I seemed to spend most of it eating and sleeping though so not too much of a hardship. We sent Mattie off on the dinghy to check the depth of a tiny marina and we weren't sure he was coming back. The quarry was pretty exciting to say the least...

Lovely day today if I blank the locks from my mind. Fran has summed up our lock experience perfectly, so I will leave it there. Trying to ignore the fact that there are many more to go through...Nice and safe now though: all moored up with a Pimms in my hand. Getting told off again for writing too much and I think Frannie wants to proof read my work. So Au Revoir for now. x