During our barge trip, we took an excursion to Chateau du Clos de Vougeot, where Cistercian monks made wine in the 12th century.
Barge travel is easy going. On a typical day, the barge might pass through six to ten locks. Some guests might get off at one lock and walk or bicycle along the tow path before rejoining the barge at a later lock.
I went out for a brisk walk and stretched my legs a bit. When I looked back, Grand Cru was coming into view, coming around a bend in the canal. Some ducks in the foreground added a bit of local color.
After an amazing week in Paris, we moved to the Canal de Bourgogne (Burgundy Canal) outside Dijon for a week enjoying the slow pleasures of a barge floating down the canal.
Our barge is Grand Cru, owned and operated by Elegant Waterways. We are eight guests being spoiled by a crew of six -- the captain, a lockman, a chef, two attendants and a host/driver for excursions.
Musee d'Orsay is a left bank museum along the River Seine. It was developed from a converted railway station.
Sargent's masterpiece The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit usually resides at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. At d'Orsay, it swarmed with viewers, but I was able to catch a quiet moment.
Saint Chapelle is a royal chapel within the medieval Palais de la Cite, the residence of the kings of France until the 14th century.
The gleaming, clean, restored Cathedral de Notre Dame.
On this trip, I am often deciding that no words are needed.
When noted architect I.M.Pei proposed a glass pyramid for the courtyard in front of the Louvre, I thought it was outrageous and sacrilegious. Now it is one of my favorite scenes in Paris, especially at night.
