Author: user

Barge Day 3

Itinerary

8:00 Breakfast
9:00 Litote departs
Enjoy your morning cruise
12:30 Lunch
14:30 Excursion to the wine region of Chablis where the famous vineyards
grow on the hills surrounding the town. A visit of the picturesque
town of Chablis itself will be followed by a wine tasting in a private
cellar in the nearby village of Bersan St. Bris
Return to the Litote
19:30 Dinner on board

Today was much warmer first thing in the morning. Breakfast was from
8:00 to 9:30am but the barge started down the canal at 9:00am so some
people were still eating with the barge moving. We again had a mix of
people running, walking or biking along the tow path while the barge
moved leisurely down the canal. Others enjoyed reading, taking pictures
or other leisure activities on the barge. One of the locks was unique in that
just before the lock the canal went over a river on a bridge carrying water.
The aqueduct was the same width as the lock and so it looked like a very long
lock. Another of the locks was unusual in that it was about a foot wider than
all the other locks. Most of the locks are standardized and our barge is designed
to just fit in the lock and under the bridges. In addition the roof on the barge
is curved so it could go through a 6Km tunnel when the barge was originally
used to transport grain from the wheat fields of southern France to Paris when
the boat was built in 1929. When trains took over that function in the 50s the
barge was converted to be used as a passenger boat.

We had a great lunch of Quiche Loraine, salads, and chocolate mousse. A little
After 2:00pm while were going through a lock, we exited the barge and got
on the bus for our excursion to Chablis. The barge continued going downstream
to Brienon where we joined it after the excursion. We first went to a hill overlooking
the town of Chablis and saw the various areas that produce different levels of the
chardonnay grape in the Chablis region. We then went to a little town nearby
that used to be a quarry town and had cellars underneath most of the town from
digging rock.. They then switched to growing grapes and used the cellars for
storing and making wine. We tasted several of the local products and then
headed back to the Litote in Brienon. It was still light so several of us got bikes
out and rode around town to see if there was an internet café. No luck.
Hopefully tomorrow.
Kws

The dinner menu was:

Diner

Soufflé au fromage
Cheese soufflé

Boeuf Bourguignon, tagliatelle
Beef Bourguignon with tagliatelle pasta

Plateau de fromages, salade
Cheese platter & salad

Pain perdu, coulis de framboises et abricots
Bred pudding with raspberry and apricot sauces

Café au bar
Coffee at the bar

Chablis
Cahors

Activity at a lock

If you look closely you can see the canal is in a bridge over a river!

Out of time will add more pictures soon!
kws

Barge Day Two
Our itinerary today was:
8:00 Breakfast
9:30 Excursion to Chateau de Tanlay, built in the
sixteenth century in the Renaissance style
and situated in the quiet village of Tanlay
Return to the Litote
12:30 Lunch
Enjoy your afternoon cruise to Flogny la Chapelle
19:30 Dinner on board the Litote

First thing this morning was very cold. Janet, Terry and Ginny
Hackney, Ingrid, and Susan ran before breakfast. I walked
around the area and it was cold enough that I zipped up
my jacket and put gloves on. Later in the day it was warm
enough that some of us wore shorts. We broke out the bikes
and had 8 in use at the peak time. Most of the rest of us
walked along the tow path between one or more of the locks.
The way it works is you can only get on or off the boat at
a lock. We are going downstream so we go into the lock
full and then once we are in the lock they close the upstream
doors and empty the water down stream and the boat goes
down inside the lock. We then get on and off the boat
when the side of the boat is level with the side of the lock.
since the water drains pretty fast, getting on and off needs
to happen during a fairly short interval – like 90 seconds.
The locks are fairly close together, but sometimes up to
4Km or so. The barge only goes about 3mph and so you
can keep up with it walking at a normal pace. The barge
has to slow down when it comes into and goes out of a lock
so taking a walk between locks is very reasonable. If you
want to go visit a nearby village it is best to take a bike
so you can have more time in the village and still catch
up with the barge. The barge has a fore deck that is fun to
take pictures from, but when you go into a lock you have to
be careful because Dicke (the deck hand) has to use a large
rope to stop the barge once you get in the lock. You have to
stay out of his way when he is doing this. There is also

The tour of the Chateau de Tanlay was very interesting
and informative. This is one of the few Chateau’s that
is still privately owned and one of the few that were not
destroyed in the revolution. Evidently the family was
well liked by the local people and so during the revolution
they were protected from the destruction of the noble
houses that happened nearly everywhere else. The
furnishings are still as they were in various periods when
some of the rooms were furnished. So there are rooms
that have furnishings from the 17th 18th and 19th
centuries. The estate is still very large, there is still one
of the two original moats. Since the Chateau is still in
active use by the family part of the time, some of the
rooms were not open to visitors, but the rooms that were
open were very interesting. We could not take pictures
in many of the rooms so I only have pictures of the outside
and some of the rooms inside. The father of the current
owner was an ambassador from France to a number of other
countries and some of the furnishings were gifts he got
while working as ambassador in that country. Several
pictures on the wall were of Malta. Neil (the bus driver
guide) was our tour guide and he gave us lots of information
about the Chateau. The entry room was completely filled
with deer antlers and stuffed animal heads to show all
the trophies of animals killed in hunting. The next room
had all sorts of antique furniture including a wig closet.
Many of the walls had nice oil paintings or murals or
even maps hanging or painted on the walls. The beds were
very short and it wasn’t because the people were short but
that they slept sitting up because of a fear of sleeping lying
down (in the “death??? position). This Chateau was a major
location used by the Huguenots in planning the war of
religion in the 18th century.

Our lunch menu was:

Dejeuner

Jambon en croute, sauce chablisienne
Ham on the bone in a pastry crust, chablisienne sauce

Salade de brocoli a la coriandre
Broccoli salad with coriander

Salade de riz au thon et au mais
Rice and tuna salad with corn

Salade de tomates aux herbes
Tomato salad with herbs

Salade et plateau de fromages
Salad and cheese platter

Cafe au bar
Coffee at the bar

Sauvignon
Cotes du Rhone

Dinner Menu

Dîner

Feuilleté d’excargots a ka crème d’ail
Snails with creamy garlic sauce

Gigot d’agneau, ratatouille
Gigot of lamb with ratatouille

Salade et plateau de fromages
Salad and cheese platter

Clafoutis aux pommes
Apple clafoutis

Café au bar
Coffee at the bar

Muscadet
Côtes de Bourg

Breakfast is always buffet style

View of the Litote from the tow path (front view)

Getting ready to bike. Bikes and people are loaded and unloaded
while the barge is level with the side of the lock – i.e. the lock
is partially drained.

Lounging on the sun deck amidships on the Litote

Outside view of the Chateau de Tanlay

Barge Day 1
We slept in a little after our dinner last night.
We had breakfast with John and Ingrid at the Hotel
de Lutece. Packed and checked out at the last
possible minute (noon) and then took a taxi to the Hotel
Regina (of Bourne Identity fame) and checked in our
luggage for the bus ride at 2:15pm. Since it was only
12:40pm or so we scouted out the area for an
internet cafe but didn’t find one. Gary Carroll took
us to the best place for his new diet and we had
Coffee and creme brulee for lunch. We also picked up
some ham and cheese (Jambon and Fromage) sandwiched
for lunch on the bus. After checking everyone in
we were given a debriefing about the trip and got on
a small but comfortable bus (that would hold about
30) and headed south. It was about a 3 hour trip with
two 15 minute rest stops at roadside eateries. We
boarded the Barge Litote at the town of Tonnerre. We
found out we will be taking a much different route
than originally planned because the local area is
having a drought and the farmers have lobbied to use
some of the water that is in the canals where we had
planned to go and so we will be going more on the
river and less on the canals. We boarded, got a
debriefing on all the rules and regulations for the
boat, were introduced to the crew of 7 (one manager,
one pilot, one excursion bus driver, two stewardesses, one chef,
and one deckhand), got shown to our cabins (cozy), unpacked our
luggage, explored the boat, got settled in, had
dinner at 7:30 (excellent scorpion fish with all the
trimmings) and called it a night. John Jensen and
I walked down to the first lock and watched a small
houseboat go through it down river. It was interesting
to watch the process. The technology doesn’t look like
it has changed since the 1700s. We also looked for an
internet cafe or phone I could hook my computer to but
no luck. We found a pay phone but we would need an
acoustic coupler (which I don’t have). So you won’t
get this journal article for a day or two and I don’t know
when you will get the pictures. Will report as soon
as I can.
kws

Peter and Jo Mazula and John and Ingrid Jensen on the bus

View of the Northern Burgundy region from the bus

Table setting before dinner on the Litote (name of the barge)

John and Ingrid and Gary and Lucille Carroll at dinner on the Litote

Paris Day 3
Another day of perfect weather in Paris. The sun
was shining, the fall weather crisp and cool.
People are all bustling about and mostly happy.
We had another French breakfast at the hotel, did
some more shopping for dolls and watches, had a
great lunch on the I’lle St. Louis and then started
checking out where we were to eat tonight and where
some of the other couples are staying near the
Louvre. We found the hotel but not the restaurant.
We got caught up with John and Ingrid Jensen after
they checked into our hotel also. They had toured
Paris early in the week and then driven to Normandy
Beach and St. Malo and had a great time exploring
the area. By then it was time to have the taxi
driver find the Restaurant for us – which he did
with ease. It would have been an easy Metro ride
for us if we had just known where it was located.
Sixteen of us that will be on the barge trip out of
twenty gathered at 7:30pm at the L’Absinthe Restaurant
The food was great and the camaraderie barge ready.
Thanks to Peter and Jo Mazula for setting it up!
Afterwards Gary Galusha was the tour guide to get
us all back to the right Metro stop going back to
our hotels. It was John and Ingrid’s first Metro
experience – but now they are seasoned veterans.
Tomorrow will be day one of the Barge trip!
kws

One of the many sights in Paris

Decoration on a Metro entry

Part of the dinner group Janet Switzer, John and Ingrid Jensen, Terry and
Ginny Hackney

More of the dinner group Stephanie and John Dorie and Terry and Gary Galusha

The dinner group outside the restaurant.

Paris Day 2
Still adjusting to the time zone I guess. Paris
is in a one hour earlier time zone that London.
We had a “full French breakfast” at our hotel and
then went shopping at the Samaritane (one of the
local department stores). They have a Panorama
level that has a 360 view of downtown Paris that
we took some pictures from. After we checked out
the Grand baby department we had lunch there and
then headed towards the Opera on the Metro. We had
a little excitement when we were about to get
off the escalator at the Opera Metro stop when a
team of pickpockets picked us. Luckily it all
worked out ok. A guy in front of Janet dropped his
keys at the exit of the escalator and blocked our
path so we couldn’t get off. Another took my
billfold from my pocket, but I was able to grab
him, he dropped it, I picked it back up and we
left quickly. Nothing was taken and no one was
hurt. I will be more careful where I carry my
billfold in the future. We checked out Brentano’s
bookstore near the opera and a doll shop that we
had purchased a parisian doll 3 years ago and
then headed back to our hotel.
When we ate at our previous favorite restaurant
last night we met a couple from Park City Utah
that we spent most of the evening talking with.
They had recommended a restaurant nearby that they
felt was even better and so we decided to try
it tonight. It’s name is Le Maree Verte
at 9 Rue de Pontoise in District 5. Anyway we
met the same couple again tonight at that restaurant
and again spent most of the evening talking with
them. This was their last night in Paris on a 2
week trip and they are heading back to the US
tomorrow. Anyway we had an enjoyable evening
with them and found a great restaurant in the
process. John and Ingrid will be joining us
at our Hotel tomorrow night and the whole group
of 10 couples that are going on the barge together
will have dinner together tomorrow night.
After we get on the barge, I may not have good
phone access and may not be able to send daily
emails, but I hope to write them up and download
them when I do get access.
kws

Eiffel Tower in the background on the left and the Louve on the
right, from the top of the Samarataine Department Store

Flowers and Art Show near Tullieries

Notre Dame Cathedral from top of Samarataine Department Store

Sunset on our way to dinner on St. Germaine Ave.
The colors were more vivid than shown.

Pictures coming soon!

Paris Day 1
Today was a travel day. Breakfast at the Staunton Hotel
in London. Taxi to the Waterloo Rail station to get on
the Eurostar train to Paris. Under the Chunnel Tunnel.
It was a little disappointing because we were supposed to
be able to go 300km/hr in northern France, but due to
“technical difficulties” (never explained) we were limited
to 220km/hr about 130mphr instead of 180mph. We were
only 15 minutes late arriving so not sure how much we were
impacted. The ride was very smooth and fast. The service
was very good. The train cars were configured with half
the seats facing one way and half the other. Janet doesn’t
like to ride backwards and our assigned seats were in that
half of the car so we ended up not riding together. It
appeared that most of the other people preferred riding
forward also since the forward seats were all filled and
only half the backward facing seats were occupied.
After considering riding the Metro (subway in Paris) to
our hotel we decided to take a taxi since there were
a number of stairs to traverse and we had quite a bit of
luggage on rollers but it is hard to go up and down stairs
and through the security gates. (width issue).

We are checked into our hotel de Lutece on St. Louis en l’ile
(the island just north of Notre Dame) and have joined the
locals in wandering about the island looking at all the
little stores and their wares. We plan to dine tonight at
our favorite restaurant on the Island. We call it the
“moo cow” since it is entirely decorated with cows. I will
find out it’s real name for a future journal.

The weather here today was clear sunny and warm. There
is scattered rain in the forecast but the temperature is
actually warmer than in London. It is forecast to be in
the low 60s or higher for the next week with some scattered
rain. I see that Boulder is forecast to be nice through
Friday but then it is supposed to snow on Saturday!

If you want to see pictures later – I will put them
on www.kenswitzer.com (click on news)
More about Paris tomorrow!
kws

Night Picture of The Staunton Hotel – (if you look closely you can see
Janet peeking around a post)

Daytime picture of the Staunton Hotel in London

Picture of Northern French country side from Eurostar
reymatter

Picture of front of Hotel de Lutece in Paris.

London Day 3
Today we slept in a bit, got a late breakfast at the
hotel and headed to the TKTS booth to get some more
half-price play tickets. We had lunch near Piccadilly
Circus. We went back to the hotel for a power nap so
we would stay awake during the whole play. We decided
to see a comedy called “Stones in His Pockets” tonight.
There were two actors that played a total of 14 parts.
We thought they did an excellent job – even on the women’s
parts. Sometimes it was a little hard to understand them
since half the parts they played were Irishmen. We have
a list of other plays we want to see when we come back
to London. We relearned that matinees are usually on
Wednesdays or Thursdays and Saturdays. That way you
can see 2 plays in one day!

Tonight we had dinner at the Cafe Flo with a French
cuisine. (to get ready for France tomorrow). We will
be taking the Eurostar high speed train through the
Chunnel tomorrow and should be in Paris by 2:30pm. From
looking at ads in the Underground I now realize that it
would have been cheaper to fly. Oh well – people say
this is a do it at least once experience.

We have been reading more about the barge trip and now
realize that we don’t start in Paris. We will meet
at the Hotel Regina (It was featured in the Bourne
Identity – if you saw that movie) and then take a bus
to St. Florentin south of Paris, and then each day we
go to these successive towns, Tonnerre, Tanlay, Ancy le Franc,
Ravieres, Montbard. From Montbard we take a bus back
to Paris. As near as I can tell the rivers we will be
on are the Armance, Armacon, Brenne, and Yonne.
According to the literature these are all in the
Northern Burgundy section of France and just south of Paris.
Hope all is well with all of you!
kws

Since we had dinner at the Porterhouse last night we thought it
fitting to send a picture of Salisbury. Janet in front of Cafe Flo!

London Day 2
I am happy to report that I got my computer working shortly
after I sent yesterday’s email from an Internet Cafe. So you don’t
have to send email to my yahoo address unless something happens
again!

We had a great day today. The weather was wonderful and we
had a good time seeing the sights. After a “full English breakfast”
at the hotel we went shopping for a few things that we needed and
then went to the half price TKTS booth at Leicester Square. We
bought tickets to see the musical Chicago. We had lunch at Covent
Garden, made sure we knew where the theater for Chicago was
located, and then started looking for a restaurant we remembered
from 8 years ago when we were here. We never found it so we
settled on a restaurant called the “Porterhouse” (for the steak
we assume). Then I tried to download some pictures we had taken
and I realized that I had the wrong download cable. Luckily the
electronic store heaven of London is only 2 blocks away. So I
found the cable in the second store I tried. By then it was time
to go to dinner and the Theater.

Because the Underground (subway) is nearly ubiquitous in the
areas we want to go, we didn’t rent a car and are getting around
by a combination of Underground and walking.

We enjoyed the production of
Chicago. The actors and actresses were great and the dancing
marvelous. The energy level on stage was very high.
We are pretty much caught up on our sleep and feel our energy
level coming back too. I am enclosing a picture of a London
bus to prove that we are here! More tomorrow!
kws

We had very nice flights yesterday from Denver to
Chicago and then Chicago to London. Terry and Ginny
Hackney were on the same flights. We rode the subway
with them from Heathrow airport most of the way to our
Hotel. Their hotel was at an earlier stop than ours.
We have tried to adjust to the time zone change by
staying up on a normal daytime schedule, (even though
we didn’t get much sleep on the flight). We were able
to check into our Hotel about noon, and get a shower
and a change of clothes. We have ridden the
Underground(Subway) a number of times going various
places to try and familiarize ourselves with where
things are located. It is coming back to us, but we
are still feeling the effects of sleep deprivation.

I haven’t been able to get my computer to dial up the
local earthlink Internet provider. I will keep trying
but until further notice if you need to send me email
please copy my yahoo email address kws11111@yahoo.com
in addition to the regular email.
Hi from London!
kws

Three days in London on our way to Paris!