Today is the last day of our Seine river cruise through Normandy. But what if I’m not ready to get off the boat? I might not be ready to give up sitting on our French balcony, refreshment in hand, watching the lush Norman landscape slip lazily by. Oh well. Ready or not, it’s almost time to move on.
Life on the River
Life on board the Amalyra is easy to get used to. Every day when we get up in the morning and open the curtains, we gaze out at scenery we’ve never scene before. I like to wake up early, get a mug of coffee, and take it upstairs to the top deck to check out our new surroundings.
The chilly morning air helps me wake up. There’ll be a few people up there doing their morning exercises or running laps on the track. That’s not a problem, though. All that huffing and puffing doesn’t bother me much. Besides, it’s good for ’em!
After coffee, we have breakfast in the dining room. Breakfast can be tricky. There are way too many good choices and no limits. I could have ten of everything if I wanted to. (And one morning I think I saw a guy who did).
At some point after breakfast, we’ll get off the boat and go do something. We might go on a tour with a guide, or just take off on our own to explore the town where we’re docked. This morning we went with a guide to Auvers-sur-Oise and learned all about Vincent van Gogh. We were back at the boat in time for lunch.
Lunch, like breakfast, can be tricky. Dangerous, even. Once again, there are too many good choices – different ones every day – and no limits. Plus, at lunch, desserts are available. A person could commit acts of extreme gluttony at lunch if there was no “adult supervision” to keep them in line.
Time to Move
At 2:00, the captain raised the anchor and we started moving. Next time we stop, we’ll be in Paris. The only way we can tell we’re no longer docked is by the changing scenery. If we’re on the top deck, there’ll be a breeze, but there aren’t many other tell-tale signs of movement. We just start silently whooshing along.
Cruising on a river is the life, at least when you’re not working at the time. It’s great to watch the scenery go by, especially in Normandy, but I’m just as interested in what’s happening on the river itself.
Rivers are a kind of world unto themselves. There’s so much commerce that happens on rivers, and river traffic is so interesting. What kind of boat is that? Where’s that gigantic barge headed, and what’s inside? Just about everything on the river is in motion. Everyone except us is at work, doing their part to make the economy in this part of the world tick.
Something for the Engineers
Everything’s in motion, that is, until it’s time to go through a lock. Thanks to the six locks between Paris and Le Havre, the Seine is manageable and navigable for most ships. (The really big ships can only go as far in as Rouen).
When we come to a lock, we might have to wait our turn to enter. When it’s our turn, the gates open up and the captain guides us carefully into the narrow lock. Then the huge cement doors of the gate behind us swing slowly into the closed position. We’re in.
When Heading upriver toward Paris, we come in at the lowest water level of the lock, we might be 30 or 40 feet down inside the narrow space. Concrete walls loom straight up, just inches from the boat. It’s spooky down there, especially at night.
After the gate has closed behind us, the lock operator pumps in water until we’ve risen to the water level on the other side of the lock. The big doors swing open and we’re on our way.
Approaching Paris
As we get closer to Paris, river traffic picks up. We pass through “industrial Paris” first. It’s all business in this area. Barges and ships are being loaded and unloaded everywhere. Action along the riverbanks has picked up, too. It’s been a week since we’ve seen so many cars, trucks, and trains whizzing around.
We docked for the last time around dinnertime. After dinner, just so everyone could have a good photo op, the captain took the boat out into the middle of the river, where we had a clear view of the Eiffel Tower. Every night on the hour, the Eiffel tower lights up with sparkling lights for five minutes. Nice.
But is that the Statue of Liberty I see in the foreground? It is! It’s a smaller version of the original in New York Harbor. France gave that one to the United States in 1886 to commemorate the France/U.S. alliance the the Revolutionary War. This one was given to France by the American community in Paris in 1889, to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution. Both nations were born out of revolutions for liberty, so why not?
Nightcap
Afterwards, when everyone else went off to their rooms to pack, we went to the lounge to spend some time with the ship’s one-man band. We love this guy. He played piano, guitar, and sang in the lounge every night. I don’t think there’s a song he doesn’t know. We’ll miss him.
Tomorrow morning we’ll disembark, then take a taxi to Charles de Gaulle airport. But it’s not time to go home yet. Instead, we’re going to make the short hop to Dublin, Ireland. We probably won’t be having any calvados there, but I heard they have something called “Guinness” that might be pretty tasty!
To be continued…
