By Norma Hopcraft
On my recent adventure to Paris this summer, I found myself gravitating toward the Seine.
To me, it's the most fascinating aspect of Paris--flowing through the city with its abundance of
péniches.
These are barges. Some are work barges--family businesses carting coal and many other products around the canals and rivers of France.
Some were converted to pleasure craft. Families live on them and cruise the canals and rivers of France for fun. Or they tie up in Paris (with permission of the authorities) and live within walking distance of Le Louvre and the many other treasures of Paris.
The canals and rivers of France offer a pleasure-boater 5,000 kilometers to explore. In France, it's known as the patrimoine fluvial, or the fluvial heritage--an incredible gift from past generations, who dug the canals and connected the rivers. You can wind past ancient stone villages, through cities, past quiet fields of wheat or cows. My friend Cris Hammond did this -- please see the link at the bottom.
The
péniches that are converted look absolutely delightful. I've been welcomed on board two of them, and that experience is part of my novel, The Paris Writers Circle. I'll show you some incredible péniches, below.
I couldn't get the whole boat into the picture! But you can see it has a gangplank (in the center; it's raised) and bikes on the deck. Under the deck -- cabins! I'd love to be living in one of them!
Here's the other end of the barge. It has seating on the bow.
Here's the seating area -- curved wicker chairs. Can you imagine the wonderfulness of sitting out there, watching Seine boat traffic go by, or tied up on a river or canal in the countryside, watching the sun go down behind an ancient church?
Bikes ready to explore Paris. I biked in Paris--once! Nearly killed myself.
Look at all the wires, cables, pulleys, winches.
The gangplank is raised, and iron bars hold the barge away from the embankment, meaning that this family and the things they have left on the deck are quite safe -- a floating island.
The masts have to be lowered to pass under bridges. These are the mechanics for doing that.
Here are the mast supports and stays (thin steel lines that run from the hull to the top of the mast).
Not easy to manage all this equipment.
This is the cabin, in the stern, where the captain operates the barge.
The barge is held off of the stone embankment by iron bars. The waters of the Seine are choppy with all the boat traffic making wakes, and without these iron bars, the hull would be damaged by the stones.
A view of the stern.
The gangway is huge!
Pont Neuf, "New Bridge," is in the background. It is now the oldest across the Seine, but it was new when it was built in 1578-1607.
The bridge is lined with gargoyles. They are 400 years old. Think of the generations that have walked across this bridge!
The gargoyles.
There's constant traffic under the bridge, not just boats but people walking and on bikes on the embankment.
Near Pont Neuf is Notre Dame, now shrouded in scaffolding. A symbol of resilience (my specialty). If you read my novels, you'll see my characters in all kinds of trouble -- most of that is from my own life!
This is the bow of a working barge. The boat is extremely long -- you'll see that over the next four pictures.
Here's more of the hull...
Still more of the hull...
Still more of the hull....
Still more of the hull...
And the cabin in the stern. Please note that there are curtains on the windows and a small life raft on the cabin roof. Some barges have cars on the roof (and a boom to lift them and swing them onto land). How about you? Would you like to travel around France on a barge? You can experience it vicariously by reading my friend Cris Hammond's humorous, delightful book about his first year doing exactly that! Read the first 3 chapters here: https://www.amazon.com/Here-Paris-laid-barge-France-ebook/dp/B00H055PNU/ Cris and I didn't talk about this--it's a surprise!
