15 April - 3 May
I managed to get in contact with the elusive barge man William and have a catch up, he seems happy to share his barge with a "stranger" for 4 weeks. It was a little touch and go as he did request to meet my parents which I refused along with the request to see my passport. I'm his third visitor through the helpx programme and the first from New Zealand.
William owns and operates his own shipping company mainly from Paris to Picardie. His business is a little different as it is registered in Holland and operates in France so the boat flies under a Dutch flag (and if you are thinking it yes you are correct William is from the Netherlands but has been in France since 2001). His barge Ideaal is 39 meters long 5 meters wide is an original Dutch customers build peniche and made for the old French channels. (oh and the barge is a girl and we always refer to it as a she)
Fully loaded she can take up to 350 tonne and if loaded further we would be stuck on the bottom (which has happened twice on two separate occasions at locks. Luckily enough they were manned and after 15 minutes of trying to jimmy the barge they put some extra water through to help us get moving) Top speed when loaded is a whopping 8km/hr and in the really heavy parts of the river this can drop down to 5km/hr sometimes I feel we can walk faster and we are easily outstripped by anyone on a bicycle!
When in Paris the barge is moored near the train station Gare de Austerlitz on the south bank which is in the Latin Quarter this is great as there is easy access to the whole of the city. The Latin Quarter has a good feel, vibe, mixture of people and a quick 5 minute walk to the Notre Dame or local dance lesson on the Quai. I am often told I must profit of Paris so lots walks! I have been to some interesting places (as I like to try navigate without my map...) and spotted some very good tennis being played at the Luxembourg Palace Gardens. I found a neat little Irish pub run by our Australian cousins and had a brilliant night catching up on travellers gossip (how long they have been in Paris etc) chatting with a crazy American who followed a French girl to Paris and the staff introduced me to another kiwi. I even spotted some 5 kilo jars of Nutella but I don't think I will be rushing out to buy one any time soon.
My first trip away on the barge was to La Fere and return with 320T of specialised gravel. Total km's travelled 540km. Days away - departed Tuesday 17 at 1pm and return Sunday 22 at 4pm. The actual day we managed to get the barge unloaded Thursday 25th lunch time so unfortunately I did miss out on the ANZAC day commiserations. It seems that owning a barge business even with regular clients can be a issue and I do wonder at times how efficient things work.
The work load is not strenuous I drive every now and then depending on how William feels (biggest day driving was 40km), scrub the deck after loading and unloading which takes all of about 10 minutes and when you consider how often we load or unload its not really a issue. Look after the barge if he goes away for a evening, organise breakfast (jam on baguette), lunch (cheese or pate on baguette) a evening meal (lesson - do not cook potatoes be careful not to many vegetables and make sure there is at least one meat) and the last is to carry out any shopping that is required.
I have quite a nice posy in the drivers cabin where I can watch all that is going on and at the front of the boat when the weather is good. Yesterday I caught a little to much sun and have a touch of sunburn (which I didn't think was possible).
To be frankly honest with you I have struggled a little with this placement. Not that I'm being negative but I do find I have a lot of down time and William has a lot of nervous energy. Which I'm sure this is more to do with the 2 filter pots of coffee he drinks every morning and the stress of not knowing quite what is happening next. He is quite fluffy and has taken very well to the French's love of wine and I do have a problem with being asked to bring a beer, refill his wine glass or being encouraged to have a glass with him.
I managed to get in contact with the elusive barge man William and have a catch up, he seems happy to share his barge with a "stranger" for 4 weeks. It was a little touch and go as he did request to meet my parents which I refused along with the request to see my passport. I'm his third visitor through the helpx programme and the first from New Zealand.
William owns and operates his own shipping company mainly from Paris to Picardie. His business is a little different as it is registered in Holland and operates in France so the boat flies under a Dutch flag (and if you are thinking it yes you are correct William is from the Netherlands but has been in France since 2001). His barge Ideaal is 39 meters long 5 meters wide is an original Dutch customers build peniche and made for the old French channels. (oh and the barge is a girl and we always refer to it as a she)
Fully loaded she can take up to 350 tonne and if loaded further we would be stuck on the bottom (which has happened twice on two separate occasions at locks. Luckily enough they were manned and after 15 minutes of trying to jimmy the barge they put some extra water through to help us get moving) Top speed when loaded is a whopping 8km/hr and in the really heavy parts of the river this can drop down to 5km/hr sometimes I feel we can walk faster and we are easily outstripped by anyone on a bicycle!
When in Paris the barge is moored near the train station Gare de Austerlitz on the south bank which is in the Latin Quarter this is great as there is easy access to the whole of the city. The Latin Quarter has a good feel, vibe, mixture of people and a quick 5 minute walk to the Notre Dame or local dance lesson on the Quai. I am often told I must profit of Paris so lots walks! I have been to some interesting places (as I like to try navigate without my map...) and spotted some very good tennis being played at the Luxembourg Palace Gardens. I found a neat little Irish pub run by our Australian cousins and had a brilliant night catching up on travellers gossip (how long they have been in Paris etc) chatting with a crazy American who followed a French girl to Paris and the staff introduced me to another kiwi. I even spotted some 5 kilo jars of Nutella but I don't think I will be rushing out to buy one any time soon.
My first trip away on the barge was to La Fere and return with 320T of specialised gravel. Total km's travelled 540km. Days away - departed Tuesday 17 at 1pm and return Sunday 22 at 4pm. The actual day we managed to get the barge unloaded Thursday 25th lunch time so unfortunately I did miss out on the ANZAC day commiserations. It seems that owning a barge business even with regular clients can be a issue and I do wonder at times how efficient things work.
The work load is not strenuous I drive every now and then depending on how William feels (biggest day driving was 40km), scrub the deck after loading and unloading which takes all of about 10 minutes and when you consider how often we load or unload its not really a issue. Look after the barge if he goes away for a evening, organise breakfast (jam on baguette), lunch (cheese or pate on baguette) a evening meal (lesson - do not cook potatoes be careful not to many vegetables and make sure there is at least one meat) and the last is to carry out any shopping that is required.I have quite a nice posy in the drivers cabin where I can watch all that is going on and at the front of the boat when the weather is good. Yesterday I caught a little to much sun and have a touch of sunburn (which I didn't think was possible).
To be frankly honest with you I have struggled a little with this placement. Not that I'm being negative but I do find I have a lot of down time and William has a lot of nervous energy. Which I'm sure this is more to do with the 2 filter pots of coffee he drinks every morning and the stress of not knowing quite what is happening next. He is quite fluffy and has taken very well to the French's love of wine and I do have a problem with being asked to bring a beer, refill his wine glass or being encouraged to have a glass with him.
But don't worry out there! I do look after my self - I am leaving earlier than what was arranged cutting my stay short by 3 weeks (as the owner asked me to stay until the 20th). So grumble over because I have visited some very cool places. When ever we stop I always go out for a couple hours walk - In Appilly it was neat to be in a area which was so quiet that one of the locals had popped out with his daughter onto the road to have a game of tennis. I find a lot of the villages and towns to be similar with a town square, church, pub, and possibly a train station but they all have their own character. Auvers-sur-Oise is quite special as the town has a convenient which does not allow any aesthetic change to occur and is also where Van Gough spent time painting his 70 paintings in 70 days and where he died (35 minutes by train from Paris). Although I have had my ups and downs it has also been a privilege to spend time with this particular host , its not often that you can say you have driven a barge up the River Seine and past the Eiffel Tower.
Hope that you are all well and that your fire wood is all in ready for the winter!
Gabrielle
Hope that you are all well and that your fire wood is all in ready for the winter!
Gabrielle
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| The bells at the Hotel De Ville - Compiegne |
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| Cruising past the Notre Dame Cathedral |
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| Fully loaded |
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