Up the Marne River

Our route after leaving Paris took us up the Marne River, retracing our steps from last year, though in the oposite direction. At first we found the Marne current very strong and had to keep a sharp eye out for large logs and branches and even whole trees being washed down after the recent heavy rains. As the days went past with little extra rain the current slackened and there was less debris.The River Marne

We again enjoyed the town of Lagny with its excellent market. David rode to Louis Braille's house at Coupvray from Lagny. It looked to be a straightforward ride along the canal but ended up as quite an adventure on difficult paths. The story of his (Braille's) life was an inspiration. We won't repeat it here because you can find it in many other places. The museum curator was a total expert on Braille, his family and his life plus life at the time. He told me (Dave) about Black Brie (Brie Noir) and we were able to taste and buy some at the Jouarre Affineur.

We had hoped to stop nearby on the canal the next day so that the rest of us could visit but in the event, as so often happens, the timing was wrong and we missed out.

Next was Meaux where getting into the port de plaisance was quite difficult across the strong current and blown also by the wind. This had been one of the spots where David knew that the bow thruster would be missed and so it proved, but after a couple of attempts to come into the quay, we were finally successful and appreciated the presence of others who were ready to take our lines.
  Sunset at Meaux
Here we were in Brie and our visitors were very keen to visit the dairy where Brie de Meaux is made. We discovered that it would be possible to visit for a tour in English only on Saturday afternoon at 4.30pm. For once we were in the right place (almost) at the right time, the catch being that Meaux cheese is actually made in Jouarre, 40 kilometres away. It was possible to get to Jouarre by train and reach the Cave after a 3.3km uphill walk. The men in the party took off to do this and enjoyed the chance to hear the story of the cheese's production, see the storage and finally taste the many varieties available. They arrived back at Anja carrying a huge wheel of Brie de Meaux cheese which we have been working through ever since.

Affination of Brie (5,000 per annum)

Another daughter joined the crew along the way, en route from Croatia to Guernsey, and soon with a very full barge we were in Champagne territory. Again our visitors were very keen to sample the local product but we were reminded of the difficulties of touring in May- there are so many public holidays. We had already had May Day (May 1) and Liberation Day (May 8) and now (May 17) it was Ascension Thursday, a date which changes every year as it is tied to Easter. Chateau Thierry promised "Magnificent Cellars set in a medieval quarry" but the English language tour would not be conducted on Ascension Thursday or on the next day which also seems to take on the status of a holiday, even in train timetables.

When we pulled up at the town of Chateau Thierry, we were rather surprised to see that a circus was in town and right next to the barge were giraffes, llamas, donkeys and plenty of other animals. We stayed there for a while so that the baby could visit the animals but then moved further upriver where it was quieter.

Chateau Thierry

So we moved on to Dormans to find that the tiny village of Vincelles, only two kilometres away, offered several Caves which met our needs and provided us with Champagne to go with our Brie de Meaux.

The Halte at Dormans is very pleasant, adjacent to a camping area with play equipment, a mini golf course and several petanque courses. Our petanque set had a good workout. Dormans also has a train station which allowed us to farewell two of our guests. One of our daughters and our  granddaughter will continue with us for another week.

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

 First of the spring cygnets at Dormans