Those Noisy Ducks

Nevers was a great town to visit with many tourist attractions.

Cathedrale Saint-Cyr-et Ste Julitte is a vast basilica with styles from the 10C to the 16C.  The exterior has pillars, flying buttresses and pinnacles. The Cathedrale was badly damaged in WWII and since then reconstructed.

The stained glass windows have been designed by 5 contemporary artists.  I was amazed at how modern and different each section of the stained glass windows were.

Another style.

Occasionally an old lock is abandoned.  What do you do with this now unused area?  Someone decided to turn this lock into 5 consecutive swimming pools, a jacuzzi and huge water slide. Unfortunately, there didn't appear to be the population or enough money to keep them going.

We made a brief stop in Merseilles-les-Aubigny.  We strolled the whole town, took pictures, ate pears off an old tree and it took all of 20 minutes.  There were a large number of old barges in various states of disrepair, or the beginnings of conversions into future homes such as ours.

 They had painted bicycles around the town.

I found these guys on the lawn by the canal.

We took the car off Rabelo in Merseilles to pick up my Aunt Mac in Paris.  She was patiently waiting in the lobby of a hotel.  We spent an hour driving in circles around Paris trying to find her.  That is the last time we drive in Paris!

Once we had Aunt Mac on board Rabelo it was time to make tracks.  We had the occasional delay.  A lock keeper was selling wine!  I had to buy some.  I wish I had bought more.  It was good.

Merseilles was so small there had been no place to buy a baguette.  We were out of bread.  Tragedy!  Look!  There is a boulangerie.  Pull over Tom!  I need to buy a baguette for lunch and maybe a little dessert to go with dinner.  I promise to hurry.

Le Pont Canal

 In order to enter the town of Briare we had to cross Le Pont Canal which is the longest bridge in Europe.  It is 2515 feet long.  This bridge took us over the Loire River.  It is made of metal and was designed with the help of Eiffel.  You may recognize the name from the Eiffel Tower.  He was a busy engineer.  It was built from 1890 to 1894 and was a major tourist attraction for the town of Briare.

I forgot to close the blinds in the boat.  People were peering in thru the windows to see what life was like inside Rabelo.

My 82 year old aunt climbed down the ladder in order to walk across the bridge and take pictures.  The tourists were very impressed with her and she got a lot of thumbs up.  She had us impressed as well.

Saint-Etienne Church

Saint-Etienne Church is a dominant sight throughout the town.  It was built between 1890 and 1895 after 30 years of discussions.  The style is romanesque-byzantine.   All around the church both inside and out are friezes of mosaics representing flowers, and swirls symbolizing the Loire and the canals.  The town has been making mosaics and enamels since 1851 when the factory was founded.

An example of the outside mosaic.

A small portion of the floor inside showing the flowers and water.  the entire floor inside is covered with mosaics.

 Once we were tied up in Briare it was time to go sight seeing.  There are still so many chateau to visit.  We decided to see La Busserie, Le Chateau des Pecheurs.

This castle has been continuously inhabited for the past eight centuries.  The castle has a unique collection of fishing artifacts.

This is a taste of how they live.

The best part of the chateau were the gardens which occupy 3.7 acres!  It was intended to feed a household of about 50 people.  I got to pick tomatoes for dinner (and the price was very reasonable).  I had never seen gourds and watermelons growing on trellises.

We also picked raspberries which I used to make preserves.

 I found this guy outside the chateau.

Briare is a charming town with artwork and flowers everywhere.

It is very picturesque.