Low Bridge, Everybody Down: Barging in Europe: Le Creusot, Montceau Les Mines, Chateau de Gremolles, Chateau de la Verrier, France

Enjoying lunch on deck with Edy and Sal

We schedule our Rabelo guests normally two years in advance. Unfortunately we all know about the best laid plans. Our dear friends Fran and Ed had to cancel the night before flying to Europe. We were still fortunate enough to have Sal and Edy join us. Our goal was to introduce them to a part of France beyond Paris and the big museums everyone visits. Barging is about peaceful canals and quaint little towns and villages. It is also about drinking wonderful wines, feasting on the many cheeses and overdoing the breads and pastries.

Someone got creative and used a Scania truck cab as a pilot house for a barge.

When Edy and Sal arrived we started with a proper french Miller reception along with a bottle of champagne. It's what we call grazing...cheeses, pate's vegetables, salads, and more.

Sunday morning it was time to go sightseeing. Having gotten off to a slow start, when we arrived in Le Creusot we wanted lunch. The problem is that in France very little is open on Sunday. This town was no exception. We found a couple of places that were open but either full, or about to close. The only place we could go that was open was a Chinese buffet. Honestly, how could we take our friends out for Chinese food their first day in France?!? We don't even eat Chinese food at home. It was embarrassing. But we were hungry and decided to make the best of the situation. The food wound up being good, plentiful, and fresh.

Edy showing off her first course at the Chinese restaurant we went to for Sunday lunch.

Sal looks like he is trying to decide where to begin his meal

An option was stir fry. Pick your vegetables, fish, meats and have it cooked to order.

A small sample of the Chinese buffet

In Montceau Les Mines is a church which had a beautiful display of priests robes, an Ostensorium plus various other religious objects.

Montceau-les-Mines church displayed a Ostensorium (also known as a monstrance) is the vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic and Angelican churches for the more convenient exhibition of some object of piety

One of the beautiful robes on display

The stained glass windows were modern. This one looked to me like a patchwork quilt.

Another lovely stained glass window

While walking around the town we found a Russian shop with this in the window. How about a shot of vodka?

Chateau de la Verrerie

Always searching for new things to see we took Sal and Edy to The Chateau de la Verrerie in Le Creusot. It was originally a crystal factory in Sevres, which was transferred to Le Creusot in 1784 because it was closer to where they could obtain coal. In 1833 Baccarat bought the factory but never operated it. Eventually it was sold to the Schneider family who made it into their home. Various foreign heads of state visited the chateau while it was the Schneider home. Unfortunately during the Second World War it suffered significant damage during the German occupation and the Allied bombing. In 1969 the city of Le Creusot bought the chateau and its park and turned it into a museum.

At Chateau de la Verrerie in Montcenis the old furnaces for making glass were left standing.

Chateau de la Verrerie

The chateau which was originally a glass factory but is now a museum had a beautiful display of the crystal they once made.

Another example of what was once made here.

A drawing of the factory in its day.

One of the rooms showing the furniture of when the Schneider family lived there.

We wanted to give Edy and Sal the complete barging experience which includes a walk in the country.

We took Edy and Sal for a walk and introduced them to the beautiful Charolais cows of France.

Fishing is a popular pastime in France.

Chateau de Germolles

In 1380 Phillip the Bold gave to his wife, Margaret of Flanders the stronghold of Germolles. She transformed it into a luxurious and rustic home. It is the only palatial and princely residence of that time in France but also the only country estate of the Dukes of Burgundy that has been preserved so extensively. We were fortunate enough to be given a tour by one of the owners. We viewed the entrance towers, the chapel, the XIII Century storeroom, the ducal family's living environment in the cloakroom of Marguerite de Baviere with XIV Century mural paintings. It isn’t far from Beaune and Chalon-sur-Saone.

Chateau de Germolles two entrance towers

The owner of Chateau de Germolles showing us the storeroom. When his family purchased the chateau this storeroom was filled with rubbel. He gave us a wonderful tour of his family home.