Briare is a small town, but beautiful with plenty of things to see. It is located on the right bank of the Loire River with many small canals surrounding the city and a marina in the center of town. Flower planters bursting with color have been placed on all the bridges and even the lock doors were decorated. The church was unique in that the entire floor was covered in mosaic murals with tiles from the local ceramics factory.
“Lots of flowers along one of Briare’s small canals.”
“A small canal in Briare.”
“A mosaic on the church floor.”
“A lone sailboat on the Loire River.”
Just across the canal from where we were parked someone decided to launch a couple of river barges. They are small flat-bottomed vessels best suited for the Loire River with its many treacherous shallows. The action got a little exciting when the crane operator didn’t notice the light post in the way. Oh well, it was just one light post.
“Hey, watch out for that light post.”
After a couple of days in Briare we continued our journey down the Canal de Briare towards Paris. Currently our next thoroughfare the Canal du Loing, and the Seine River are both closed until the end of the month. So long as they open on schedule we should be able to meet our friends Marty and Sara in Compiegne as promised. It will be tight, but I think we can do it. My only concern is we’re in France. Oh well, if they’re late we’ll just have to drink more wine and eat more cheese. Now where was that warm baguette we just bought?
Our next stop was Rogny-des-Sept-Ecluses (Rogny with seven locks). Walking down the main street I commented to Lisa that if this street were in the U.S. we would consider it grungy, but in France they manage to pull it off as quaint. Then I started to notice the dates on some of the homes. The first was 1773 or three years before the founding of our nation. Then there was 1781 and finally 1585 almost 200 years before our nation was founded. I suppose the town as earned the right to look a little tired. It’s been standing a long time.
“A tired home on the main street of Rogny-les-Sept-Ecluses. The date on the home reads 1585.”
“You know your house is old when the front door was designed for people under five feet.”
“The abandoned seven ecluses.”
Construction of the seven locks in Rognystarted in 1605 by order of King Henry the IV. They have since been abandoned and replaced by six larger locks. The Canal de Briare has been one of the most beautiful canals we’ve seen. Then again all of the canals we’ve been on this year were beautiful. I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record, or for those of you from the digital age how about a twisted tweet?
“Lisa finds a hungry friend.”
“Picking apples along the canal.”
“The Canal de Briare.”
-Tom Miller
Author of “The Wave” – a Chuck Palmer Adventure novel
NOV
About the Author:
Tom Miller graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science in Geology. He is a consummate adventurer with over 1,000 dives as a recreational scuba diver, and an avid sailor who has traveled 65,000 miles throughout the Pacific including the Hawaiian Islands. Miller has also cruised the canals of Europe on his canal barge and given numerous lectures on cruising the canals of Europe, as well as sailing in the South Pacific. Piloting is also an interest of Miller's, and He has completed over 1,000 hours flying everything from small Cessnas to Lear jets.