Day's Progress: 12 kms : 2 locks (Total 502 kms : 216 locks)
It was a really easy bit of travelling today – we went through 2 large locks and were the only ones in the
m which makes it easy and quick. There was very little traffic on the river – we saw one pleasure boat and one commercial barge. This river is not as wide as the Sienne but still quite wide and flowing strongly. We saw this beautiful old part of a bridge. There are large logs floating in the river or stuck on sand banks near the edge. The river charts tell you which side you should be on – and also there are signs if there are sandbanks or other dangerous spots on the river. Because there are a lot of small settlements and houses along the river you don’t feel so isolated here. There are lots of small jetties sticking out into the river – probably about 3m x 3m and they have a registration number stuck on them – for example S1023. People own these and pay a fee to have the jetty there – some are quite elaborate and others very basic. I guess they are used for the national pastime - fishing!
We stopped at a wonderful old manor house (similar to the old house in Seychelles) that has been turned into a hotel, restaurant and wedding venue.It is right on the river bank at a place called Villenvotte. We moored the boat in front of the hotel up against the garden railings. Whilst Steve was securing the ropes I swiped some sprigs of lavender from the enormous bushes next to the railings and replaced some of my flowers that I had picked alongside the rivers and canals along the way. The Bergamont I was given by the lockkeeper in the first week was sprouting roots and still looking very good after all this time.
Lunch was good – I had a fish called Bar which has a strong flavour rather like sardines. It was served with a béarnaise sauce and olives. For a starter I had a green salad with carrot and tomato, lots of pine nuts and a good balsamic dressing. The old house was beautifully decorated in the “old style” and looked very plush. The gardens well kept and lots of flowers. There is a small hall next to house where they have weddings and other events – life size horse and carriage in the garden – presumably to make nice bridal photos?
Late in the afternoon we moored in Sens where we would spend the night – it is a very old town dating back to the 11th century. This is the most spectacular place – lovely! It is beautiful and has a magnificent cathedral – really the best! There is a huge organ in the church and incredible stain glass windows. Restoration work is being done on the steeple which is incredibly high. The buildings next to the cathedral, part of which is now a museum 
has beautifully patterned and coloured glossy ceramic roof tiles (similar to the ones in Beaune). The town sits on top of a hill so the walk up steep streets was interesting – the main street up is a pedestrian street, very narrow and interesting shops on either side. Lots of tourists in this town. The town square has lots of restaurants and all look onto the beautiful cathedral – wonderful old buildings – some very long and narrow. In this part of the town the streets are very narrow and are either pedestrian and bicycle streets or one way – all cobbled and definitely no parking. This is such a pleasant place – lots of people and children around.It is hot and we decided to have a cheese dinner on board.
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