Faire le Pont and Fast Water

We're still not quite sure when we'll be casting off the lines and departing Auxerre. Our exterior canvas window coverings are done and in hand, although we still have to install snaps around the windows and need to buy some screws to do that.  We've also been given some hope that the new power inverter that we want to install (which changes DC power from our batteries into AC power that we can use to operate various electrical devices on the boat when we're not plugged into shore power or running the generator) can be obtained for us by next week and possibly installed by the end of the week. 

In both cases, the completion of the projects has been slowed by the number of public holidays that have occurred since we've been here. May is a month that is full of holidays in France, and this year May has four holidays: Labor Day (May 1), Victory in Europe Day (May 8), Ascension Day (May 9), and Whit Monday (May 20, the day after Pentecost). Everything is pretty much shut down on May 1, and while some businesses (mostly retail and restaurants) might be open on the other holidays, many other businesses are closed. When a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, one must be prepared for the "faire le pont" ("make the bridge") phenomenon, whereby many individuals--and oftentimes the businesses that they work for--take a day off on the Monday or Friday between the holiday and weekend, thus giving themselves a long weekend at very little expense to their personal vacation days. The business closures over the last couple of weeks have made it difficult for us to get both information and parts for our projects.

We're hoping that the full work week coming up will allow us to do everything that needs doing and that maybe, just maybe, we can be cruising by next weekend. Of course, the weather may have something to say about that. Even without project delays due to the holidays, the water conditions in the last week would have made it inadvisable to be out cruising. Last weekend it rained heavily. As a result, the Nivernais Canal just to the south of our mooring was closed over the last several days due to high water, and the water in the Yonne River (on which we are moored) was high and running fast. Everyone here in the port stayed put for a few days to let things settle down. It was only on Saturday the 11th that the current slowed and several boats left.

The second lock north of Auxerre. At mid-week, the Yonne was 
nearly at the top of the lock gate on the upstream end.

The downstream end of that same lock was more dramatic. Water was flowing fast and full
from the lock weirs. It would have made for a turbulent exit from the lock.

Finally, sunshine in Auxerre! The water looks deceptively calm, but the ripples are indicative of
the 6-7 km per hour current, which is nearly as fast as our typical cruising speed.

Standing water in a local park from last weekend's rain.

We've taken advantage of our current "relaxed" schedule to do a couple of new-for-us-in-Auxerre activities. Last year, we watched the comings and goings on the barge parked across the river from us that was being used as a bar and music venue. On this past Wednesday we finally got a look inside, attending an "open jazz" evening there with boating neighbors.

The barge on the Yonne is owned and operated by a lovely French woman named "Mathilde".

Local musicians clamored to demonstrate their jazz skills before an appreciative audience. I have
to admit that I'm not a big fan of "traditional" jazz, with its sequential solos and 50's "hipster" vibe,
but there were some talented musicians (the harmonica player particularly so). 

We also finally got to the large Auxerre covered market. Food is such an integral part of French culture that I sometimes wish--especially when I see the bounty and variety available at local markets--that I was more of a cook and that Lon and I were more adventurous eaters. But I am not, and we are not, and so we will leave the "exotic" produce and the cheeses and the seafood and the sausages and the meats and most of the prepared "goodies" to those that are.

My one purchase of the day was fresh strawberries. SO tasty and sweet, and nothing like
the huge "strawberries on steroids" with no flavor that are the usual fare in our U.S. supermarkets.

  

I'm tempted by the fish, but alas, Lon is not.

A further "silver lining" to our delayed departure is that it is giving my hand fractures more time to complete their healing. It's been a slow process to get the flexibility back, and the hand and fingers still have a tendency to swell a little at times. The good news, however, is that I've been able to get back to playing the flute and it's going pretty well. 

Art with the Masses

Thursday, May 2, was field trip day for us. In early April, Lon saw a story on the internet about a special exhibition on Impressionism that was being presented this year at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. As we're big fans of Impressionistic art, and we knew that a break from boat preparation would be welcome during these first days in Auxerre, we booked a reserved time slot for museum entry on May 2nd.  An early morning train from Auxerre to the Gare de Bercy in Paris got us to the city in plenty of time. 

The Musee d'Orsay holds the largest collection of Impressionist (think Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Sisley, etc.) and post-Impressionist (think Gauguin, Cezanne, van Gogh, Seurat) masterpieces in the world, housed in a former Beaux-arts railway station of 1900, the Gare d'Orsay.

The Musee d'Orsay, as viewed in 2017 while taking an evening tourist cruise on the Seine. 

The special exhibition, "Paris 1874, Inventing Impressionism", marks the 150th anniversary of the first exhibition in Paris of what came to be known as Impressionism. At the time, the "Salon" in Paris was the most prestigious exhibition for artists. The works selected by Salon juries for exhibition usually conformed to the traditionally accepted art techniques of the day, with highly structured realism and an emphasis on religious, mythological, and historical subjects. Impressionist paintings--with their focus on the effects of light and achieving the definition of objects by changing color hues (rather than using black)--were viewed by most critics as shapeless, formless, or unfinished, and were rarely selected for display at the Salon. As a result, in defiance of the "official" art world, 31 artists came together to create the first of what would ultimately be eight exhibitions with works of art from the nascent Impressionist movement.

This year's special exhibition at the Musee d'Orsay included a number of works that were displayed at that first Impressionist exhibition and contrasted them with paintings and sculptures that were part of the official Salon of that same year. It was interesting stuff, but the crush of people made it impossible to easily view the different works of art, much less be able to attain anything close to a state of "contemplation." We had hoped that timed entries would mitigate overcrowding overall in the museum, but that was not the case.

Our first "hint" of what was to come. At least we were in the "timed entry" line, and were able
to get into the museum at 11 a.m. as scheduled. The line for "walk-up" tickets stretched for blocks. And this isn't even tourist high season yet. Definitely a different experience from our first Orsay experience in 2012.

You might think, "the crowd's not so bad, you can actually see some
of the floor." You would be wrong.

When we finished up with the special exhibition we spent a little time among the permanent collection. Some rooms were crowded, some not so much, but we were fast approaching the 2-hour mark at the museum, which is about our limit for a museum visit.

There's a nice view over the Seine from backside of one
of the clocks in the building.

I never knew that Monet had done a painting of turkeys.
I think, though, that it's probably for the best that he fixated on
water lilies for the bulk of his painting in later life.

The Salon de Fetes was a space done up in the best
French tradition of "you can never have too much gold."

The museum interior is beautiful, a work of art as much
as the masterpieces it contains.

A courtroom artist's sketch of former President
Trump. No, wait, it's a van Gogh.

Lunch would have been nice, but the cafe was a bit
overcrowded as well. Loved the lamps, though.

When we finally made our exit from the museum, we decided to get out of the main tourist zone and its (probably) over-priced restaurants. We headed over to the Port de Arsenal (our boat's "home" for 3 weeks last June) for a nostalgic visit and a quick bite to eat at a nearby bistro before catching a mid-afternoon train back to Auxerre.

This "Wojo" sign at the Accor Arena caught our eye on
our walk to Gare de Bercy. In this case, it's not Lon's
old nickname, but a company that specializes in coworking
and flexible workspaces.