Briare is a lovely little village, with the magnificent Pont De Canal that goes across the River Loire, which we will cross tomorrow when we leave. The metal canal bridge was built with the help of Engineer, Gustav Eiffel, and is 662.69m long, the longest in Europe. It was built from 1890 to 1894 and opened in 1896, and is the most stunning piece of work with 2 beautiful columns at either side and lights all the way between.
We visited the Musee des Deux Marines which took us through the history of the River Loire, the Canal Bridge and the development around the waterways. It was very interesting, although all in French for some reason!
We cycled around, taking in the sights, especially the Saint-Etienne Church which was built between 1890-1895 in Roman Byzantine style. The front is decorated with enamels and the floor is entirely covered with symbolic designs made of mosaics. It is truly beautiful.
And you can all likely tell that I lifted all the above information from the tourist leaflets!
We ate out on Tuesday night at Le Bord’Eau, a very beautiful traditional French Restaurant, and we were so disappointed - The meal was very second rate and over-priced. We ordered starters of Salad with Snails, Prawns and Proscuitto/Smoked Duck, Prawns and Foie Gras - these were actually quite nice but the huge portions, served on a square glass dinner plates, would have fed a family of 6! The main courses of Scallops Provencale and Beef with Mushrooms were the most disappointing. The Scallops were tiny and the sauce overpowered them being too creamy and the fried potatoes they came with were so greasy, they were inedible. Jim’s Beef could have been used to sole his boots, so we picked at them for a while and then left most of it. The desserts were edible, but what could go wrong with vanilla ice cream and L’Ile Flotante!
Apart from that small hiccup, Briare was a smashing little place. The marina facilities are excellent, they pride themselves as a Blue Flag Marina which means they minimise waste and recycle what they can. And with a laverie just across the road from us, what more could you ask for! It’s amazing how simple things please you when you don’t have a washing machine on board!
We plan on leaving tomorrow morning, heading for Bellville and then on to Sancerre. There are only 5 locks between Briare and Sancerre, thank the lord, covering a total of 41 km. Bellville is half way there, so we will likely stop there for a night or so, and then continue.
We visited the Musee des Deux Marines which took us through the history of the River Loire, the Canal Bridge and the development around the waterways. It was very interesting, although all in French for some reason!
We cycled around, taking in the sights, especially the Saint-Etienne Church which was built between 1890-1895 in Roman Byzantine style. The front is decorated with enamels and the floor is entirely covered with symbolic designs made of mosaics. It is truly beautiful.
And you can all likely tell that I lifted all the above information from the tourist leaflets!
We ate out on Tuesday night at Le Bord’Eau, a very beautiful traditional French Restaurant, and we were so disappointed - The meal was very second rate and over-priced. We ordered starters of Salad with Snails, Prawns and Proscuitto/Smoked Duck, Prawns and Foie Gras - these were actually quite nice but the huge portions, served on a square glass dinner plates, would have fed a family of 6! The main courses of Scallops Provencale and Beef with Mushrooms were the most disappointing. The Scallops were tiny and the sauce overpowered them being too creamy and the fried potatoes they came with were so greasy, they were inedible. Jim’s Beef could have been used to sole his boots, so we picked at them for a while and then left most of it. The desserts were edible, but what could go wrong with vanilla ice cream and L’Ile Flotante!
Apart from that small hiccup, Briare was a smashing little place. The marina facilities are excellent, they pride themselves as a Blue Flag Marina which means they minimise waste and recycle what they can. And with a laverie just across the road from us, what more could you ask for! It’s amazing how simple things please you when you don’t have a washing machine on board!
We plan on leaving tomorrow morning, heading for Bellville and then on to Sancerre. There are only 5 locks between Briare and Sancerre, thank the lord, covering a total of 41 km. Bellville is half way there, so we will likely stop there for a night or so, and then continue.
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