Canal Cruising

With another suggestion from Michele we made reservations for the Canauxrama canal cruise.  There were several to choose from and we selected the two and a half hour cruise on the Saint Martin canal that departed at 9:45am.  The Saint Martin canal connects the Seine with the canal de l'Ourcq in far Northeast Paris.  Per Tom's usual punctuality we were there in plenty of time, so we strolled around the park a bit.

                                     

When we got back to the kiosk the passengers were queuing up for their tickets, so we did too.  After securing our tickets, we boarded the boat and took our seats on top.  Promptly at 9:45 we shoved off from the Port de L'Arsenal at the Place de la Bastille.

Napoleon  commissioned the canals to bring more water into the city.  He hoped it would make the people of Paris like him better.  The first part of the trip was a tunnel under the streets of Paris, called the "vault of the Bastille".  It was dark, but not too creepy because there were openings in the tunnel up to the street above, called lanterns, for light and ventilation.  The lanterns date back to the days before there was electricity and the boats had no engines.  They are about 6 feet in diameter, about 6 feet from the top of the tunnel to street level and covered by grates at street level.    There are 37 in all in this 2km tunnel.  I was surprised that it didn't even smell bad.

When we emerged from the tunnel we were at street level.

Because we were on a canal we went through locks to adjust to the level of the water.  That was fascinating.  There were four sets of double locks where the boat had to rise 3 meters (over 9 feet) in each lock to reach the next water level.  That's about 78 feet over the total length of the canal.  It took about 10 to 15 minutes for each lock to fill with water and for the  boat to rise.  People on the  banks stopped along the way to watch the process.

We went through several swinging bridges where the traffic was stopped and the bridge opened for us to pass.  On the bridge shown below the entire road opened for passage.

We had narration in French and English.  Our narrator pointed out interesting and historic sites along the way.

Towards the end of the trip we passed through a hydraulic bridge where the entire bridge lifted up to allow us to pass.

On the other side of the bridge was Parc de la Villette.  It's one of the largest and most popular in Paris. There were some interesting things going on in the park.There was a wooden sculpture that continues to be a work in progress because anyone can add a board to it.

There was a giant dome that housed an in-the-round 360 degree movie theater.

During the cruise Tom & I both spotted a seafood restaurant,  LUNCH!  It looked really nice and it was.  We shared an appetizer plate for two, Tom had fish soup and I had grilled sardines.  Check out our dessert.

Dinner will be a cracker and water.