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striped shirt! Then there is Seurat’s ‘Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte’ set on an island in the Seine with everyone formally attired with hats, parasols with dresses boasting some very impressive bustles. The Seine actually rises a long, long way southeast of Paris (it takes a good three hours flat out on motorways just to get there) in the commune of Source-Seine northwest of Dijon. The spring here is just a trickle, however there is an artificial grotto which includes a statue of a nymph, dog and naturally for good measure a dragon! Apparently on the same site are the buried remains of a Gallo-Roman temple (of course the Romans were here first!) while small statues of the ‘Seine Goddess’ and other votive offerings found here are now housed in the museum at Dijon. The name of the river actually comes from the Latin Sëquana, who was goddess of the river. As its path meanders seawards, it leaves the region of Burgundy and enters Champagne above Troyes while other rivers join along the way, perhaps the most well-known of these the Troyes Rouen Marne which joins just as it enters Paris! Troyes is a delightful medieval town awash with half-timbered buildings, the heart of the city coincidentally has the characteristic shape of a Champagne cork. Here there are narrow streets, grand 16th century mansions and beautiful churches. Les Andelys, near Giverny, Normandy Then the river winds onwards, past woods around Fontainebleau until it reaches Paris. Dividing the city in two, in fact it borders 10 of Paris’ 20 arrondissements and is the city’s chief commercial waterway. People are either on its Left or Right Bank. There are 37 bridges in Paris – the oldest being the Pont Neuf. One of the most popular bridge is the pedestrian Pont des Arts which was once smothered with locks attached by trysting lovers – by 2014 these had got so heavy part of the parapet collapsed so now lovers have to take a selfie instead, though it’s said if you kiss someone as you sail under the Pont Neuf – you are bound to return to Paris! There are floating restaurants, discos, expensive cafés and all sorts of wonderful places to explore along the banks in Paris. From Paris the river runs seawards in great loops through Normandy, past châteaux and Giverny where Claude Monet lived and gardened. Onwards it flows through a series of locks to the heart of Normandy and its capital, Rouen. It was here Joan of Arc met her sad end, and it’s said that what was left of her ashes were tipped into the Seine. The river passes through the ancient and truly charming town of Honfleur. Seated at a café 106 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 107
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