This was always going to be a few days stay, as we'd heard what a lovely place it was, quite true. We had a nice mooring right in the centre of town, and quite free (of any services too!)
We were overlooked by a large block of rather expensive flats, each with their own balcony, and there we made friends with a remarkable person who was the first Mayor of the Centre of Paris, the 4th Arrondissemennt (that's the islands in the centre that include the one with Notre Dame on). He came to tea:
He has so many remarkable tales to tell, far beyond the scope of this blog. The Maquis (the French Resistance), meeting Charles de Gaulle, and many others. A lovely chap, and he lived in one of the amazing appartments overlooking us. I could have listened to him all day, and such wonderful French!
Compiegne is a beautiful place, here are some tasters:
What on earth is that monster doing?
Quaint carvings, probably restoration but still amazing. This little guy doesn't think he should be there at all!
There's an Imperial Palace too (in the background), very impressive but as usual utterly useless. Amazing car and carriage museum, but mostly unviewable due to a dangerous ceiling and much restoration in progress. The grounds are nice tho':
They have churches with amazing relics, one had dozens of bones etc. of ancient saints, as thus:
If you look hard you can see skulls and bones of old saints. I understood they'd been that way a while, so a mausoleum seems a cool idea. We had to move on however, but will be back.
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