To us, the Seine had always been a busy, commercial waterway. It was a way to get from Point A to Point B. Not a place to linger. And then we discovered Samois-sur-Seine. Tucked behind an island on the Seine and out of the path of those 185-metre long barges, it was the perfect place to break up our journey to Paris.
It quickly became a contender in our “How close to a restaurant can we moor?” competition.
Well nourished from lunch, we set off on our bikes for Château de Fontainebleau – a half-hour (and mostly uphill) ride.
Château de Fontainebleau was built in the 12th century and lived in continuously until the fall of Napoleon III in 1870.
To help visitors figure what is where, there’s a very detailed scale model. Almost as impressive as the grounds themselves.
I said ‘almost as impressive.’ It would be impossible to beat the real thing.
After seeing the Château, we hopped on our bikes and headed (mainly downhill) back to Samois-sur-Seine. And asked ourselves, “Do we want to eat dinner even closer to Aleau?” As you can see, we could have. But decided against it. We wanted to explore Samois-sur-Seine. Although it meant climbing a hill – again.
The Mairie was once again the star of the town.
Across from the Mairie, we found what appeared to be a very popular restaurant.
Restaurant L’Essentiel is Italian. So we ate Italian.
We took our time. By the time we finished eating, it was dark.
We headed home. Downhill.
As we walked, we heard voices – and splashes. We thought someone in a home nearby must have an outdoor swimming pool. Nope. A family was enjoying themselves in the lavoir. Built hundreds of years ago for washing clothes, it is still being used – but for a much more enjoyable purpose. Mother, father, and two children all hid as I took the shots. (If you zoom in real close, you can see their towels hanging on the railing.)
The next morning, it was time to leave this charming shelter from the Seine – although still actually on the Seine.
