Threat of Snow and a Day Out in the Country 11-21-15

I got up and saw that Paris had snow in the forecast for today, so I looked outside and saw the sun shining.  I went through a couple of minutes of trying to decide whether I would head down to a brocante in the 14th arr. or what I should do.  I had looked at my book, "An Hour From Paris" earlier in the week and really wanted to go to a town on the Seine at the confluence with the Oise River.  So I went back and forth for a little while and made a snap decision to go out to Conflans-St. Honorine. Since snow was forecast I dressed warmly and checked on the route then basically ran out the door. Of course those of you who really know me, know how half-assed I can really be.  I got to the elevator and realized that I forgot my glasses, so I had to go back to the apartment for my glasses. But no problem, I was able to get to the Metro and get over to Gare St. Lazare in good time to catch the next train out to the town.
The reason I wanted to go to this town today is that it is still a working port on the Seine and it is where many of the barges that we see in Paris moor when they need to stop sailing for whatever reason. So there are a fair number of barges that are moored on the quais next to the town.  Another draw for me was the presence of the Museum of Barging.  It's only open on Saturdays so this is the only day of the week one can get in.  Don't ask why I'd be interested in a barge museum, I have no idea, but I am.  So since it wasn't raining or snowing I thought, strike, while the iron is hot.
I got on the train and headed out, on the way there was a young woman with a baby who was begging and I told her no.  But as she headed back through, I had second thoughts, so I dug into my pocket to give her a little change.  Totally empty, as was my other pocket, I'd forgotten to take the stuff out of the pockets of the pants I wore yesterday and so had nothing except what was in my wallet.  Half-assed I tell you.  Too late to turn back so I kept on and got out at Conflans-St. Honorine and started to follow the instructions in the book.  So I walked through the town and got down to the river where there were a number of barges moored, very cool.   I wanted to take pics since the light was good and even though it was cold it was dry.  Got the camera out and went to take the first pic, 3% battery left, and of course my backup battery was in the bag I carry every day and not in the pack that I carried for today to bring weather gear along.  So I knew I'd have to be pretty careful about what photos I captured.

It also made me decide that I needed to go to the museum immediately since I wanted to get some pictures there before I lost all battery power.  Also since it was inside I figured that the battery would be less stressed in the warm environment and I might get more pictures.  At least that worked.  I really enjoyed the museum, it's quite small but it has so many interesting displays.  Did you know that at one point in the mid-19th century the French laid chains at the bottom of many canals and rivers which they then used as the anchor points for specialized boats that would pull the freight barges up river using the chains.  Where the canals were too small or there was too little traffic they would still use horses or mules.
I loved this little museum, so quirky and really dedicated to this aspect of French life for the last 300 years.
Also in the town is a barge that has been converted to a floating chapel to provide the barge people with a church, it's permanently moored and active in it's ministrations to them.
The other part of the visit itinerary had a number of walks along the river to other little towns close by, so I picked one which featured lunch at an auberge where you have to ring a bell and since it is on a little island in the middle of the Seine they pick you up in a motorboat and take you across.  So I walked about 4 kilometers over to this little town, which ended up being quite a nice walk.  The area was definitely prosperous as there were a number of large houses with large walled compounds, and it was fun to see them.  I'd guess if you could buy one of these for less than 2 million you would have made a great buy.
Anyway it was about an hour's walk over and I anticipated a really fun experience. I got to the jetty and rang the bell, it appeared to be open so I was primed for lunch.  After a couple minutes a man appeared on the other side and got into the boat, started it up and came across.  As he got there he asked me if I was part of the party, if I had a reservation?  I said no, and he said, "desolate" (sorry) the entire restaurant had been reserved for a large party for lunch today and they would not be able to accommodate me.  This is NOT my fault, it's just bad luck.  He said that anytime in the next couple weeks would be fine to come out again.  He was sorry I'd walked out for nothing, but try again later.  So I had to walk all the way back up the hill to the station to catch the train back to Paris, because for whatever reason the rail lines are sited on the ridge above the river towns and not along the river.  As we got back to Paris it really started raining and blowing, so I took the bus back to the apartment and didn't really get too wet.
Had a great day out even if it was half-assed.