River Cruise from Paris to Les Andelys 1.

#rivieratravel #paris #lesandelys #seinevalley #danielsellier

For several years now we have wanted to explore this area of France and going on a river cruise seemed an ideal way of doing this. After a short flight to Paris, we were soon on the coach to the boat. 
Having been on many ocean cruise ships, we were slightly nervous about sailing on a river cruise. As it was the company's 40th anniversary, there were lots of upgrades, including being moved to the top deck. We soon settled in and unpacked. The room seemed slightly smaller than we were used to but we soon became accustomed to it.
Leaving Paris in the evening, we watched the Eiffel town light show. Our holiday had begun.

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Early morning was spent sailing down the Seine. We soon arrived at Les Andelys, an historic small town. After lunch we had a coach trip up to see the ruins of Chateau Gaillard and a scenic view over the valley. 

After admiring the view, we had a choice of visiting the ruins followed by a short walk back to the boat or being dropped off from the coach at the end of town. This meant there was a forty minute walk to the boat.
Deciding to explore further, we decided to walk through the town. There were lots of impressive buildings to admire and the more modern flats in one area had large murals on the walls.
An interesting idea and one which we would encourage in our country.

Finally arriving in the centre, we decided to explore the small shops. Unfortunately, several of these were closed and the cafes were crowded. There were a couple of galleries with one being run by a local artist: 
'The magical places that Daniel Sellier found in Normandy soon became and still remain his chief sources of inspiration for his compositions, which he tirelessly and in all seasons paints outdoors, capturing them on site. His appreciation of peaceful landscapes, which he appropriates in order to transform into enchanting sites, has allowed him to study nature’s transformations under the effects of light.'
​His artwork certainly captured the beauty of the area.

Arriving back at the ship we had a chance to relax, and prepare for an evening meal, after an enjoyable introduction to river sailing and a small, traditional French town.