DAY 4 ON THE RHINE TO RHONE CANAL

As we get ready to leave Saverne, swans are searching for food along the bank by our barge.
.The path next to the canal is a wonderful route for biking as we pass lush countryside,


and picturesque villages.

In the afternoon we visited a typical Brasserie (Brewery} to taste many different flavored brews.

At dinner on the barge that night we found our napkins once again in an intresting creative shape.

BARGE TRIP DAY 3

In the morning we took a bus trip to Sarrebourg to visit a museum with the tapestry and paintings of Marc Chagall. Unfortunately the church with a beautiful stained glas window by the same artist was closed for renovation. We also went to an incredible old castle built atop a high hill, which now houses a restaurant.


We met our barge in the beautiful town of Saverne in Alsace, a bustling, delightful market town of 10,000 inhabitants with tryical Alsatian architecture and narrow winding main street.




Another wonderful dinner as the sun set over the canal.

CONTINUATION OF BARGE TRIP IN FRANCE

After lunch we continued our cruise past numerous villages and through 2 tunnels.

At Arzviller an incline plane allowed us to bypass 17 locks with a counterbalance barge lift which lowered us 150 feet to the Zorn valley below, an incredible innovation.


We traveled along a delightful stretch of the canal and arrived at the fairytale town of Lutzelbourg with the ruins of a castle high above on the top of the hill.

From the castle, the town and our barge were in view below.

Dinner aboard was another gourmet meal with our napkins folded in the form of a boot.

BARGE TRIP ON THE MAUN-RHINE CANAL, DAYS 1&2

We met our barge "Lorraine" on the Maun-Rhine Canal at a sleepy little town called Xouaxang. and were met by the wonderful crew headed by the Pilot, Daniel and manager, Daniel. We greeted our fellow passengers, 17 total from the US, Canada and New Zealand, shown our quite ample cabins and treated to a gourmet dinner created by Didier an excellent chef from Burgundy.

An early morning walk through the quiet town, with fog still hanging on the canal showed a plethora of flowers in yards and the simple church.




A mid morning bus trip, while the barge continued down the canal took us to a small crystal workshop where Bruno Lehrer demonstrated his expertise in crystal engraving, an art practiced by his family and the area for many generations.

SEPTEMBER IN PARIS

We just returned from a wonderful barge-bike in the Alsace-Lorraine part of France, preceded by 2 days in Paris. With what is going on in the financial market here and around the world we feel lucky to have been able to do this before the bottom fell out - so I'd like to share just a few on my too many photos.

Arriving in Paris after an overnight plane ride, checking into our hotel and grabbing lunch and a quick nap, we took a long evening walk to see the Eiffel Tower at night. Along the way was my favorite bridge, the Pont Alexandre III, equally beautiful at night.


The Seine has been the driving force of Paris since prehistoric times. Canoes dating back to 4,500 BC have been unearthed in recent excavations and today it is a great way to see Paris.

On the way to the Eiffel Tower to catch a boat, we went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for an overview of the city and the Champs-Elysees.

At the Eiffel Tower we boarded a boat for a trip on the Seine.

The Pont Alexandre III is just as lovely at night.

Some interesting views from the boat.

Notre-Dame on the Ile de la Cite. Pope Alexandre III laid the first cornerstone in 1163 on the site of a Roman temple, and it took 170 years to complete.

Some of the native wildlife.

MONARCHS ON THE MOVE

The monarch butterflies in the East are on their way South to Mexico. I walked to the beach yesterday to see the ocean and the goldenrod on the dunes was alive with butterflies.

Some interesting facts about the Monarchs!!!
"Adult Monarchs possess two pair of brilliant orange-reddish wings, featuring black veins and white spots along the edges. Their wingspan is about four inches, and they weigh less than half an ounce. Males, who possess distinguishing black dot (stigmata) along the veins of their wings, are slightly bigger than the females.

Each adult butterfly lives only about four to five weeks. But one of the many wonders of the Monarchs is the annual creation of a unique "Methuselah generation." As autumn approaches in their sites of migratory origin, a very special generation of butterflies is born. Unlike their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents -- all of whom had ephemeral lives measured only in weeks -- these migratory butterflies survive seven or eight months. In human terms, given our average life span of 75 years, this would be like having children who lived to be 525 years old!

© WWF-Canon / Fritz Pölking
This generation performs the incredible feat of flying from Canada and the United States to the center of Mexico -- after which they begin the northward journey again. Once they reach the United States, a kind of relay race begins: their short-lived offspring, with only four or five weeks to live, continue making the trek northward over several generations."

ON THE SURF CITY BEACH

Now that we are back from our trip to France, and I have gone through my too many pictures I thought I'd post a few images from our walks here on the beach of Long Beach Island, NJ before we left. Summer has gone too fast, and fall is definitely in the air.

The sandpipers were getting ready to head South for the winter.

The Jellyfish, which are a plague to swimmers in the water are quite beautiful when on the beach.

When the wind is up some surfers turn to a kite to give them a more exciting ride.

Kayaking through the waves it a strenuous undertaking.


When the storms come the sky can be beautiful and the sun peeking from behind the clouds gives us hope for the future.