A lovely hideaway floating on the Seine

A friend of mine invited me to her weekend house, which is located just outside of Paris. 

On a Friday night, after work, we headed for a tiny island that floats on the Seine.  You may know that Ile Saint-Louis and Ile Cite are also on the Seine, but our destination was a bit farther from the center of Paris. 

About an hour’s drive brought us to the island.  To my surprise, it was a gated community and the way we traveled to the island was beyond my imagination.    Can you guess how?  We landed on the island by rowing a small boat similar to the one we can see at parks.  I was on cloud nine, this was already an exciting start to our weekend. 

The site is, according to my friend’s explanation, a cooperative society and the residents enjoy their holidays in conformity with the rules so that they can preserve its beautiful nature.  There are some sporting facilities like tennis courts and a swimming pool, but except for that, there is nothing artificial and even their houses are made of wood.  That’s quite unusual in France, where stone buildings are most common.

My friend’s house is by the river.  It’s very comfortable just feeling the winds breezing from the river or lying on a sofa in the garden.  These simple things are enough.  There is nothing here, but there is everything to relax and rewind.

During the night, I got out of my bed and watched some cargo boats passing by from the living room.  It was a full moon and as a boat crossed the river, the reflection of the moonlight simmered on the water.  It was so romantic.  I felt that the house was like a boat itself flouting gently on the Seine.  It reminded me of Kenji Miyazawa’s story ‘The night on the milky way train’ or 銀河鉄道の夜.  The boat seemed like it was being lifted up into the night sky.

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