“Three or four a year,” he muttered, his gaze distant as if seeing something beyond the boats bobbing in the Écluse de Suresnes. Now, I know what you’re thinking: morbid, right? But hear me out. The Écluse de Suresnes isn’t just about locks and dams, although it has those in spades, four to be exact! It’s about the stories the Seine whispers, the lives it carries on its currents. This lock, the first downstream from Paris, sees it all. Massive barges laden with goods, sleek pleasure crafts, even pieces of the TGV Est once glided through these very chambers. Imagine those journeys, those stories etched on the water. But just like the Seine’s flow, life too has its undercurrents. Our lock keeper, he sees those too. The accidental drowning, the quiet tragedies the river claims. It’s a sobering thought, a reminder that even amidst the engineering marvel of the Écluse de Suresnes, life, and sometimes death, flow on.
Église Notre-Dame de l’Air
Beneath what appears to be a simple stone and wood structure lies a history interwoven with faith aviation and community.