Back in France and Off we go
Alan and Ruth took us to the airport as they do each year and after weighing in then a bit of suitcase rearranging, we had coffee, then they took the discarded overweight baggage back home.This year all liquids carried in cabin luggage had to be under 100ml and packed in a separate plastic bag. As we went through the xrays, showing the liquids, my laptop and with my knee setting off the alarms it was quite a juggle.
We left Perth at 11.30am May 8 and arrived in Frankfurt via Singapore at 6.30am May 9. Trains leave from Frankfurt Airport for cities all over Europe, we cleared our luggage, changed terminal by bus, bought tickets and were sitting on the train to Strasbourg by 8am.
In Strasbourg we picked up the hire car, managed to fit all our bags into it and found the road to Dorlishiem and the wine maker Christophe Lindenlaub who makes the wine Kevin liked so much last year. After stocking up on Gewürztraminer and Pinot Auxerrois we drove over the Vosges mountains to the 'Navig' France hire boat port at Lagarde on the canal de la Marne au Rhin where we left Courlis for the winter. It was a very good choice for wintering the boat and we can thoroughly recommend 'Navig' France at Lagarde, they have a big fleet of hire boats also.
Courlis was back in the water and in the morning time was spent washing away the winter grime with the hire pressure hose. We had a session sorting out the clothes we brought with us and the ones left last year and managed to fit everything in. The bimini canopy had to be refitted to the bars and we put the bikes on racks on the roof of the back cabin.
This year we are travelling south east to St Jean de Losne visiting friends along the way then across to the Canal de Nivernais or Canal Centre heading to Paris to meet our family coming over to stay with us for a week in Paris and a week on the canals.
It was fine for the first few days and then it started to rain. We left for Nancy to stay with friends we met last year. It rained all day until we arrived in Varangeville where we spent two days moored alongside the barge that Anouk and Danny live in on the canal side. We had a lovely time with Anouk translating for Danny who very quickly picked up english, it is amazing how few words one needs to have a good time.
We went into Nancy to meet Monique who came on the bus from Lay St Remy to have lunch with us. She took us sightseeing around Nancy which is the home of lovely art deco iron work and Stanislav Square, a magnificent sight with all it gold trimmings. It was lovely to catch up again.
After stocking up with groceries and in the rain again we went down the embranchment where there is a staircase of 13 locks on average 200 metres apart and dropping 3 metres in height down to the Canal des Vosges heading for Epinal.
The rainy weather cleared up and it got very hot straightaway. We travelled down the Vosges with the lockkeeper travelling to wind the locks, changed to automatic locks, back to travelling lockkeepers then automatic locks again until we arrive in Fontenoy le Chateau.
We did 35 up locks in a row and the gadget Kevin made for the up locks is working a dream, we haven't had to climb any ladders yet. My knee is bending in all the right places so having a knee replacement is not holding me back.
As the locks are progressively automated it is difficult for the French lockkeepers as they gradually end up without a job. So much for progress. The canals are a great system for travelling and the Vois Navigables de France (VNF) organisation do a fantastic job of looking after the canals and locks of the French inland waterways network of about 9000km, for which we pay 206 euros for a yearly permit( vignette).
We spent two days in Fontenoy le Chateau with Marion and Roger, whom we met on our first trip here three years ago. We enjoyed a great Lamb roast and wonderful company. We mentioned to Marion that we needed a cover for our electric bikes( now on the roof) to protect them from the rain.
After looking in a catalogue we found out we could get one from the travelling van which was to visit a village a few kilometres away the next morning. Bright and early we went by car to the village and was amazed by the amount of items all stacked in drawers in an enormous yellow truck. With cover bought we headed back to the boat to continue our journey. We now have a very fine housse for our bicyclettes, which is just as well as it has been raining ever since.
Our next stop was St Jean de Losne which was the town where we originally purchased Courlis. A few days were spent alongside Bonheur with Paul and Annie who live in their barge and have performed miracles on making it into a beautiful and comfortable holiday home for guests. If you wish to travel with them we can thoroughly recommend them as hosts.
Now we are in the H20 Port de Plaisance in St Jean de Losne. At this time of the year boat owners from all over the world are arriving to get ready to travel the canals and it is time to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.On our pontoon there are boats flying flags from Denmark, Holland, Germany, France, England, Wales, USA, Chech Republic, Australia and New Zealand.
Early evenings are spent socializing on boats or if the group is too big as it was the day we gathered at Josy and Jean Pierre's boat it was held on the pontoon.
Talking over a few wines about where each boat is going is helpful in planning trips ( that is if you can remember in the morning what was said.
Days are spent stocking the boat and getting little jobs done. No one moves before 9am so it is very leisurely.
Last Monday we went with Michael and June from New Zealand to agricultural markets in Louhan, a small town near Chalon sur Saone. Not the usual markets, this area is famous for Bresse chickens which have an appellation similar to wine. The town roads were closed off and one stretch of road for about 300 metres was lined with stalls selling breeding chickens of many varieties, ducks, geese, peacocks, rabbits, goats etc and many Australian birds, budgies, finches, cockatiels, canaries and parrots. Another street was for vegetables and fruit and cheeses, then an area for general clothes. Unfortunately we left the camera on the boat.
This year Kevin made a mini trailer to attach to the bikes so it is easier bringing the shopping home. On its maiden voyage we managed to fit in 48, 500ml cans of beer, a bottle of cream de Cassis and some tomatoes. You can see we have our priorities right. We are still working our way through the wines of France but have now progressed from 1.50 euro bottles to 3 to 5 euros and you can taste the difference.
While on the subject of wines, I have another Kevin story. Today Kev decided that he would like to get more of Christophe Lindenlaub's Gewürztraminer for the rest of the trip. He decided to phone Christophe and in his very best french tried to order 24 bottles of 2005 Gewürztraminer delivered to St Jean de Losne. I heard him in the background and reminded him he really wanted 2004, then realised that he seemed to be having a problem with the translation going back and forth. Thank goodness he decided terminate the order as it seems he had 2005 bottles of Gewürztraminer being delivered to him.
It is a year for families this year and Oliver has his daughter Helen and grandsons Ben and Jake travelling with him for a few weeks.
Ben and Jack are getting used to life on a boat, a bit restricted at the moment as it has been raining for a few days but they have kept themselves occupied making cubbies on the forward V berth bunks.
Helen has been kept busy tidying up after three men on a small boat and keeping sane by dreaming of bigger things.
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