Mustard

23.08.18

Took a train ride into Dijon today, buying our tickets from the tourist office at her than the slightly confusing machine in St Jean station. Train bang on time there and back, so it was all very easy. Another blisteringly hot day and we walked a lot. Dijon is another beautiful city, the centre full of expensive stores. Of course we had to stop at the mustard shop, which was a fun experience. All sorts of different flavoured mustards including one with cassis. We bought a balsamic blend and aubergine and rosemary, hmmmm.

Went to the museum of art which had an exhibition about the Dukes of Bourgogne and their artefacts - lots of rich paintings, armoury, altars, tombs and religious decoration, all very detailed and intricate. Not entirely our sort of thing but some of it interesting.

Lunch on a pedestrian back street alongside the museum - people watching. Lots of very beautifully attired ladies drifting by.

We checked out the riverside where there are moorings, so this will be a future stop again.

Future moorings and book swapping

22.08.18
Found the H2O office and Florence to ask about winter moorings for 2019. They can provide all we need so we will probably go with them. St Jean is a good place to start from with several waterways to explore.
We visited the old lady's book swap and met some more helpful people - the whole town is geared up to boating of course. I was able to take a book despite not having one to swap as I haven't finished my current read yet. It was suggested I bring a swap next time we are here, which I will. 2019?
Drive to couple of other villages in the vicinity, quiet peaceful deserted places. One had a large table set up by the river however, where lots of people were congregating and chatting. Seemed the only thing on the table was melon and coca cola though.

Had dinner at restaurant we had wanted last night. Very nice on waterfront in 32 degrees of heat. Storm clouds gathered and lightening appeared on horizon but never got to us.

Met a couple from Melbourne on the walk back who had come to pick up their boat, Eureka 1. They have been doing this for years and I queried what it was that attracted kiwis and ozzies to come to France for boating. She replied that there was nothing like it for them at home - only sea. And on these waterways there are mooring places every 10k or so that are lovely places to stop.

St Jean de Losne

21.08.18

Clamecy: famous for its log boats to Paris until 1923. Very low bridge by lock : swing bridge that didn't seem to have the space to swing.
On to st Jean de Losne and a very old building for our BnB. Smiley young proprietor showed us our room over the courtyard garden and told us there was a beer machine there. Visited the H2O Marina to enquire about winter moorings. Vast place on the edge of the Saone. We will speak to Florence tomorrow who will fill us in on how we can moor here.

Returned to BnB and had beer in garden with kiwi couple who own an ex hire boat (a Broom) and had just arrived to board it and cruise until October. Learned a few tips from them about winter mooring with H2O.
Another couple from England turned out to be narrowboat owners. Their boat is moored at the bottom of their garden on the K and A canal near Bradford on Avon - an absolutely idyllic area we know.   They were here to visit her 96 year old mother who had lived on a boat for most of her later life with her husband in the Med, then swooped that for a river boat and spent time in St Jean. When her husband died she sold the boat and continued to live here in a tiny house. She was originally from Eygpt and had lived in Nice and brought up family in England, so a well travelled independent lady.

Our chosen restaurant for dinner was fully booked, largely because it was about the only one open on the waterfront tonight. We ended up eating at a tiny tapas place run by a young thin rasta  couple. Food was good.

Joigny and others

19.08.18

Visit Joigny - another old picturesque town on the Yonne. Back to our hotel in Auxerre, Parc de Marechaux for a swim, then out into town for beer and dinner at La Tour. Our hotel is a chateau of faded elegance. A pleasant quiet room overlooking the garden that is thick with mature trees. Ours walls are of slightly padded grey silk!

20.08.18
Feeling fragile after tummy upset through night. Drive to Cravant on le canal de Nivernais then onto Vermonton where France Afloat are based in a very hidden corner. Very quiet, no boats moving, some moored.

On to Mailly le Ville. Home to the lowest bridge on system.

Brienon sur Armancon

Another tiny village with an organised waterfront. There are so few boats around and most of them moored. It is so different to our congested English canals and their towns. Like the roads and linear villages you travel through by car in France, you never seem to see a soul. Where is everyone? Staying out of the hot sun perhaps!
I find myself thinking that the villages could get a lot more out of the boating community if they had grocery stores, cafes and bars near their moorings, or at least signposts to where you may find such things.

Getting a feel for French boating

17.08.18

Euro tunnel from Folkestone at 11.36. Arrived at our hotel in Chalon en Champagne about 3pm! Ibis Styles ; very simple and functional on a lively square in this old part of town. Beer in the sunshine alongside lots of Friday evening revellers. A good atmosphere. Restaurants not so easy to find - some closed, some looking uninviting, more like burger cafes. However after a wander around and down a side alley, we found a tiny brasserie, Le Chaudron Savoyard, where we had a over sized tartiflett each at a table outside and went back stuffed.
The Marne and it's canal passes through here.
Next day checked out the canal in Pogny, a tiny village but where they had built a new mooring strip with several water taps spaced along it. A building plot at the back of this is crying out for a cafe. Next year when we are afloat maybe there will be!

Saying goodbye to Ani (out of sequence) 28th October 2017

These are my notes in the boat logbook.

13th October to 28th October 2017

leaving Fenny Compton mooring for the last time

taking the key out of ignition for the last time

canalside at Whilton Marina