Back in Saint Jean-de-Losne at the end of August it was hot - again!
So a very quick turn-around; Bertie unpacked and Slo-Mo ready for cruising all done in a couple of days. We were off to cruise the Entre Champagne et Bourgogne. It's a beautiful canal, very quiet - particularly at the Saône side where there are few shops nearby.
Les and Jude and Ellie were on their way back from a great trip in their motorhome to Germany, Denmark and Sweden. We met up in Auxonne and they travelled with us for 5 days. Jude managed to find some great parking places for "Bettie" their motorhome, right alongside the canal where we moored - even if it did mean negotiating some off-road farm tracks.
It's not always possible to find somewhere convenient to moor up to when waiting for a lock to be repaired but Pete makes a great temporary tree...
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| Pretty villages and some very attractive lavoirs along the route |
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But we were bemused by the notice forbidding the washing of cars
in this particular lavoir - how would you get it in? |
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And you're never quite sure what you'll find when strolling through
a small, rural village |
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| Autumn is coming, but the colours are quite stunning |
This trip turned out to be quite a sociable affair - we met up with friends who were returning south from their long summer cruises.
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| Paul & Maralyn in Joinville - a really pleasant mooring at the Vinaigrerie |
Some mornings were really atmospheric with the mist rising off the canal. This morning there was ice on the roof and the very low sun shining through the mist made it very difficult to see anything ahead. Paul took this great picture of Slo-Mo leaving the mooring at Foulain.
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| Morning mist |
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| David and Pamela with his cousin and family at Froncles |
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| David the Lionheart |
Arriving at one lock, we were greeted by this fellow peering over the stable door. Many of the old lock cottages have been sold off and lots are run as smallholdings with some livestock and smart vegetable gardens.
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| Mr Piggy |
Back at Langres on our return trip and the fine weather is holding. We enjoy visiting this lovely walled city and admiring the views from the ramparts. This is all that remains of the old funicular railway which ran from the train station to the town centre two kilometres uphill, so we usually catch the bus.
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| Langres |
We do manage to walk the return trip and were pleasantly surprised on arriving at the port, to find "Friesland" moored behind us. This is the barge on which we did our training courses back in 2007. Great to meet Tam and Di again and to share some barging tales.
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| A familiar boat |
The little restaurant just over the canal is very cozy and serves up some great food. Another very sociable meal with Chris and Jac.
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| Returning from the Supermarket with supplies |
We were disappointed that we had to cancel the visit of our good friends Mike and Tonia. They had planned to drive from Vichy to stay with us at Langres. Unfortunately the tail end of a tropical storm was forecast to hit our region at the same time. Sensibly they stayed in Lyons and we battened down the hatches and rode out the rain and wind.
The return from Langres begins with the 5k Balesmes Tunnel. Just over an hour of intense concentration.
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| Green light, we're good to go |
We had waited at Langres for our friends Steve and Helen, who were returning from Belgium in Jonge Jella and we travelled back in company.
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| Jonge Jella coming home from the shipyard, now Steve and Helen can stand up inside! |
You just never know what's going to happen next when cruising ...
Just as our two boats moored up at a small, rural picnic area, we were greeted by a man with a basket of strange looking fungi. "Do you like champignons?" he asked.
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| Would you eat these? |
"Yes", we said and were then treated to a delightful demonstration of how to prepare and cook assorted autumn ceps. The guy turned out to be a retired cook and took great pleasure in showing us the techniques.
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| See, this is how to clean them |
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| Choose the right pan |
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| and start to fry off the moisture |
After an hour or so he produced the most mouth watering mushroom omelette which we enjoyed sitting at the picnic table in the sunshine.....bottle of Rosé, half a baguette, wonderful.
Mind you, we didn't eat this fellow
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| We took a rain check on this Burgundian delicacy! |
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| Autumn |
Mid October, back in port and the hotel boats have returned to the basin
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| Still activity on the river as ships make for their winter moorings |
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| Autumn light suits St Jean de Losne |
On our return, we found that the town had been yarn bombed!
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| The River Bridge, looking very colourful |
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| This made us smile |
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| Steve & Helen plus good friend Sandy began painting Jonge Jella ready for winter |
Although we were sad to be leaving our friends in Saint Jean de Losne, when the weather changed to this.....
... we quickly got Bertie out of storage and hit the road heading south to the sunshine...
