IAN'S VISIT

On Sep 4, our son Ian arrived in Paris and took a train to Narbonne, where we picked him up. He was to spend a short week with us, so we wanted to make the most of it. Our first few days with Ian we spent cruising from Le Somail to Poilhes under beautiful blue skies. Every meal was an event for Ian. Being a bachelor, for him a home cooked meal is something very special. Every morning he wanted to know what we were having for dinner, so he could look forward to it. I did my best to cook everything he likes, which is not difficult, since he eats everything!

Our cruising was leisurely and relaxed. The weather was perfect, and we stopped in some beautiful spots along the canal. Upon our return from Poilhes, we got something caught around our propeller. The boat could not reverse, and would barely advance. We decided to stay at the spot where it happened, about 7 Km from Le Somail, and for the last three days of Ian's visit, we did not cruise at all. We toured around the region by car, took Ian to some of our favorite towns and thoroughly enjoyed our son's company. For his birthday, he wanted me to make him a paella, so we chilled a bottle of champagne, cooked the paella outside and had a wonderful celebration on the boat.

Our friends Claudine and Michel from Carcassonne invited us for lunch at their house before Ian left. Claudine had an unbelievable spread on their patio, as she usually does, so we all had a wonderful time. The boy was happy. On September 12 we took Ian back to Narbonne where he took the train back to Paris. There he spent the night at his cousin Sylvia's and left for Los Angeles the following day. Our visit with our boy was short but sweet. Knowing that we would soon see him again for Thanksgiving, lessened the pain of his departure.

The day after Ian left, we limped back to Le Somail, where one of the young men from the Nicols base dove under the boat and after 45 minutes of work, was able to free from our propeller an enormous umbrella from the rival rental boat company. What a relief!





Sunrise on the Canal du Midi



My two boys at Fonserannes



Moules frites at Le Grau D'Agde



Cruising past Capestang



Our handsome boy



Aperitif time on deck



Wines and tapas in Narbonne



Ian's train to Paris

"There is something huge there!"

HOW TIME FLIES!

Part 4

A visit by David and Martha

Dave and Martha Dominguez are friends from California whom we had not seen since we moved to Shell Beach about 25 years ago. So it happened that David contacted our friends Skip and Jill to let them know they would be coming to France and would like to see us. We emailed back and forward several times, but every time I got a message from them the date of their arrival had changed. David had a lot of business to tend to, and I thought it might be very difficult, if not impossible to see them. They had planned the trip to celebrate their 25 wedding anniversary in Paris, where they had had their honeymoon.

The day Alex and Linda left, David and Martha arrived. The most shocking thing to me was that although it had been so long since we had seen them, they both looked exactly the same! Best thing, they are the same fun couple they always were. We were so excited to see them and had so much catching up to do!. They had made a reservation at a B&B near us, about a five minute ride from the port, so we were able to really spend time with them eating, drinking and exchanging stories. We wanted to take them out on the boat, so we went as far as Chateau Ventenac and back. It was not the prettiest day, the wind was blowing very hard, but we had a good outing anyway. In the evening, we stayed on Biesbosch and had a great dinner and very animated conversation. We hope to see David and Martha in California this winter and have them back with us on the boat sometime next year.




A few munchies with good friends



Aperitifs on deck

HOW TIME FLIES!

Part 3
Alex and Linda

Soon after Sylvia and Laurent's departure, our friends Alex and Linda came for a visit. They live in New York, and they had been in Barcelona and surroundings before coming to see us. The day they arrived in Le Somail, where they would be meeting us, we were in Narbonne. It should have not taken us more than 3 hours to come up the cnal de la Robine, but there was a lot of traffic that day and the locks were slow. We got to our destination in the middle of the afternoon to find Alex and Linda already there. It was so good to see them again! They had been to Cambrai to see us before the boat was inhabitable, so they saw it under construction. Two years ago, Linda and her sister Dianne, came to visit when we were on the Nivernais. This time Alex got a chance to travel on Biesbosch and even went down a lock so he could have the experience. Although their visit was short, it was a wonderful experience for all of us. They were such wonderful guests and so easygoing! Linda and I had a chance to do a lot of catching up and Bill and Alex got to know each other better and to find out they have a lot in common. As usual, we did a lot of good eating, and Alex cooked a wonderful pasta dinner for us one evening. As usual, we were sad to see them go, but we look forward to getting together with them soon whether in New York, Miami or back on Biesbosch.




On the dock at Le Somail



A Natural



One of our favorite spots on The Midi



Just love them.



Notice the coypu among the ducks ( lower right )