Friday, September 29, 2006

FROM THE CANAL DE BRIARE TO THE CANAL LATERAL,

We decided not to go to Cambrai until after the visit from our friends Skip and Jill, so we continued making our way south on the Canal de Briare. After Chatillon Coligny, and the experience of Friday market in the rain, we continued down to Ouzoer sur Trezee, along a very beautiful stretch of the canal. At the lock of Moulin Brule, we stepped off to see the 4 old stepped locks, no longer in operation, a fascinating site. Just after this, we went through the prettiest and most flowery lock we have seen on this trip, the lock of La Picardie. We stopped the boat just before it, as it was lunch time for the lock keeper, hence the lock being closed. We walked to it to take pictures, had our lunch on the boat, and then went through it.

Our stop at Ouzoer was wonderful. It is a very small village, but so authentic and old and with so many pretty corners everywhere. The mooring was just after a beautiful metal bridge covered in hanging geraniums and in front of a park. We had beautiful weather the two days we spent there. We stayed for the Farmer's Market on Sunday, held at a farm about 1 Km from the Port. We were told they would have tents set up so people could have lunch there. This was a fabulous experience. All the people were locals out for their Sunday family lunch at the farm. They had all kinds of delicious things being prepared by the different vendors. We opted for a wild mushroom omelet and some very dark hardy bread and a bottle of apple cider. It all tasted so good! The people sitting next to us, an older couple were delighted to see some Americans there. They seemed so surprised that anyone from California would ever want to leave the state.

Monday morning we left Ouzoer on a very foggy and rainy morning, and this time we were down locking through six locks to get to Briare. As soon as we got to the port, I talked to Christophe, the captain about the possibility of wintering the boat there. He had heard from a friend that we were interested in a spot, but told us the port was full for the winter. In the afternoon, when we were in his office talking to him, we found out one of the boats might not be staying, which meant we could have its spot. He said he would let us know on Friday.

Briare is mostly famous for its PONT CANAL (Canal Bridge) of almost 700 Mts. going over the River Loire. It was built in 1890-1894, and a work of incredible engineering. The canal part of the bridge is done all in steel, and the masonery work by Mr. Eiffel is outstanding. The town is gorgeous, and the port has everything nearby, a great place to be. The town is surounded by water, the old canal is still there, the Canal de Briare, the Canal Lateral a la Loire, and of course the River Loire. We spent a lot of time walking around, especially along the river. It is so wild and beautiful on this side of the valley. Our friend Earl came for one night and got to walk the length of the Pont Canal, as well as along the banks of the river. It is at Briare that Skip and Jill joined us on the same day that Earl left. We have been with them for a week and have seen some lovely country and experienced some great things.

We rented bicycles and rode back to Ouzoer sur Trezee along the tow path. It was a gorgeous day, so we took our time. We found a cute little restaurant a had a fabulous lunch. We decided to ride back along the Loire and up to the Pont Canal before returning our bikes. There is an ice cream place by the Pont Canal, so after a day of exertion we felt we deserved a little treat, and it tasted great.

Before leaving Briare, we were given the good news that we could have a spot for the winter. Needless to say, we were very glad, and relieved, since it meant we would no longer have the pressure of having to find something quickly.

It was a treat for Skip and Jill to experience the crossing of the Pont Canal as their first barging experience. It is thrilling going over a river in your boat. We stopped just after it and had lunch on Biesbosch. We continued as far as Chatillon sur Loire where we tied the boat for a couple of hours to walk to the Ecluse de Mantelot, which connected the Old Canal Lateral a la Loire with the river. This lock is a monument, although it is still in operation. We had seen a model of it at the museum of Briare, and were really glad we got to see it.
We continued to Beaulieu, tied the boat after the town bridge, and decided to explore the town the next day.

Bill got up and found a bakery, as he does in every town, got great croissants and bread, we had breakfast, cleaned up the boat and went into town. Beaulieu, although old, is not a particularly interesting town, although it has a charming little church and a few pretty streets. It was Sunday, and we wanted to have lunch out. The restaurant we chose was having an event, so it was closed, but we found another, L'Auberge de la Tour, which despite the slow service, turned out to be very good. After a great lunch, we walked across the canal towards Bonny, over the river. It is true country with cows and sheep. The river is very wide there, but still not navigable.

To be continued. . .

Sunday, September 17, 2006

FROM THE CANAL DU LOING TO THE CANAL DE BRIARE

We stayed at Moret sur Loing for six nights. The Port de Plaisance was beautiful and very convenient for us to do a bit of work on the boat before our friend Debbie and Richard arrived. On Saturday, Sept. 2, the last Sound and Light show of the season on Alfred Sisley's life was taking place. We bought tickets and hope it would not be canceled because of rain. At this point, we were still having a lot of light sprinkles every day, and ten minutes before the show, it started to rain, but luckily, it did not last but a few minutes. The show started on the banks of the River Loing with the town wall, ancient mills, bridge and church as background, just as Sisley had painted so many times when he lived there. I had mentioned that he had been born in Moret. He was born in England, but lived and died in Moret. He is our son Ian's favorite impressionist painter.

While moored at the port, we met Matty, a Dutch lady who lives on her small boat with Dusty, her beautiful dog, and whose boyfriend was coming with supplies and materials to do some work on her boat. It was great for Bill, because, he and George, Matty's friend were able to do some wood work together for a couple of days.

Richard and Debbie arrived on Tuesday, Sept 5, at 11:30 AM. They took the train from Paris, a ride of about one hour. They brought the sun with them, and we have had id now for 10 days. It was so exciting to have Debbie and Richard with us! We celebrated their arrival with a few cold beers and a light lunch of cheeses and munchies, many of which they brought from Paris. We relaxed, did a lot of catching up and went into town to explore. In the afternoon, we decided to walk to St. Mammes, the town we had briefly stopped at on our way to Moret. It is on The Seine, so we took a leisurley walk to it, under a hot sun. We wanted to have dinner at a restaurant that had been recommended by friends, but unfortunately it was closed. Debbie and I went into an Art gallery while the guys checked out the chandlery across the river. We got back to the boat, and Debbie and I prepared a lovely meal. It is so much fun to cook on Biesbosch, but it is even better to share with your friends.

The Chateau de Fointainebleau is a few minutes away by train, so the next day we decided to go see it. We packed a picnic lunch and took the train to Avon Station, where Richard and Debbie made their arrangements for their train to Paris and to Barcelona. From the station, we walked through the town and across some of the gardens of the Chateau. We sat along one of the long reflecting pools, among the trees and had our picnic lunch. We then continued to walk to the Chateau, which is quite large, and one that has an incredible history. It has been used by kings and heads of state from the XIII C. until Napoleon III. We took a tour of The Main Apartments which had been the private quarters of Francis I, Louis Philippe, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette as well as Napoleon I. The decor was elegant to excess. There were some beautiful frescoes and Gobelin tapestries in many of the rooms. The tour must have taken us over an hour. We walked to the train station, this time the long way so by the time we got back to the boat, we were exausted and thirsty. We sat on the boat and quenched our thirst, a a few munchies and prepared dinner together. Our wheelhouse-diningroom-guest bedroom facility works rather well, and Debbie and Richard became experts at assembling and disassembling it in no time.

On Thursday, we cast off after lunch, the first canal experience for our friends. The first lock was right at our mooring, an automatic one, but the lock keeper wanted to see the boat papers--all in order -- and off we went. The rest of the locks were manual, so Richard would get off and help the lock keepers open the gates. Often boaters give them something, so we thought a couple of bottles of cold beer would be a good idea. They were very grateful. We navigated through some lovely countryside and arrived in Nome's at 5:30 PM. We moored just after the lock before the bridge. There was no electricity or water, but our baatteries were charged and our water tanks full. We tied the boat and walked into town to see the XII C castle and bridge in the middle of town on the river. We found a market, bought some beer for the lock keepers and went back to the boat. After a good night sleep, we had breakfast and cast off at around 11:00 AM. The countryside along this stretch of the canal was magnificent. Lush vegetation, narrow passages, lovely bridges and some beautiful locks full of flowers.

Next morning, cool, but sunny, we set off To Montargis for Saturday market. It was a short distance, so we left at 10:45 AM. we had only a few locks to pass, but we had to wait at one for another boat behind us, who turned to be Matty's Lucky Duck. Then, about 40 minutes into our navigation, the water temperature alarm went off, signaling that the engine could be overheating. We pulled up along the side, tied the boat to a couple of trees, Bill checked the problem which turned out to be debris in the water intake. He quickly cleaned it up, and off we went. We were so afraid we might not make the market which would end at 12:30 or 1:00 PM. As we approached the town, we had to go through 2 more locks, a small one and the last one over 5 Mts. high. The first one was not working, so Deb and I got off the boat and walked to the next one to see if we could talk to the lock keeper. She was letting a boat in, and told us she would activate ours, which she did. The 200 Mts. between the first lock and the second, were beautiful. Here we were going right through this gorgeous little town, a French Venice with beautiful architecture and lovely little bridges. At the exit of the lock was The Port de Plaisance, where we moored the boat, locked it up and walked towards the center of town, a couple of blocks where the market was set up. It was great. Here we were going right through this gorgeous little town, a French Venice with beautiful architecture and lovely little bridges. At the exit of the lock was The Port de Plaisance, where we moored the boat, locked it up and walked towards the center of town, a couple of blocks where the market was set up. IT WAS STILL THERE! It was great that Richard and Debbie were able to experience it. There were all kinds of stands, with fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses and creams, butchers, fishmongers, the works. We decided to buy some roasted chickens with the potatoes cooked in their drippings, a couple of quail and even some roast rabbit for Richard. We sat at a nearby cafe and had a beer while our lunch was being cooked on the pit. We brought the feast to the boat and set up a picnic lunch at the picnic table in front of it. The port was beautiful, with a wooden quay, modern lighting and lovely landscaping. It was hot, but we had a great lunch. Riverdance, a boat owned by Pamela and Bruce from British Columbia was there. We had met them in Moret. After lunch, they came by and so did Barry and Karen, Americans whom we had met in Roanne early in the spring. Their boat Eleanor, had passed by in Moret. After a bit of a nap, we went into town to explore and found out they were having a type of sidewalk sale, so there were lots of people around. The town has some gorgeous areas, especially the Quartier des Pecheurs, mostly half-timbered houses, set on the canals, with flowers everywhere. We walked up to The Castle from where you can see the town above, down again, across to a lovely park by the canal. That evening we had a light meal on board, accompanied by a great bottle of champagne, and I made a reservation at L'Orangerie du Lac for Sunday lunch. It had been highly recommended by friends, so we thought it would be a lovely last meal with Richard and Debbie. After a brisk walk to the next lock along the tow path (9 Kms) , Debbie and I felt tired, but so did Bill and Richard. They had been working on the boat, while we were away, Richard washing the boat and Bill on the new cooling system. We showered and walked to the restaurant, which was an experience in itself. A fabulous dinner accompanied by a great Loire wine, a local one, very refreshing. We all had different dishes, and loved them all. After such a meal, as we walked to the boat, a very drunk gentleman approached the boat and insisting on coming in to see it. Richard, very politely tried to disuade him, but he could not understand "No". I called the police, a within minutes there were four officers who came, handcuffed him and took him away. AFter the meal and this little "episode" we all took a nap on the deck of the boat under our umbrella. In the evening, another "light" meal and off to bed.

Monday, after breakfast, We had our last few ours with Richard and Debbie. We flew our American flag to commemorate September 11. Before noon, a taxi came to take our friends to the station where they would be going to Paris and from there to Barcelona, changing trains at Montpellier. It was truly sad to say good bye to Debbie and Richard. They were the perfect guests, who enjoyed everything, and with whom we have been able to share our dream from the beginning. We are blessed with such good friends.

After their departure, I felt such vacuum inside, I knew I had to be busy, so I did four loads of laundry. It was hot outside, so I hung it all to dry. We found a Piaggio shop in town, so we took our motor scooter to be looked at. We had not run it in a year, and could not start it. We left it there, and two hours later got back to find it running perfectly. The carburetor was replaced, so now we have our little scooter working. It is a great thing to have while we do not have the car with us. We might be going to Cambrai this weekend to pick it up.

Yesterday, Sept 12, we left Montargis at 11:30, destination Chatillon Coligny. At the second lock we had to wait for an hour--lunch time for the lock keepers -- so we tied up, had our lunch, and promptly at 1:00 PM the lock was opened for us. There we a series of locks, the last four, that were over 4 Mts. high. At all but one, there were keepers, but we managed that one on our own. There was a stretch of over 12 Kms between locks, so I did my step dancing on the bow. It is the greatest thing listening to my music and exercising to it. The people that go by, seem to love it. They all wave and give us thumbs up.

We arrived at this gorgeous little town, whose 300 year old canal is in great shape, with a lovely Port de Plaisance where Eleanor was tied up. Soon after Barry and Karen arrived from a 112 KM bike ride. They are serious bikers. They had us over for "a drink" but we wound up having a few more, I had some pork chops and a few other things, so I brought dinner over, and we had a lovely evening with them. This morning, Bill and I went to see the town and decided to go to The Castle and the museum in the afternoon. We are thinking about leaving Biesbosch here for a few days while we go to get our car in Cambrai. We shall see.






























Tuesday, September 05, 2006

FROM THE OISE TO THE SEINE

As we continued down the Oise, on a lovely sunny day, we saw some of the prettiest little towns along the river. We stopped at Isle Adam which showed a mooring on the Navicarte, but the pontoon was broken, and there was no access to shore. We decided to continue on to Cergy, since we were pressed to arrive at Conflans, where our friends Michel and Jacqueline from Chauny, were waiting for us. I Called the Port to make a reservation for our boat, the Captain told me where to moor, so we continued on. When we got to the port, the pontoons were so close together and it was o difficult to turn, that we decided to tie the boat outside the port along the quay, where we were still able to hook up to electricity and to top up our water tanks. The port is modern, but very charming, with restaurants and cafes all around. We went for a walk in the village, and saw a very beautiful XII - XVI C. Church, and lovely stone houses in the old town. After dinner on the boat I got some writing done and settled down for a good night sleep.

Next morning we got up early, so we could be in Conflates for Wednesday market, which is set up on the quay. Conflates is on The Seine, as you turn upstream from the Oise. It was very exciting being in THE SEINE on our Biesbosch. The town is quite interesting, especially for those who are interested in barges and their history. It is a place where retired "batelliers" permanently moor their peniches when they retire to live out their days. There are hundreds of them along the right bank of the river. The Musee de la Batellerie is housed in an old chateau, and is really worth the visit.

As we were approaching the town, we were watching out for Perseverance, our friends' boat, which was tied to their friend Daniel's barge. They spotted us, tied us to their boat and gave us a big welcome by preparing us a good cup of coffee. Soon after, we stepped of to the market, not a large one, but most surely an excellent one. We stocked up on fresh vegies and fruits, great meats and, of course, the local cheeses and home made creams and yogurts. Upon our return, we ate together the roast chicken and potatoes from the market. After lunch, I did some laundry and we then went to the museum with Jacqueline and Michael. She is a third generation batelliere herself, so seeing the museum with them, was truly reliving their history. In the evening, we got together for dinner again, a light one this time, but with lovely champagne to start. The next day it was cool and rainy, so we walked down to the Bateau Chapelle, an old barge converted into a church, where the batelliers have their weddings. It was incredible, since it did not feel like a boat at all.
In the afternoon we went to visit a tug boat from W.W.II, owned by the museum. Our stay with our friends was most special. Their friend Daniel, a retired batellier came over with a bottle of wine for us and with his photo albums to show us the history of his boat. His family have owned and driven barges for generations, dating back to the first wooden barges which were pushed by horses.

The next day, we said good bye to our dear friends, and set off for Paris on a cool and cloudy morning. It was a good day to navigate the river, since the commercial traffic is much lighter on weekends. There are only two locks to Paris, but the wait was long. They are enormous, and intimidating, but our Biesbosch, and of course her captain did great. In between locks, we met Bob and Bobbie Marsland on La Chouette. They were going away from Paris to do a bit of painting on their boat. They are the people who sold us Biesbosch.

After a long day of navigation, nine hours, to be precise, we got to Paris, a true dream for us and Biesbosch, and one we were not sure we would realize in this lifetime.

PARIS

It was very emotional coming into Paris on our boat as we approached the Port of Grenelle, just after The Statue of Liberty gave us her welcome. We tied up the boat at the foot of The Eiffel tower, and the sun, which had not shown its face all day, started to shine for us. We called Sylvia's niece Sylvia and her husband, Laurent to invite them to dinner on Biesbosch. We had a special bottle of champagne and a lovely dinner made by Sylvia. It was a truly special time to share with them. The next day we slept in, took it easy cleaning and organizing the boat and waiting for the rain to subside, without success. We found a Lebanese restaurant nearby, and had a superb lunch. We did a bit of shopping on the way back and walked to The Trocadero to go see the Musee de la Marine, but it was closed. We walked all the way to The Tuileries in the rain to go to the Museum of the Orangerie, which was also closed. We gave up on trying any more museums for the day and walked back to Passy, a lovely area across from the port, where we did a lot of walking and window shopping. We found an Indian restaurant to which we went the next day for lunch.

On Tuesday, our friends Bob and Bobbie arrived back in Paris, so we invited them to have drinks with us on Biesbosch. They brought us a bottle of fine champagne, we had a few things to eat, and a few bottles of wine to go with them. It was great meeting B and B in Paris, and having a visit with them on the boat was very special to us.

After a very good night sleep, we woke up to a gorgeous sunny day, the first one in many, so we o go to market, which they set up on Rue de Grenelle every Wednesday morning. It was quite big, and they had not only fresh produce and meats and veggies, but clothes and all sorts of things. We spent the whole morning there and got some incredibly fresh things. On the way back, we stopped by the supermarket as well, and then had lunch on the boat.
Having been wanting to see the Orangerie since it reopened in the spring, we took the metro and IT WAS OPEN! It is here where Monet first exhibited his Water Lilies, and now the museum has been renovated. There are two halls for his six enormous canvases, which no words can describe, and downstairs they have quite a few others with a very large private collection of fauves and impressionists such as Derain, Cezanne, Modigliani, Utrillo and others. We enjoyed this museum immensely. We had made a date with Sylvia and Laurent to meet them for dinner, so we took a very long walk along the Rue Rivoli to Fg.St. Antoine past Bastille. Each street has its unique character, and the city changes practically with every street that one passes. What a lively city it is. We ate in a little Creperie where we had eaten with them before, a true Bretonne, and a superb one. We left almost at 11:00 PM, said good bye, ant took the metro back to our boat.

Thursday morning we left Paris at around 9:00 AM, said good bye to our friend Bob and Bobbie and to Raul, the captain of the port, who was very nice to us. Our intention was to make it as far as Melun, where there was a nice place to moor the boat for the night, but the wait at the next locks was very long. There was a lot of commercial traffic in both directions and these boats have priority. In one of the locks we had to tie up to one of them, so we were pretty much sandwiched between three monsters. These the size of the ones we deal with on the smaller canals. To exit the lock, we were given the signal to go ahead before them. Bill put Biesbosch on full throttle for the first time ever, and we squeezed past these boats with incredible ease. It was an exciting experience. This day was our longest day of navigation, so after 10 hours, we tied up the boat close to the next lock for the night.
There few other large boats there waiting to go through first thing in the morning.

Yesterday, September 1st, we started off at 9:45 AM. went through the lock with two large boats and the trajectory on The Seine from there was absolutely gorgeous. The river banks are lined with mansions and chateaux whose gardens extend to the edge the river. It was a glorious day, and we had miles between locks. We took turns at the helm, so we set the lounge chairs on the deck, so when I drove Bill sat out there to enjoy the experience, and vice versa. Our destination was the town of St. Mammes on the confluence of the Seine and Loing rivers. We checked out the moorings, which were OK, but we decided to go into The Loing, two kms. away to the town of Moret sur Loing, a very charming fortified town where Clemenceau and Sisley were born. The Port de Plaisance is extremely charming, pontoons before the lock, and lovely river banks lined with willows and beautiful vegetation.
We came in to the last spot available, lucky for us. I had done a load of laundry on the way, so as soon as we tied up, I hung it up to dry, we enjoyed the setting, had dinner on board and went into town to explore. It is absolutely gorgeous. This morning I am going to the Tourist Office to get information, since our friends Debbie and Richard from California will be joining us on Monday. We are going to do some work on the boat today and tomorrow to have it

























Thursday, August 24, 2006

U REVOIR TO CAMBRAI

It was with deep sadness that we left our Home Port of Cambrai, having said good bye to so many dear friends, whom we expect to see again. We left on a beautiful sunny day along with our friends Bertha and Paul King on Tarahumara, and their guest Sevi who had arrived from Barcelona the day before. We planned to meet in Vaucelles, 11 locks up the St. Quentin Canal and have dinner together on their boat. Bertha prepared a delicious lamb dish, and I, a salad and green beans. After tying up, it started to rain, and it did not stop until after we left their boat around midnight.

The next morning Bill did some work on the small generator we bought last year, with no success. After lunch we left to make sure we would make it to the Riqueval Tunnel where you are tied up to a tow that pulls you through a 6 Km. tunnel, a two hour passage. There was a large barge ahead of us, they tied up directly to the tow, we tied up to them and 2 hours later, out we were. At Km 41, we saw a place to moor the boat, tied up, had dinner and went to sleep. The next morning we were awaken by a knock on the door. It was a VNF employee (Voies Navigables de France), informing us that we were not allowed to stop there. He gave us a piece of paper that the tunnel people should have given us, informing us of the rules along that stretch of canal. I apologized and he told us not to worry, but to get ready to go. We set off, and just before the next tunnel 1 Km long, we tied up, had breakfast and continued on. This was the highest point in the canal, so the rest of the way we were locking down. It was a cool and rainy day until we got to Seracourt le Grand, where we had been on the way over and back from Champagne last year. Upon our arrival, we call Mr. Jean Champagne, in charge of the port to come and hook us up to power and electricity. He is a very friendly guy -- the Shreck type -- big and friendly. He told us it was his birthday and he was going to celebrate with his family. We had a lovely evening, I cooked a nice meal, did some reading and had a good night sleep.

It was very foggy when we left the next morning, but there is something very mystical about navigating in the fog. We had our running lights on, and we encountered no traffic. We were alone with nature and the sound of the water braking against the bow. We saw cranes, rabbits, albatros, martin fishers, and of course, a lot of ducks. We navigated 8 hours without stopping to make it to Pont L'Eveque, a tiny village on the Canal Lateral de L'Oise. The last 2 locks have a lock keeper who opens and closes the lock gates for all boats. Strangely enough, there were no lights at its entrance. As we came in, we saw a large barge on the other side, coming towards the lock. If there had been lights, he would had seen a red light indicating he could not yet approach the lock. The peniche was empty, its bow much higher than the wheelhouse, therefore, the captain had no view of what was in front of him. The lock keeper opened the gate for us to exit, and there was this enormous peniche coming at us as we were going out. We thought we were going to be hit. He saw us at the last second, Bill avoided him, I do not know how, and the peniche almost went straight into the wall of the lock. As we went past him, I yelled at him, but he ignored me. The guy was very old, and definitely shaken up. The one at fault, really was the lock keeper, who obviously was not paying attention. A lot of the time, these jobs are given to students while on vacation to replace the permanent lock keepers. We were VERY lucky this time.

After a long day of navigation, we arrived at Pont L'Eveque, tied up against the quay and waited for our friends Jim and Val, he a Kiwi, she a Brit, who were coming to have dinner with us on Biesbosch. While navigating I had prepared a beef bourguinone and rice. They arrived with a bottle of chilled champagne and baguettes for us. Needless to say, we ate and drank all evening. We had a lovely time with them. They stayed over for the night, had breakfast the next day, and they continued onto Paris in their car. They have a gorgeous converted tug boat, Titan, which they will be putting up for sale when they get to St. Jean de Losne.

From Pont l'Eveque we continued on a nice sunny day, and soon passed the confluence of the Oise and the Aisne rivers. The run to Compiegne is beautiful, and the river, wide. At this point, we started to see a lot of commercial traffic. We wanted to top off our fuel tank, so on the upstream side of the river, there was the fuel barge, to which we tied up and filled up. There is a fabulous ship's store there, so Bill went in and bought a few things. We left Compiegne, a city where we had been by car, and one that has beautiful architecture, palaces and chateaux, and an incredibly beautiful forest. We continued down the river for another few hours to Pont St. Maxmence, during which time, I did a load of laundry, and took advantage of the sun to put things out to dry. We moored at Km 72 at a little island before the lock and decided to go into town to explore. As we walked to the lock, the lady lock keeper was leaving and told us we were fenced in on the island, but gave us her phone number so she would open the gate for us to be able to get back in when we came back. She was a lovely girl, a student of Business, who was replacing the permanent lock keeper for the month of August. The town was charming and small, most businesses and restaurants closed, but we found a lovely Italian restaurant where we had a great meal. By the time we got back, we realized how tired we were, so we went immediately to bed and had a good night sleep. Today, Thursday, August, 24, as I write, we are still on the Oise, it is rainy and cold, but we feel like we are in heaven.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

OUR TRIP SOUTH

We left Cambrai via Paris during the heat wave, which lasted two weeks. We had planned to meet with friends from California who were there on vacation, so I made a reservation in a lovely restaurant in St. Germain and met them for dinner there. I think it was the hottest day of the year. We had a lovely time with them and their son Matt who goes to school at AGHS, and where Lisa, his mom is a Psychology teacher. We spent the night at Sylvia's niece's apartment, had lunch with her the next day and continued south to the town of Doussas, near The Nivernais Canal, where we had been invited by our friend Rosemary. She is the owner of Anfra, the boat on which we lived while we were outfitting Biesbosch. She and her husband John bought a lovely house there, where she spends part of the summer. She booked the local B&B for us, which was a very charming old farm owned by a Parisian couple and their two daughters. The area is one of the most beautiful in France, rolling hills, Chateaux, cattle fields, absolutely beautiful. Rosemary had invited the owner of the B&B, her neighbor, for cocktails in the yard. We had a lovely evening sitting among the apple trees, chatting and drinking some lovely champagne. After cocktails we had a lovely meal with Rosemary and her visiting friend, Hannah in the house. The next morning Rosemary had to leave early to take her friend to Dijon, so we said good bye and continued down towards Besancon, where we were to meet our friends Ronnie and Nigel, who were cruising on their boat, Blokzijl. The drive was beautiful, and we got there just before 7:00 PM. Their boat was moored below the fortification walls, in a most impressive setting. The fort is lit up at night, and from the canal the view is breathtaking. We sat on their deck to have some cocktails before going out to dinner in the old part of town. Blokzijl is a Dutch barge of 19 Mts. beautifully outfitted and extremely comfortable. We were so looking forward to spending the night on their boat and to spending time with them. They were the couple who found Biesbosch for us.

Bensancon is an old City with beautiful architecture, a lot of parks and incredible charm. It is there where Victor Hugo was born. We had dinner in a great restaurant on the Main Square/park which is laid out exactly like a Spanish City. We sat outside under these enormous plain trees and thoroughly enjoyed the dinner and this very special time with our friends. The next day we had a lovely breakfast on their boat and left in the direction of Annecy and continued south towards the Alps Maritimes where we were due to visit our friends Ana Ines and Jacques who spend their summers in La Doire. Their house is a wooden chalet, which Jacques has fixed up beautifully, all in pine, with a gorgeous garden that Ana Ines cherishes and which is located in one of the most beautiful settings one can imagine. It is a pretty isolated place where one can truly find peace.

They were having a party with 28 guests on Sunday, and everyone had to wear some kind of a hat, an original hat. Rosemary had lent us a couple that we could use and put anything on. I put a sunflower-like flower on Bill's and taped his ear. Since he looks like Van Gough, well, it was obvious. Mine was a type of fishing hat with loops, so I filled it with cosmetic items, and it turned out all right. There were some incredible hats, especially the one made by Ana Ines's niece made from origami birds. It was most artistic! On Sunday we did all the preparations for the party, such as setting the tables outside, They had already prepared the food, and their friend who is a caterer in Cannes was bringing the rest of the food. It was an unbelievable spread! It felt exactly like a French movie, with the family meal scene, in the most beautiful of settings. Copious amounts of drink and food were consumed that day, and after the meal, Jacques and two of his friends who have a music group, and who are quite accomplished musicians, played and sang for us. It was a beautiful ending to a special day. Monday morning we left their place down the Maritime Alps through some narrow roads along some incredible gorges, cascades, medieval towns, all and all, an incredible ride. We got to Monaco in the early afternoon, and decided to take it easy for the rest of the day. We stayed there for a week in Sylvia's nephew's apartment, truly relaxing and exploring around. We had the opportunity to go to a concert at the Palace Princier, given by the Monaco Philharmonic to celebrate Charlotte's birthday, and sat a few meters away from the Royal Family. We went to an art exhibit called New York, New York, on the last 50 years of New York art. It was incredibly well done. There was photography, painting, sculpture, video and film. It took us about three hours to see it all. The weather was warm and great our entire time in The South. One day we went to St. Tropez to meet our California friends Ken and Paca and their daughters, who were spending some time there while his paintings were being exhibited in a gallery. Being with them was a fabulous experience. We played petanque in the park and had a lovely meal right down from the gallery, sitting under the stars. The town is as beautiful as a Mediterranean town can be, and it is the playground of the rich and famous. The harbor is full of luxurious yachts, some with helicopters. It is a place where the men are as beautiful as the women. We left them at midnight and got back to Monaco after 2:00 AM. From Monaco we went to some tiny promontory towns such as Eze, La Turbie and Gorbio, each with its unique charm and beautiful architecture. The day before we left, we drove to Italy, and had a lovely experience eating on the beach at Bordighera. The ocean was so beautiful!

On the way back, we went through Burgundy, and south of Champagne, we went to visit our friend David, owner of Shenandoah, whom we had met in Cambrai, and who was stranded in an isolated spot with engine problems. His girlfriend had gone back to USA and he was there all alone literally in the middle of nowhere, a gorgeous bucolic spot, but very remote. He had prepared a great pasta meal for us, which we very much enjoyed, and he insisted we stay one more day with him. We did, and had a great time with Dave. The next day I cooked and we watched King Kong after dinner. We hated to leave Dave there, but Mary Ellen, his girlfriend will be back next week, and the 21st his new engine will be installed. It is going to be quite a project. They plan to go to Saint Jean de Losne for the winter.

We got back to Cambrai on Wednesday, and ever since it has been rainy and cool. Our friends Ronnie and Nigel stoped here for the night on their way to UK. They slept on Biesbosch, and gave us thumbs up on the recently completed "guests" accomodations. Today, Sunday, it is raining again. It is hard to believe that it is August, but that is the way the weather is in The North. Needless to say, our departure date has been postponed to next Friday the 18th of August. We are glad to start our cruising, but truly sad to be leaving such wonderful friends behind. It has been our third season here, so the friendships we have forged are very special. We will sure return from time to time to see all of them.


Hat party


A fabulous meal


View of La Doire from Jaques and Ana Ines' house


A typical town on the Maritime Alps


Beach at St. Maxime


Church tower in St. Tropez


Bill and Ken playing petanque


Group picture with Ken, Paca and girls


View from Monaco apartment


Town of Corbio


Evening view from Monaco apartment


Italian town of Ventimiglia


Shenandoah stranded at Marnay sur Marne


La Porte de Paris in Cambrai


La Turbie


La Turbie


View from the town of Eze