La Marne

Week 44 — June 21st - July 4th (Tony).

If you watched the first stage of the Tour de France, as we did, live, you would have noticed the gorgeous scenery along the route. Unfortunately we can't take our boat to Bretagne; nor can we get anywhere within cooee of the Tour (the very year it goes through Roanne!) but hereabouts the scenery is just as picturesque, the villages similarly quaint and adorable. We are presently in slow-mode, watching paint dry, literally. The summer weather has been gloriously hot, clear sunny skies for days, which ultimately provoked a mighty electrical storm the other night that reminded us of home. We have enjoyed stopping for several days or more at a number of places and doing a bit of painting as well as exploring the nearby towns and villages. Sable now boasts a new livery with the walkways painted blue/grey — much easier on the eyes than the stark white, and easier to keep clean too.

Rotarian friend, Pauline Armstrong, joined us at Epernay and after a three day stopover there, which of course included a mandatory tour of the House of Moët, the caves and samples of their product, we set off down the Marne through vineyards exclusively growing grapes for champagne. More attractive scenery would be difficult to find anywhere. Now in lush full growth the vines stretch row on row over thousands of hectares. Imagine the colours in early autumn as the leaves on the vines and the trees turn russet and gold. We turned about at Dormans, just at the limit of the Champagne terroir, after hiking up to the French National Memorial Chapelle built by Maréchal Foch to commemorate the two victorious Battles of the Marne (1914 and 1918). We were unable to get inside the beautiful chapel but the grounds and gardens were lovely. Another pause at Chatillon sur Marne prompted a bike ride up to the top of the hill above the town to take in the magnificent vista of the region from the imposing statue of Pope Urban II whose silly idea it was to start the Crusades. On the pretext that we would need three bikes, Sally got a new one as an early birthday present but that was about the only occasion the three of us went for a ride. However, she loves her new bike and now uses it daily, up and down the tow path and forays into villages, essentially for supplies of fresh cheese and/or patisseries. However, the cheese and pastries have taken a back seat to the fresh fruit which is literally flooding the markets — apricots, peaches, nectarines and cherries like we used to get before supermarkets decided how and what we should eat. There are still lovely punnets of strawberries and raspberries as well. It's hard to choose between them all.

Bypassing Epernay on the return journey, we continued to Vraux on the Canal Lateral à la Marne to visit a very special museum. On the day after I was born an RAF Lancaster bomber crashed in a field about forty kilometres from here. The entire crew bailed out and parachuted to safety, albeit behind German lines, except the pilot who was trapped and badly injured but survived. All were sheltered by the French locals and repatriated to Britain before they could be captured by German soldiers. The navigator was an Australian and Rotarian friend, Keith Robson, then twenty one who was keen for us to see this museum and arranged the relevant introductions.

In 1939 an RAF Squadron was based at an aerodrome just north of Vraux from where they flew regular sorties over France to Belgium and German borders. Most of the airmen were billeted in the town and nearby farms. On 11 May, 1940 sixteen Blenheim bombers were neatly lined up, engines running ready for take off when a German raid suddenly flew over and destroyed the lot. Some were replaced but a few days later the order was given to evacuate all RAF bases back to Britain. The airfield was then used by the Germans and later by the Americans so it had a varied history. After the war it reverted to farmland. A small group of aviation enthusiasts has developed a most amazing museum in Vraux full of memorabilia of all kinds, French, British, American and German including pieces of aircraft dug up in fields nearby, much of it in unrestored condition. And there is a display, with photos, story and parts from Keith's crash; and presentations made during his visit to the museum just a few years ago. It was so special to be able to visit this wonderful little museum and we were all made to feel very welcome by aviation enthusiast extraordinaire and museum custodian, Gérard Faux.

Chalons en Champagne was not only a gorgeous town but beside the mooring was a delightful area of lawn shaded under big plane trees. We spent three nights there. The girls explored the town and I took the motorbike and shopped for champagne and some outdoor carpet for the top deck. This looks great, protects the surface and makes the top deck area safer and more useable. In recent days it has been used constantly. Hey, it's summer over here!

We arrived at the tiny village of Pogny on a Saturday afternoon in time to find ourselves the intrigued spectators of not one but two weddings. The first bridal party, comprising bride and five or six bridesmaids, trailing family and Mother of the Bride walked, presumably from their home outside the village, to the church — no small distance and in considerable heat. What would they have done had it rained? Farther back someone was walking a couple of donkeys, though we're not sure if they were connected to the festivity or not. The other bride rode in a black post-war Citroën, and like the car, immaculately restored. Guests were turning up to the church, many more than fifteen minutes late and desperately looking for places to park.

So enamoured by Vitry le Francois were we, we stayed for four days. Another top town. Tick... In full sun I got a lot of painting done. Three canals intersect at Vitry and it took us three days to decide which direction to head next. We eventually decided to follow the Canal Marne au Rhin, at least up to Bar le Duc. From there we hope to skip across to Verdun by bus (we'll take Sable there another year) to visit the war history sites that are especially featured this July. Since leaving Vitry we have meandered oh so slowly, stopping for a night or three every few kilometres. The countryside is so pretty and tranquil, who would want to rush through it?