The Saône

Week 55 — Sept 6th - 19th (Sally).

This has been an interesting two weeks as we celebrated not only the anniversary of our purchase of Sable but also a year since we started our first cruise. We remember the trepidation as we set out and the few hiccups along the way as we gained confidence and knowledge into managing our floating home. In spite of it being the first day looking and the first boat we actually inspected we are both still convinced that we have not seen a vessel that would have suited us better. In our travels we have seen such a variety of boats, the strangest was little more than a floating raft, tent on top and powered by a single outboard motor. They chugged past us on the Meuse and we saw them again after they had completed 200 kms on their way north again. There have also been a variety of converted barges in various stages of renovation from the magnificent to the "How did I ever think I could do this." Those are the ones that make us so thankful that we bought a new-built with no work required.

Our two days in Gray extended to a week as we attempted to have a repair done on our clothes dryer. The promise of a new part by Thursday extended to 'perhaps' next Tuesday so we gave up and proceeded without a working dryer. However the extended stopover was not without highlights. We were moored to a long stone quay and on Sunday were woken by the VNF guys to warn us they were opening the barrages to release water, the result of a deluge upstream. We watched most of the day as the level rose until, when it was ankle deep over our ropes, we moved across river to a higher quay. The rest of the night was spent with one eye on the weather but by morning it was all under control again. Canal cruising has many advantages over rivers. The Saône, even this far up, is a mighty river — one to be very wary of when it is in flood. Gray was an important river port in its day and it had a large number of wealthy merchants who built great buildings throughout the town. Unfortunately most of these are now converted to flats and although the original grandeur is there it is slowly falling away under its weight of years. The Office of Tourism in Gray had organised a two hour guided tour of the town followed by a degustation lunch of local specialities. What a bargain at 4€20. It was interesting to get inside some of the buildings that are not normally open to the public, such as the original pharmacy of the old hospital complete with a wall of ceramic pots for herbs and potions plus the scales and tools for preparing them. Another fascinating building hosted a staircase where the top portion revolved to close off the top floor. It was renowned as the hiding place of an outlawed priest who became the champion of the people of Gray when he saved them from the plague.

From Gray we travelled downstream to Auxonne. Napoleon attended the local military academy in Auxonne and they are very proud of that. The town square boasts a statue of a very young Napoleon and the large military presence is accommodated in The Bonoparte Quarter. In the tourist Office we noticed a poster advertising an Exposition of Vauban in the Arsenal. So we set out to explore and found the Arsenal but could not find an entrance or any sign of the exposition. We gave up and returned to the Tourist office where I picked up the poster and asked our friendly lady for help. She told me it would cost 2€, to which I replied "Yes, but where is it?" The answer was it's 2€ for the poster, the exposition was last year!!!! They give you maps, booklets, free mooring with electricity and water, then charge 2€ for an out of date poster...  Auxonne also turned on a host of functions for our Sunday entertainment. The local triathalon started early and all day we had extremely fit runners passing to remind us that we should do more exercise. At 11.00am there was the local band, a march of soldiers and firemen with a wreath laying ceremony at the War Memorial. Then an open day at the fire station where we watched the complete destruction of a car using "The Jaws of Life."

Monday we continued our way south but true to form diverted and started north again up the Canal Rhone au Rhin. This is the canal that eventually leads to the Rhine and up to Strasbourg but we only intended to do a couple of kms to look at one village. Two days later we are still heading north, drawn on by the promise of just one more stop until we reached the old town of Dole where the Canal joins the river Doubs. Dole would have to be one of the prettiest places we have been to. A fascinating town of lovely parks, narrow cobbled streets and high pitched roofs, all dominated by tjonhe magnificent Church and bell tower. Every view is postcard pretty and we were sorry to leave.  But it was time to turn south again and after a day cruising we finally made it to St Jean de Losne. It is known as the inland capital of boating and you can see why. We are moored in a huge basin, one among 200+ boats — all shapes and sizes and several shipyards where boats are being repainted, repaired or converted from commercial to live-aboards. The town itself is disappointing. With such a floating population we had expected it to be a bit more welcoming so today we have decided to have one more little diversion before we continue south. Tomorrow we head west, up the Burgundy Canal to Dijon. Its only a day or so and seems a shame to be so close and not get among the grape vines of Burgundy, especially now that they're in the thick of picking. We are still enjoying glorious, sunny weather although for the past week there has been a strong and very bitter wind blowing straight down from the Urals. The sun will soon cross the equator into the southern hemisphere and we'll be following close behind! 

Haute Marne and Over the Top!

Week 53 — August 23rd - September 5th (Tony).

Brochures describe the canal up through Haute Marne as "the enchanting canal". And enchanting it certainly is. A number of bargees cautioned us that it is an uninteresting stretch, isolated and devoid of services and places to replenish supplies. Granted, it is a little isolated, for France, in that human habitation is sparse and villages are very small and more distantly spaced than elsewhere but the scenery is so tranquil and unspoiled. We reckon it is one of the nicest canals we have so far been on. Climbing up the Marne through seventy-five locks, all more than 3 m deep, the valley becomes narrower and more confined. Cattle graze in long, lush grass in pastures that cling to the lower slopes of the hillsides and across the valley floor while the hilltops are covered in dense forest. Trees, deciduous and conifer, line the canal and farm boundaries. The canal mostly hugs a contour part-way up the hillside, well above the river, thus giving an unimpeded view that, in our eyes, is 'heaven on a stick'.

We were particularly captivated by the ancient fortified towns of Chaumont and Langres. Both are situated on dominant promintories several kilometres away from the river so we were very thankful that we have motorbikes as they both warranted three day visits. And at both places we enjoyed clear skies and hot summer sunshine. Chaumont has a gorgeous, lively town centre and just out of town a massive viaduct built in the 1800's to carry the railway. Langres has very high ramparts which enfold the town and offer spectacular views over the surrounding region and are well worth the walk around. The old walls incorporate a gateway built by (or should I say for) the Romans in 20BC. In the town itself the houses are all incredibly old and adorably quaint. Most are in remarkable condition, though restoring such places must be a nightmare — a plumb-bob or spirit level wouldn't help much, only adding to the frustration. In order to earn a drink, I challenged Sally to join me in a climb to the top of the tower of the cathedral. As we entered the side porch beautiful organ music started up and we stepped into the nave to find ourselves onlookers to a huge wedding attended by no less than two hundred guests. As the door banged shut behind us the choir and congregation rose and burst into song for the first hymn. The lady curator standing sentinel inside the door was quite non-plussed by our intrusion and happily accepted our 2€ fee and guided us to the foot of the spiral staircase and we set off up the 220 tight winding steps, with the glorious choral symphony reverberating in our ears for at least another four or five verses. From the top we took in the marvellous views over the town and countryside before descending, again to organ accompaniment. But before we went off for our well deserved drinkies under shady parasoles at a delightful al fresco bar on the ramparts we joined what seemed like half the town assembled under the trees outside the cathedral to watch the newly married couple and fashionably dressed throng emerge through the 7 m high front doors. An hour later, thirst sated, we wandered back by the cathedral as a horse-drawn dray bearing a very old couple pulled up outside. After I jokingly suggested they may be the bride and groom for the next wedding we looked on, aghast, as family spent ten minutes or more assisting madam down from the wagon and into a wheelchair and to the resounding trumpet of the organ belting out "Here Comes the Bride" the happy couple began their cautious way up the aisle before the big doors were slammed shut by a zealous verger. I ungraciously presumed they were merely making legal what they intend to do with the farm when either or both of them go off to the rest home in the sky.

It's incredulous to realize that after rising upstream to more than 340 m above sea level, almost to the (underground) source of the Marne you then drift through a 4.8 km tunnel into the valley of the Vingeanne which is a tributary of the Saône. From this point the Marne flows down to join the Seine in Paris and thence to the North Sea; the Saône empties into the Rhone and then the Mediterranean. Immediately, one is struck by the contrast for here the valley is very wide, though just as fertile, with rambling undulations. Like the Barossa, it is difficult to define the area as a 'valley.' Nonetheless the canal drops sharply down to join the River Saône near Pontailler sur Saône. But instead of continuing south we couldn't resist the temptation to journey a day's travel upstream to spend the weekend at Gray another very old historic town on the Saône. We are bound to come this way again to get to Nancy or Toul but curiosity got the better of us. We're feeling rather like recalcitrant children reluctant to returm home from the playground 'cause we're having so much fun.

But, come Monday, we definitely have to turn around and head downstream back towards Roanne. And we are looking forward to a summer in Aus. Last Tuesday we cracked a bottle of champagne to celebrate the anniversary of our buying Sable. We've been here more than a year now, what a year!

Also last Tuesday kids throughout Europe went back to school to start a new year; which means most businesses are open again, buses and trains have reverted to normal timetables, and soon TV programs will resume their normal 'ratings' schedule, I hope. TV has been crap here for the past two months, apart from the Olympic Games coverage of course. Didn't Beijing do the games proud? I must look into mooring possibilities for Sable in the Thames for 2012...