Au Revoir, la France
/Week 59 — Oct 6th - 19th (Sally).
This will be our final newsletter for now as we are at the end of our fabulous experience of living a year in France. It has been seven months since we set out from Roanne to make the trip to the Somme in time for Anzac Day commemorations and we have come full circle and are now moored back in Roanne at the same spot on the quay. We have caught up with old friends who are already here. Everyday another boat arrives and by the end of October the port will be full and winter life will be resumed. About half the boats are occupied all winter so there is a lively social life when the weather allows. A sign of how acclimatised we are becoming was a comment made this morning, by the person not going for croissants, "Its twice as warm as yesterday, it's nearly 5 degrees." The thought of an Australian summer gets more appealing every day. The days though have been lovely, warm and sunny lately, back into shorts and t-shirts.
Our travels since April have taken us along 2,971kms of waterways, and 827 locks, through stunningly beautiful countryside. On reminiscing, there is not a piece of it we would not travel again, and our minds are full of memories and highlights of each day — great cities, historical sites, magnificent buildings, quaint villages around old central squares; and history everywhere. When we look back now it is the close-to-nature mind pictures that are most precious — wild flowers on the banks in spring, ducks and geese with their flocks of young scurrying out of our way, the blue herons who try so hard to be brave and ignore us but then fly off at the last minute, a lone fisherman wrapped to the ears against the cold; and always another picturesque scene opening up as we gently cruise along. Our last two weeks have been a kaleidascope of colour as autmn turned on a magnificent display to make sure we will come back next year. Tony has just loaded onto our website a small selection of the many many photos we took of the colours along the canal banks and of course through the vineyards of southern Burgundy.
At Chagny we dcided to investigate what is reported to be one of the best restaurants in France with the thought that it would be a nice way to say goodbye to Myra whose four day stay had stretched to ten. (It is such a delight when others appreciate our way of life almost as much as we do.) The menu was posted at the door and judging by the sightseers it is probably the biggest tourist attraction in Chagny!!! The cheapest degustation menu started at 100€ each, and that was without wine. We reckoned with the Aus dollar as it is, for the three of us plus some wine that would be $700AU. There was a dearer menu at 150€ and on the à la carte menu, an entrée at 75€. Amazing! Myra and I then called at the local boucherie (see photo) and spoiled ourselves with a Poulet au Bresse. They are the crème de la crème of french chickens, complete with an AOC, (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) and a price ticket to match. You buy them with head and feet intact, it ensures you are getting the genuine thing as the feet are quite distinctive but they are also weighed in with the final price before they remove them for you. It was quite a performance and we were given very firm instructions by the butcher on how long to cook it. The result was superb, another memorable meal at a vastly cheaper price than the restaurant. From Chagny it was a 5km cruise to Santenay where we stayed for two more nights to get our final Burgundy vineyard fix. Santenay is the southernmost village of the Cote d'Or and from there you can bike 80kms through designated bikeways all the way to Dijon. We did 8kms the first day and enjoyed it so much we decided to visit Beaune, 22kms away, the next day. Tony was very thankful that we are now down to two bicycles as it gave him the excuse to motorbike there. That day will always shine as a special memory — acres of vines, reds, golds and russet colours on either side of the path and each little village greeting us with the aroma of the first stages of wine making — the fermentation. Eleven kilometres into the ride I suggested perhaps a taxi for the rest of the way and was answered with a very heartfelt "Yes," from big sister. Beaune deserved the extra time. The highlight of Beaune is the 15th century Hospice, built to care for the poor after the Hundred Years War and is a masterpiece of Burgundian mediaeval architecture. It still retains all the original wards, beds all made, pharmacy and kitchen but the jewel of the whole complex is The Last Judgement Polyptyct by Rogier van der Weyden. It is housed in a specially lit room and is breathtakingly beautiful.
We said goodbye to Myra at Santenay, we will meet her in Jordan next week, and continued our journey climbing up and southwards to St Leger sur Dheune where we met up once again with Christian and Charlotte on Kinette, then on again to the topmost point of the canal at Montceau les Mines, the newest town in Burgundy, built as a mining town in the 19th century but what it lacks in history it has compensated in landscaping as all the disused mines are now beautiful parkland with even a golf course. One of the few we have seen in France. There was a music festival in town that night and a great market the next morning so we set off on our downward journey towards the Loire well stocked up. I have tried to limit my buying at markets by only taking a basket, reasoning if I can't carry it home I won't buy it but still end up with far more food than we need. But who can resist fresh strawberries, figs so ripe they are almost bursting, eight different types of tomatoes that all taste like tomatoes should and the smell of hot roasted ham hocks and roast baby potatoes. Yes we have put on weight. Well who wouldn't!!
We are now back in Charolais country, no cropping on this stretch of farmland, just picture book farms with every paddock a herd of white cows. Charolais were developed as a breed in this area, a fact they are very proud of. There is even a Charolais museum where you can do meat tasting but perhaps next time. Our next stop was Genelard, I don't think it would feature on any map it is so small but worth the stop for a new museum on the Demarcation Line. We spent an hour or so there and couldn't take it all in on one visit. So many exhibits, photos, documents, maps and stories of how the French people coped with the German occupation and beat the system at that time. We were the only people there but one would hope it becomes better known as it is well worth the visit. From there it was a short run through more spectacular autumn colours to Paray de Monial where we moored almost under the Basilica walls. Paray is an important pilgrimage site and the restored Basilica and adjacent cloisters is the centrepiece of the whole town. From there we took our m'bikes for one last run through the countryside to Charolles and then once again through the hills back again. Prettier farmland would be hard to find.
After Paray it was a hop-step to Digoin and a reluctant turn into the Canal Digoin to Roanne and the final leg of our trip. On our return to port we were welcomed by a blast from a ship's horn and since then it has been a time greeting old friends, meeting a few new folk and spring cleaning Sable in preparation for leaving her next Thursday. Australia, here we come!