Spring is in the Air

9th April, 2010 (Sally)

Spring in France is always a special time, made even more so this year for the folks who wintered-over in Roanne as it was such a long cold winter. We arrived back at our second home to a countryside that was showing all the signs of the change of seasons. The first green growth on trees, daffodils, blossom, beds of full-flowering pansies and of course the major sign of spring in our area, dazzling white calves of the Charolais cattle.

This trip back was the first time we had come non-stop, and I mean Brisbane, Singapore, Paris then a train from the airport to Lyon and another to Roanne. Long and tiring but so nice to recover in the comfort and warmth on board Sable. We arrived midday to find a basic shop had been done for us by one of our friendly neighbours and in just a short time Tony had all systems up and running. By 6.30 we were able to collapse into our own bed and try and get the body clocks readjusted to northern time. The rest of the week was restocking the fridge, pantry and, yes, you have guessed, the wine racks.

Also time to get into the market and sample some of the delights of french food. Seven different cheeses in the fridge, boxes of strawberries and small melons from Spain and the first white asparagus just coming into season. Cold enough still for soup, so we have had our french onion soup; leek, bacon and potato; and very adventurously, french garlic soup [take 30 cloves of garlic] Mmmmmm... perhaps we may not try that one again. Boeuf bourguignon; Coq au Vin; Porc noisettes with prunes: I think I am trying to emmulate Julie and Julia and work my way through my favourite cookbook, "The Food of France." However the chapters on bread and patés I never even open, not when the shops are bursting with the best of both.

This year promises to be the year of the visitor, with several already booked and for our first time we actually left port with visitors aboard. Tony's sister and husband, Eleanor and Jim, have been touring Scotland and England so spent four days with us before carrying on to a tour of Italy. The respite between busy sightseeing was welcome and also a chance for them to experience our way of life. Jim was amazed at the comfort of Sable, and they enjoyed the peaceful vistas of the countryside as we cruised down the Roanne canal. The green of the paddocks, or should I say fields, provides a very picturesque background for the herds of cream Charolais cattle with their small white calves. We are in Charolais country here so one sees no other animals but these herds newly released from their winter shelters. The other striking image is the very large muck-heaps of winter bedding that is being emptied from the same sheds with the resulting odour. Well as they say, "Where there is muck there is money" and it is certainly true in this case. As a retired butcher Jim was impressed with the quality of the cattle; (you can take the man out of the butcher shop, but you can't take the butcher out of the man.) It is all very familiar country to us, our seventh trip along that same canal but still it has new delights and surprises. When we left port last year there was some consternation that this canal and several others may close as they were uneconomic and expensive to maintain. The various officials from Roanne and surrounding areas plus the bargees in port met and formed a 'Friends of the Canal' committee. It has been very effective, or perhaps it was just a ruse but we now find the canal is being maintained and at least two rallies are planned to take place in Roanne later this season. A relief for us as Roanne has become our home port and a very safe and comfortable place to leave our lovely Sable for the winter.

We spent a night at Digoin with El and Jim and eventually Paray le Monial where we put them on a bus back to Paris for their flight to Rome. Paray, where we have stayed several times, is a significant pilgrimage site in France, with a magnificent basilica and cloister gardens. The normally quiet town is host today to several busloads of tourists, or should I say pilgrims as the tours are all centered around the church buildings and we notice some of the parties are composed solely of priests and young priests in training.

As it is Spring, and in Spring one plants a garden, I have been busy resurrecting the flower pots and shopping for garden-mix and seedlings. We now have two troughs of pansies brightening our deck plus parsley, chives, tarragon, thyme and sage just waiting for the cook. So nice to have fresh herbs on board. Some bargees get very enthusiastic and last year we saw tomatoes and even a hydroponic setup that was planted with lettuce and other greens. Can't see the Captain entertaining that idea somehow. The skies over France, although seeming clear enough, must be laden once again with dust blown high up into the atmosphere from the Sahara Desert, for after two overnight showers Sable bears a film of brown mud! Imagine what one's washing-on-the-line would be like — certainly not rinsed clean. Perhaps that explains why one rarely sees clothes hung out to dry, especially overnight. Tony is busy scrubbing Sable as I write; not his favourite pastime.