Almost Home

11 August, 2014 (Sally)

We left Champagne three weeks ago, slowly and reluctantly. It certainly is a part of France that we have become familiar with and one that we have no trouble coming back to. After a couple of weeks of unsettled weather when the family was with us the sun came out and we stopped and enjoyed an extra day or so at the little village of Damery. Vineyards on either side and a selection of champagne houses in the village that would take a week or two to visit. We managed two on a Sunday stroll, with only a back pack and on foot we are no match for the serious buyers and sure enough at our second tasting we met the same Belgian family that were here last time, very smart cars with copious boots to fill, we left them settling in for the extended tasting and buying session. We added our couple of bottles to the backpack.

At Dolmans we visited again the French Memorial to the Great War, this is one of three national memorials in France and as always a sobering remembrance of the cost in young lives wasted and the huge material cost to the country. Next stop Chateau Thierry, always a pleasant stop and our last chance for a champagne tasting. Tony was having a hair cut and the lady hairdresser insisted he must visit her brother who had a vineyard in the nearby village and was one of only forty fully-organic producers of champagne. Well why not, so off we went for a lovely ride through hills and amused her brother when we arrived on our two little motors. What is interesting is the size or lack thereof of some of the properties. This particular one was only 4.5 ha yet he managed a very comfortable living from that; and one in Dormans was even smaller at 3ha, a far cry from the large Moets and Bollingers that seem to own or buy up huge areas of grapes.

At Charly we had a funny experience with some fishermen. Negotiating past their long rods and lines is one of the hazards of the waterways and sure enough when we arrived at this little mooring a group of lads had taken over most of the quay with tents, campfires etc. Next morning we saw a huge commercial barge approaching and next minute it had swept all their rods in front of him. Shouts and quite a few words we haven't heard before issued forth but next thing the commercial had stopped, backed up and lines were rescued. All seemed sweet as the barge then rafted off us, using the bollards on Sable to secure himself. I went off for bread and Tony explained to the bargee that we would be leaving in 30 mins so he could move into our space. At which he said he was here to stay and didn't care what we wanted to do, then the boys got involved and more heated words were exchanged but everyone calmed down and it was all resolved by the time I returned. Our language skills and vocabulary do get a workout at times like these.

Our last stop on the Marne was at the delightful village of Lagny. This is our third time there and every time the water and electricity is not working so the mooring is free. One wonders if it has ever worked. All too soon we left the peaceful stretches of the Marne into the more commercial area and were soon on the outskirts of Paris. Through the junction of the Marne and Seine and under the first bridges on our way into the city. The river is the main transport route of gravel, sand and all building materials into Paris so you find yourself competing with enormous barges carrying huge amounts of material. However as long as you give them right of way, and who wouldn't, it all works fine. We moored in the port of Arsenal, under the Bastille monument and set off to enjoy a few days in Paris. First stop the Cluny Musée where the one thing I wanted to see, "The Lady and the Unicorn" tapestries is now exhibited in its new rooms. They lived up to and surpassed all expectations, six wonderful tapestries is such detail and colours so fresh and clear. From there it was a short walk to a cafe on the left bank and time for a refreshing drink. We settled down opposite one of the fresh seafood stands with its wonderful display of oysters, prawns and crabs, all on beds of ice. I watched several people stop to take photos and after half an hour decided an entree of oysters and champagne on the deck of Sable would be nice start to our evening in Paris. The order was taken, then the decision over which oysters, I chose Normandy. Ouvert? Of course. A large polystyrene hub cap, filled with ice, 6 oysters nestled amomg same, 4 large quartered lemons the whole wrapped in a huge plastic bag and tied with two contrasting monogrammed ribbons. I now had a parcel weighing a couple of kilos to manhandle home on the Metro! Hilarious, expensive, but enjoyable and where else but Paris would your fishmonger have monogrammed ribbon.

It was the first day of French holiday madness so Paris was full of school groups, family outings and very hot and bothered looking tourists. We avoided all the usual sights and took the metro to the Bois de Boulogne, hired Paris bikes and cycled through acres of unspoilt woodland. In the process we got ourselves totally lost and came out the opposite side where we were only one stop from the end of the metro line. We did see a couple of people walking and some with their dogs but it was almost impossible to believe we were in the middle of such a busy city. We then took the metro back to the left bank, hired bikes again and cycled right through the busiest parts to get back home. Such a contrast. The next day we walked again and chose another less popular one. From the port one follows the old railway viaduct where a selection of very eclectric artisan shops have taken space inside the brick arches. We peered through the windows at high fashion, lovely glass work, iron work and some fascinating timber furniture. It seemed that no one wanted walk-in customers. I would think their work was for very high end interior decorators but wonderful to see. The walk back was on top of the 600m viaduct which is now a lovely garden with lots of seats to sit and enjoy the flowers and the views. So many special places in Paris to be discovered.

From Paris we turned up the Seine and once again shared the water with the commercial barges. So many and so huge. As we went into one lock we were told to move forward as 4 more barges were coming in and sure enough we suddenly were dwarfed by this enourmous amount of shipping. Its such a bonus for Paris to have all that heavy material coming into the city by barge. It would be impossible to do it by truck. Three days on the Seine and we turned into the much more peaceful Canal de Loing which rises up from the Seine valley and down into the Loire. This is a delightful piece of canal, we are moving quite quickly but have already decided we will come back this way next year so have made several notes of things to do then. At Montargis, we stopped to collect our last vistors of the year. Lorraine and her friend Shirley-Ann were with us in Holland for a few days a couple of years ago and joined us again after travelling around for 3 months. This was their time to relax and unwind before the long trip home but as they had a car and we were so close to the Loire Valley we did take a day trip to one of the most famous chateaux, Chambord, the hunting lodge of Francois 1. I had last seen it in 1991 when it was being restored and you could only visit the outside, what a difference today. You can visit the inside, watch an equestrian display, eat at a dozen restaurants, hire a bike, boat or pedicab to get around the grounds and buy souvenirs from the gift shop or a number of other retail outlets. What a change to see such commercial enterprise and they were doing very well with it. From there we went to the pretty little town of Blois where the heavens opened. It was lunch time so we found a restaurant and changed our plans to venture further afield.

The two must-see sights on this canal are the historic seven ecluses, built in 1490's, that are now preserved beside the more modern ones; and of course the Briare aquaduct that spans the river Loire. We managed to take them to both of those before putting them on a train back to Montargis where they left their car. Now we are on the last leg back to home base. It will take us two weeks to do that then its clean-up time before the packing and winterising and that long flight home.

Champagne & Cyclists

21 July, 2014 (Tony)

Our plans to enter Nancy via the vastly shorter embranchment from Richardménil were thwarted by an over-officious VNF éclusier who declared there was not enough water in the canal. We took him at his word and made the instant decision to take the long way around, down the Moselle and through Toul. Two full days instead of half a day. We later learned that two other skippers, one of whom was a personal friend of the chief of the VNF had the shortcut opened for them immediately after he phoned his friend. After our lovely sojourn in Nancy we returned down the embranchment and there was no sign of lack of water; in fact it was overflowing. C'est la vie! We have visited Nancy several times before, but not in a boat which provides a whole new aspect to the city. It is much larger and more attractive than we had previously imagined. First task after mooring up in the marina in the heart of town was to take Sally's motorbike up to the Honda dealer in Laxou in the hope of obtaining a new muffler. The local clown at Roanne had welded a crack in the muffler and his ineffective handiwork lasted barely a week. The motorbike now sounded like a dirt-bike at a motorcross rally. Alas, M. Honda searched the internet and there was not a muffler anywhere in France for an old bike such as ours. Oh well I was in Laxou (later to feature in the Tour de France as the riders screamed down into Nancy for the finish of Stage 7) a suburb high above the city with spectacular views over Lorraine countryside. I became so hopelessly lost it took me almost an hour to find my way, with help from strangers, back to the boat. Gray, Suellen, Elsie and Joey arrived next morning. One afternoon Gray observed a man welding on a boat permanently moored in the port. With a 20€ note and cheerful gesticulations he elicited the help of the owner and the boilermaker magically produced a MIG welder and in no time carried out as fine a repair as one has ever seen on the old muffler. Sally can now ride her quiet 50cc Honda without drawing any more attention than the normal astonished gasps on seeing a seventy year old granny on a motorbike.

We spent four days in Nancy. There is plenty to do and see in this lovely city. We ventured into Stanislas Square a number of times. The light show screened onto the buildings around three sides of the square at 10:45 pm (it doesn't get dark until then) was stunning. We were also impressed with their new tram system — 1.20€ adult fare; and much cheaper buying multi-tickets. There is only one steel track, in the centre, to guide the tram, normal rubber tyres are fitted to the wheels. When I think about the scale of work, not to mention the amount of concrete that was used to construct the Gold Coast's light rail system... how much expense could have been saved! Unfortunately the weather changed the moment our family arrived. It had been scorching hot through most of June but during their time with us there were showers almost every day. No one was deterred by a little damp weather but with World Cup soccer, Wimbledon, and Tour de France to watch on TV a fair amount of time was wittled away indoors in front of the box. It wasn't all Tv a sthe cards came out, Mexican train and more than a few games of scrabble on the Ipad, plus of course Elsie had bought her supply of reading material. her shoulder bag weighed in at 5.8kgs and then she discovered my kindle which has been read into the ground. Nonetheless we still enjoyed many drinks and delicious meals outside on the grass under shady trees. Our sympathies lie with the farmers who were quarter-way into harvesting their wheat and barley. Weeks later many crops have been flattened by rain and a lot are black with mildew.

We moved on to Toul where we had a great berth on the quay. Everyone enjoyed exploring this old city with its still-intact ramparts and fortifications. One day all, except me, took a train to Metz, another fascinating city rich in history and always worth visiting. We set off from Toul with the aim of reaching Chalons en Champagne to watch the Tour de France race through the town on their way from Epernay to Nancy on 11 July. It meant fairly full days cruising with lots of locks each day. Most of the time a couple of bikes were deployed to ease the boredom, or tension. The overnight stops in Bar le Duc and Vitry le Francois demanded more than a cursory look and we all had a wander around the towns to catch up on some shopping and to find spare parts for the bikes. Gray was kept busy throughout his stay mending punctures, replacing gears, adjusting brakes; and raising and lowering seats. And when not fixing bikes he busied himself with repairs and maintenance on Sable. We arrived in Chalons in time to arrange a night out at a beautiful restaurant to celebrate Sally's 70th birthday. We rafted alongside Kismet and got to meet a new couple, Brett and Ann. Brett has a fascinating job with World Food Program and regaled us with some interesting stories and conundrums faced by the UN. We shared a bottle of champagne with them on their beautiful old Tchalk before we went out for the evening. It poured with rain, but hey, champagne tastes great in any weather.

We all caught a train to Reims on the 10th to watch the finish of Stage 6 of the Tour. It was really just an excuse to revisit the place — we can't resist it. We found a good place to see the riders come round the last bend 1km from the finish. Elsie and Joey scored lots of goodies from the Caravanne as they passed. Without the Caravanne it wouldn't be worth waiting for the few fleeting seconds it takes for the riders to speed by but the ambience of being 'live' at such a momentous global event is something special. Next day we stood again at the side of the road in Chalons to see them race past. An even better haul of goodies as Joey waved our large Aussie flag and they responded with extra generosity. With the Tour 2014 over we set off into the gorgeous Champagne district with stops at Condé sur Marne, Mareuil sur Ay and Epernay. Excursions by bikes and motorbikes to Bouzy, Tours sur Marne, Ay, Haute Villers and Mutigny ensured stocks of bubbly were replenished and understandably lots of tastings were required prior to confirming purchases. We couldn't cruise past Vraux without taking the family to visit the Musée de l'Aviation 1939-45. This amazing museum to WWII aviation history is housed in a converted barn in the middle of a tiny village. The curators and collectors are a bunch of voluntary enthusiasts who spend their weekends cleaning and restoring wreckage and remnants of war planes found, and still being found, in the French countryside. Among the memorabilia is a display about a Lancaster bomber which crashed near Chalons, 17 December, 1944 — the day after I was born. Navigator on that fateful flight — all the crew survived and were repatriated — was our dear Rotarian friend Keith Robson. We wish you well, Keith.

At Epernay we bade farewell to Gray, Suellen and kids as they left to spend several days in Paris. The temperature immediately soared to +40C and we roasted, too hot to do anything except loll in the shade. We crept down to Damery to sample more champagne at caves within the village but ventures further afield were deemed out of the question. The harvesters are out again and huge loads of wheat are trundling past us into the silos and a few heavily laden commercial barges are also on the move. All is well; there will be bread in France. We are now on our way to Chateau Thierry and it is cooler so hopefully we'll get up into the hills before we leave Champagne.