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.