Bonjour tout le monde,
It has been ages since I have written this blog. I took a long break during our winter in Auxerre, but I think I posted enough pictures that you all know that we were still alive and enjoying our life in Burgundy. ;)
We were very happy to have spent the winter in the lovely city of Auxerre, where we had all the conveniences within a short walk or bike ride away (which is very important if you don’t have a car, and can’t be moving in the boat because the canals are closed for the winter!). We also made good friends who were also wintering in Auxerre, our friends Aileen and Mike from the UK on their narrow boat, and Steve and Pei-shan, two Americans on their Piper barge. We met nice people in town, our baker, butcher, cheese maker, hair dresser, etc. All of these people we will miss.
It has been ages since I have written this blog. I took a long break during our winter in Auxerre, but I think I posted enough pictures that you all know that we were still alive and enjoying our life in Burgundy. ;)
We were very happy to have spent the winter in the lovely city of Auxerre, where we had all the conveniences within a short walk or bike ride away (which is very important if you don’t have a car, and can’t be moving in the boat because the canals are closed for the winter!). We also made good friends who were also wintering in Auxerre, our friends Aileen and Mike from the UK on their narrow boat, and Steve and Pei-shan, two Americans on their Piper barge. We met nice people in town, our baker, butcher, cheese maker, hair dresser, etc. All of these people we will miss.
Burgundy is thus far our most favorite region of France, and now that we have just completed the last canal of Burgundy, the Canal du Briare, and are on rivers for awhile, heading south, we are already nostalgic for the Burgundian things we will miss.
We will miss the Burgundian food, the cheeses (remember that I said we knew our cheese maker?) Époisse and Délice de Bourgogne being our favorites! We will miss the Burgundian Coq au Vin, Boeuf Bourgignon, Jambon Chablisienne, but the escargots and the andouillettes, not so much (andouillette is sausage for which you have to have an acquired taste). We will definitely miss our bakery, La Maison Roy, which has the best croissants and patisseries we have ever tasted in our travels in France. We were very spoiled this winter, and our waistlines (at least mine) prove it.
Of course, we will miss the wines of Burgundy. Living in Auxerre, we were only a half an hour away from Chablis country, my favorite white wine, and from Bailly, a maker of Crémant, a sparkling wine. Trader Joe’s imports this under the name of Blason de Bourgogne if you ever want to try it. However there are many more wines and cheeses, and dishes to taste, as each region has it’s own, so I don’t think we will miss these for long! Coming up next are the Côtes de Rhone, and then the wines from Pays d’Oc!
We will miss the Burgundian food, the cheeses (remember that I said we knew our cheese maker?) Époisse and Délice de Bourgogne being our favorites! We will miss the Burgundian Coq au Vin, Boeuf Bourgignon, Jambon Chablisienne, but the escargots and the andouillettes, not so much (andouillette is sausage for which you have to have an acquired taste). We will definitely miss our bakery, La Maison Roy, which has the best croissants and patisseries we have ever tasted in our travels in France. We were very spoiled this winter, and our waistlines (at least mine) prove it.
Of course, we will miss the wines of Burgundy. Living in Auxerre, we were only a half an hour away from Chablis country, my favorite white wine, and from Bailly, a maker of Crémant, a sparkling wine. Trader Joe’s imports this under the name of Blason de Bourgogne if you ever want to try it. However there are many more wines and cheeses, and dishes to taste, as each region has it’s own, so I don’t think we will miss these for long! Coming up next are the Côtes de Rhone, and then the wines from Pays d’Oc!
If you wonder why we have spent so much time sailing in Burgundy, (besides for the wine and cheese) it is because it is so wonderful for boating. It is the region with the most canals in all of France. There are 828 kilometers of canals, with 1,278 locks not counting the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne which we traveled and is 224 kilometers, or the smaller canals that branch off from the main canals of Burgundy. We have now completed them all, the Canal de Bourgogne which we completed last summer, the Canal de Nivernais, Canal du Centre, and Canal Latéral à la Loire which we sailed last fall, the Canal du Loing, and the Canal du Briare which we just completed this month. Our favorite has been the Canal du Nivernais because there are manual locks manned by lock keepers, and you can help them open and close the locks. The countryside is bucolic and picturesque, and there are lovely lock houses, some still lived in by the lock keepers. Our second favorite is the Bourgogne, also manually operated by itinerant lock keepers, and we found that the Bourgogne was almost always adjacent to a clear meandering river where you can take a swim at the end of a hot day. The Bourgogne Canal is lined with beautiful little towns, whose churches and bridges were all built around the 16th century and look like they were taken directly from the movie “Chocolat”. My least favorite has been the Canal du Centre, one that we just completed, because it has automated locks which aren’t as fun. There is no lock keeper present, and you have to pull an actuator to activate the lock. If you are ascending you have to climb up slippery ladders to get to the actuator (which Chris always does, while I look nervously on and try to keep the boat moored to the side of the canal). Also sometimes the locks break down and you have to call on an intercom to get an éclusier to come and reset the lock.
Since we left Auxerre on April 1st, we have traveled through 202 locks and 673 kilometers, down the Loing, the Briare, the rest of the Canal Latéral à la Loire, and the rest of the Canal du Centre, as well as the Yonne River and the Petit Seine and Seine ( 57 km from Paris. It was as close as we got to Paris this time).
On these canals there were many historic places and villages that we visited. Sens, and it’s lovely cathedral, Nevers with it’s ceramic museum, Sancerre, where we climbed a death defying hill to be able to taste the wine, the Pont Canal of Briare, a bridge canal of 662 meters long that crosses the Loire, and the bridge canal of Digoin which we crossed followed by our friends Mike and Aileen in their narrow boat, as Mike jumped up and down on the roof of their boat!
On these canals there were many historic places and villages that we visited. Sens, and it’s lovely cathedral, Nevers with it’s ceramic museum, Sancerre, where we climbed a death defying hill to be able to taste the wine, the Pont Canal of Briare, a bridge canal of 662 meters long that crosses the Loire, and the bridge canal of Digoin which we crossed followed by our friends Mike and Aileen in their narrow boat, as Mike jumped up and down on the roof of their boat!
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We had some visitors on these last canals of Burgundy, Celine and Koen and their girls who went over the Pont Canal de Briare with us, where, as we navigated the longest metallic canal bridge with it’s lovely Art Deco lighting and decorative pillars, we felt that we had been placed back in time to the 1890’s. If only the old time ice cream parlor had been open! Celine, Koen and the girls all enjoyed driving the boat, helping tend the lines in the locks, and sunning themselves on the deck. We had great weather for two weeks after we left Auxerre.
After the Briare we entered the Canal Latéral à la Loire. At the end of this canal we met up with our friends Aileen and Mike on their narrow boat, the Quaintrelle, in Decize, the day before Easter. Two weeks before they had left Auxerre the day before us heading south on the Nivernais, whereas we headed north on the Yonne and the Loing, but we still surprisingly met each other. It goes to show how connected many of these canals are in Burgogne, and what a small world the world of boating in France is. They pulled in the harbor of Decize a little after us, and we met by chance in the grocery store gathering supplies. It was a fun reunion, and it was great sharing our stories over the past few weeks. We had Easter dinner together, and then sailed the next three days together, the Quaintrelle following us in the locks. We enjoyed seeing them sailing behind us, and then stopping for lunch and dinner together. Mostly we had potlucks because it was too early for restaurants along the canals to be open for the season. One was open, and we were excited to try it, but they had a “souci de gas”, a gas issue, but I think that truly she didn’t want to open for just four people. Tant pis! Our cobbled together dinner that night was probably much better than we would have had in the restaurant anyway! We parted ways with Aileen and Mike at Digoin, where we went over our second long Pont Canal (bridge canal over the Loire) and started going a little faster (8 kilometers per hour instead of 6), so that we could get to Lyon at the confluence of the Saône and the Rhone by April 27th, where we will meet our next visitors John and Josiane from Belgium.
After the Briare we entered the Canal Latéral à la Loire. At the end of this canal we met up with our friends Aileen and Mike on their narrow boat, the Quaintrelle, in Decize, the day before Easter. Two weeks before they had left Auxerre the day before us heading south on the Nivernais, whereas we headed north on the Yonne and the Loing, but we still surprisingly met each other. It goes to show how connected many of these canals are in Burgogne, and what a small world the world of boating in France is. They pulled in the harbor of Decize a little after us, and we met by chance in the grocery store gathering supplies. It was a fun reunion, and it was great sharing our stories over the past few weeks. We had Easter dinner together, and then sailed the next three days together, the Quaintrelle following us in the locks. We enjoyed seeing them sailing behind us, and then stopping for lunch and dinner together. Mostly we had potlucks because it was too early for restaurants along the canals to be open for the season. One was open, and we were excited to try it, but they had a “souci de gas”, a gas issue, but I think that truly she didn’t want to open for just four people. Tant pis! Our cobbled together dinner that night was probably much better than we would have had in the restaurant anyway! We parted ways with Aileen and Mike at Digoin, where we went over our second long Pont Canal (bridge canal over the Loire) and started going a little faster (8 kilometers per hour instead of 6), so that we could get to Lyon at the confluence of the Saône and the Rhone by April 27th, where we will meet our next visitors John and Josiane from Belgium.
Alors, we have finished all the canals of Burgundy, and as I said, I think it will remain our favorite region. Time will tell. We are now on the Saône headed south to Lyon, then down the Rhone to the Canal du Midi by mid May. We are very excited to travel on the Canal du Midi, which is the most famous canal system in France, and is known for the beautiful plane trees that shade the canal, and the great little villages along its banks. My next posting will cover the Rhone River where we will be going much faster - 12 to 15 kilometers an hour depending on the current, and there are only a few locks. One immense lock has a descent of 22 meters. I’ll let you know how that goes! We will be taking our time, and still traveling at a snail’s pace. After all as the kind little florist said to us we are enjoying a “Retrait de bonheur”, which means we are still young and can enjoy our retirement!
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À bientôt nos amis!