Underway for the season

We headed off with no real plan for the year.  We thought that we might only do a short cruise this season, and then leave the boat in Roanne and do some exploring of other places in Europe - our current thoughts are to visit Berlin and Prague.

After a night in Briennon we headed to Melay.   However whilst we were there the lock at Bourge le Compte broke, and we ended up staying for 3 weeks until it was fixed.  However we were not lonely, lots of folks came to call and Brian and Mary bought Kyrennia up...so we joined them for a lunch at a little Melay cafe.  Katinka and Scott come to visit on Eendracht, as they took guests for a short cruise.

                                             Home for almost 3 weeks.

Eendract rafted against us for the night,

Scott always said his was bigger!

After a couple of nights at Digoin at the log pile, we headed off to Paray Le Monial.  This is a lovely town and one of our favourite stops. We visited the ceramics museum that also had a Laguile knife exhibition.

Part of  the exhibition ...it was huge.

The steps in knife and spoon making.

Now thats a knife!

Mark and Mary came up to Paray, and Brian and Mary were in Digoin, So we picked up Brian and Mary in the car all got together for a Chinese buffet.

Seems just like old times!

Brian and Andrew wonder it they could go just one more round.

Then on to Genelard, where we caught up with Debbie and Randy. The Port which had been almost empty  few days earlier was packed. The locks ahead were having problems and boats were holding back. We changed moorings until we finally got this one...thanks to Mark and Mary setting sail early one morning.

Ahhh, the serentity.

Barges and boats bumper to bumper, and all had to pull back for the fireworks on Bastille Eve.Except for us...on the other side....right in the firing line...great view BUT we did have buckets of water ready!

Over the years we have made three or four attempts to visit the Chateau de Digoine. It has been recently sold and has been renovated. So at long last it reopened and we toured the stately rooms, and walked the gardens.

No photos allowed inside but it was well worth the visit.

For some reason Genelard has a Reggae festival, which was small but quite fun.

These children are wondering what a 'good vibration' is.

Mark and Mary very kindly invited us for dinner and we were able to admire their wonderful Vide Grenier purchases. Mark is known for his ability to hunt down the unusual and the beautiful....we cite Mary as a classic find!

A beautiful lady

Stylish stove

And the clock that says it all...what a find!

Welcome home Scott

We were visiting a Vide grenier with Katinka when we spotted a large stuffed tiger on one of the stalls.  Katinkas husband Scott works as a safety office in Africa, and Katinka thought the tiger would make him feel at home when he got back to Roanne.  This of course created the challenge to add to his menagerie.  So each Vide Grenier we kept our eyes open, resulting in the zoo you can see below.

                                                         Andrew and his new BFF

                                              How could we resist two elephants?

Katinka doing the drive of shame....African animals on board!

The final set-up....now surely that must make Scott feel 'at home'.

Bev Came to visit

On Bevs latest European tour she came and joined us in Roanne for a few days.  It was lovely to see her, and after a day in Roanne, we did a short cruise to Melay for the night before returning to Roanne.

                  Bev arrives with a just the right amount of luggage for  a barge...hurrah!

                                                       Well at least it wasn't raining.

Drinks with Nico and Ianne using her very fancy cups [wonders if l liberate them from here will they fit in my suitcase....ponders]

Skipper Bev

                                         Another day in the floating office.

A rather strange gift - coloured hard boiled eggs! We couldn't understand the label, first thoughts was   that they were probably chocolate,,,but no, just a fancy way of serving eggs as a snack.....so pretty.

                                         Perfect rainbow .....the leprechauns most know that Bev was on board.

                                         A final cuppa....and that white tower on the bench is a nutcracker...oh these   French are very cunning indeed.

Back home in port

Settling back into life in the port was very enjoyable.   Roanne is a very social port with lots of regular activities, and then lunches, dinners, drinks and games nights thrown in.  All in all a busy time. 

Boules

When the weather is agreeable there is a scheduled regular get together for a game of boules on Sunday after lunch.  Very informal, just turn up with your Boules and join in.  Sometimes it gets pretty competitive - although we are nowhere near the standard of the regular french players

               It's not just a game....every centimetre counts...so lots of measuring is required!

                                    Katinka gives her team[the Aussies] a bit of a pep talk.

                                                       The Losers for today

                                            Winners are grinners.......the captain is happy!

Stitch and Bitch

 Wednesday afternoon sees the ladies get together on Alouette (or when Debbies away on our boat) for an afternoon of knitting, craft, coffee, biscuits and of course lots of chatter

                                                  Knitting for Jane's new grandchildren.

After the work is finished time for tea and coffee.

Bar

 Thursday night we all gather in L'Authentique, a small bar and restaurant alongside the port.  Jeremy and Katya look after us brilliantly with drinks and some lovely snacks thrown in.  This is a great opportunity to catch up with the others in the port, and plan activities for the coming week.

Stitch and bitch coat from Laurel and May

Emmaus

 Every couple of weeks on Saturday morning there is a sale held at Emmaus.  This is a "charity shop", on an enormous scale - some acres of "stuff" for sale.  The French are great at recycling, and you can buy a huge range of things here - including some incredible bargains.  Half the port are regular attendees, and return with all sorts of treasures.

Getting ready to collect furniture bargains...everything from baths to bedroom suites, snow boots to
silver coffee sets.....prices start at about 5 cents.....the locals are keen bargain hunters.

The volunteers of Roanne make all kinds of domestic linen....much of it from vintage fabrics.

                                         Cushions and cache sacks...so pretty.

                                          Work bags and pinafores.....cloths and covers.

           It has become so busy they have squeezed a work area into the roof line.

Chinese Lunch

 About once a month we all head off for a chinese buffet.  These are great fun, although it is French style Chinese food.....but it makes a nice change from Tete de Veau.  Naturally   the wine is cheap. and they can take a large crowd.

                                 The decision to order more red or white wine?

                                                    Robin getting stuck in .....happy man!

                                        Katinka after it was suggested that she pick up the whole tab!

Drinks and Dinner on Eendracht

 Another regular event is drinks and dinners out on someones boat.  Katinka is a great host, with a large boat that can seat lots for dinner.  Brian and Mary, Peter and Pauline and Nico and Ianne, and ourselves all got together for a fun night.

                                                 Pre dinner drinks on the back deck.

                                                 Sorting out the problems of the world!

Proof that our lovely Ianne has some bad habits...strawberries and creme fraiche ahoy!

Vide Grenier

 A regular Sunday morning event is to visit a Vide Grenier -(Literally - Grannys Attic).  These are held in villages all around the countryside and are a great favourite with the French and the boaters. Sometimes they are full of junk, but somewhere in there treasures are buried.

This is a cast iron boiler for making boudin sausage.....it has a little coal burner in the bottom.

                                       Just how many clothes does one family have to sell?

Does this mean that this family have given up their devotion to music?

                                   Sometimes the local band turns up to entertain the visitors.

                        Or simple busking with vintage musical instruments....they were terrific!

These were for sale...any clues? We though early telephone or telegraph machines.

                             But the owner knew they were unusual...he wanted a fortune for them!

Gned

 Some years ago Doug and Sutsan gave us a Gnome to look after our lettuce plants.  He happily sat in his pot doing his job, until one day last year when I could not see his jaunty red hat, but in his place was a letter.  Roughly this says that he  is sorry but that he has left us to seek sexy women, drink wine and eat lots of chocolate.

Such a funny thing to happen....but what a great way for a gnome to leave home!

Gneds replacements - two chums for company...tried to buy just one but the stall holder insisted that l took both for the same price......yup, just one euro for two gnomes...bargain.

Dinner with David and Gill, Brain and Mary at L'Authentique

                Who us? Drinking a lot?  At lunchtime? Ummm what makes you think that?

Medieval Fete

 During the spring and summer many of the villages hold markets and Fetes.  With Brian and Mary we trotted off to this medieval fete.

                                           Here they are making chain mail from scratch.

                  The 'medieval' folk wandered through the crowd explaining how they lived

                                      Madigrals on a perfect sunny afternoon......magic!

                                        Always up for a little hot air  .........    are the French!

Ducks

There are always lots of ducks in the port. Although due to the weather there have not been as many this year.  We have flower boxes on the back of our boat, and Mrs Duck thinks these make a great spot to lay your eggs and have your babies.  Fortunately this year this happened well before we set off.  Last year we had to leave the planter behind as it was full of eggs (and mother duck).  This year she had six babies, and it was lovely to see them swimming round the port.

                           A rare moment when mother duck left the planter...10 large eggs.

And a few weeks later there they were....just 7  made it through to hatching...a good average we understand.  And as it happened these were the only ducklings in the Port for a couple of months.

Laurels Birthday

This year for Laurels birthday Randy and Debbie joined us at a local restaurant for a celebratory dinner.

                                                  Tablecloths and everything....woo hooo!

Fish served with lentils....the only course that did not feature some sort of foam...we assumed the Chef had recently purchased one of these nifty gadgets. We started with a melon foam, followed with a prawn raviloi submerged in a sea of pea foam.......

                      This is Andrews cheese course......and you guessed it.....blue cheese foam!

Dessert.....raspberry foam with creamed rice,peaches, sorbet, meringue wafer, shard of bitter cocoa, salted nuts, sliced almonds, caramel praline...yumbo.

                         Randy wondering if he ordered coffee would it comes as a foam?

Bee Hotel

 We saw a program on TV, which said that the Bee population was declining.  As a result of this they had built bee hotels, for those bees that don't live in hives (the majority of the population).  Since we now know what they look like we have seen them all over the place - including this one in  the port.

Lunch at Briennon

Just before people started heading off we did a trip up to Melay to see Nico and Ianne, and then with David and Gill and Peter and Pauline we stopped off for a tasty lunch at Briennon.

                                                   

                                                     Frites with that?

                                           Gill and Pauline.....pleasantly replete.

Clothing/textile sales

 France still manufactures a lot of its own clothes.  Roanne is a major manufacturing town.  At the start of Autumn and Spring most of the factories hold end of range clothing sales - needless to say there are many bargains to be had. 

                                 Debbie caught in a queue with a woman who debated the [fixed] prices.

                                            You did want grey or orange Madam?

             Amazing value,,,these clothes usually sell for at 50 euros for a simple t-shirt up to hundreds                          for coats and suits......naturally everybody wants to stock up.

                                              Yup, more orange and grey...no wait, there is a little blue there.