On our way to Dry dock at St Jean de Losne

We decided that we should get the boat surveyed and the hull repainted as it is some years since we last had it done.  We had tried to get a booking at Atelier Fluvial in St Jean de Losne over the last couple of years.  However due to floods, canal breaches and locks breaking, their schedule had become very disrupted and it was impossible to get a booking.

We tried again for this year, but were still rejected.  Our neighbour, Peter, on Rook, knew the people there very well and had Rook booked in August.  He went up to sort out the details and managed to organise a booking for us at the end of July.

So in mid May we decided to take a very leisurely trip up the Canal du Centre, and then on the Saone to St Jean de Losne.  

We scurried up to Paray le Monial to catch up with our friends Mark and Mary who were heading back to Canada shortly.  We had decided to meet up in Moulins, have lunch at the wonderful Art Nouveau Grand Cafe, a vision of light and space, it was only when we looked closely that we realized that it was actually not that big.  Mirrors worked magic...see if you can work out the actual size of the room.

We needed the gentle walk around town, Moulins has some amazing vestiges of huge buildings, these days incorporated into more recent housing. Our ramble took us to the house called de Maitlin. .  This was a house that had been closed almost 100 years ago, as the owner wanted it preserved as he left it..it was open for some years in the 1920's and 30's, and agin for a few years in the 1950's...since then it had been closed and negelected but retaining all its original features and furniture. It has recently been restored and provided a unique opportunity to see life of  century ago.   

After this we made a dash for their famous costume museum...and we were busted for taking Saga into the exhibition...so Andrew and Mark took the opportunity to sit in the shade and set the world right, Mary and I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the costumes...many by famous designers.  

The Grand Cafe in Moulin with Mark and Mary

It's France so of course Saga was welcome!

wonderful decor - and who's that on the balcony?

The weather had turned really hot. Our flowers seemed to love this and looked magnificent.  

A new port was opened a couple of years ago at Palinges.  So we met up with Debbie and Randy(Alouette)  and Nico and Ianne (two boats gentry from Holland)..  We spent several days there, it is quiet and peaceful with a splendid tree to provide shade . wonderful time .  This was even more special as Debbie and Randy have sold Aloutte and are taking her up to St Jean de Losne to deliver her to her new owners.  We will miss them.

We had a great find in Palinges.  Just by the bridge is a little cafe which has a 10 Euro set menu - This includes starter, main, cheese and dessert, wine and coffee.  Wow. But even better we think the owner is a fan of master chef and the food was delicious, and very different.  For example a main course of chicken with a triangle of soft cheese and  a herb ice cream.  A dessert of Goats cheese smothered in Creme Chantilly, with delicious pearls (agar agar balls), and raspberry sorbet - yum. A repeating treat was the delicious tomatoes from his garden, if he could have worked them into the dessert l am sure that they would be there.

Palinges with Debbie and Randy and Nico and Ianne

When we decided to buy a barge we did a weeks training with Roger van Dyken.  Our class mates on the course were Brad and Nancy who came down to bid farewell to Debbie and Randy and it was great to catch up with them.  

Brad and Nancy came to visit  in Palinges

We moved on to Genelard, where we got to know the fine folk at Garage Framboise....quite a lot of euros later the mean green machine was back in fine fettle...now runs better than ever. We took the opportunity whilst moored here to pop back to visit the Museum at Palinges...only open for a few hours on a Sunday.  It was a credit to the small town, lots of interesting displays and examples of local crafts and lifestyle. Several items had us bemused , and the lovely lady..who must have been bored because we were the only visitors that day, came to explain that the gadget that looked like the worlds largest toilet plunger was actually the latest in laundry aids over a hundred years ago.

Whilst we lingered for a few days, we said our goodbyes to Alouette as Debbie and Randy forged ahead to get ready to hand the barge over to the new owners.

 

A  day later were were joined by Sable, crewed by Tony and Sally.....they used their visit to take advantage of the low quay to give their barge a smart new coat of paint. 

Alouette's last trip to Genelard

Tony giving his Rembrant impression painting Sable.  As it was very hot his umbrella became essential. 

The famous lift bridges in  Montceau les Mines

Blanzy

We spent  a night at the mooring near the hotel de Lucy,  just outside the town of Montceau,allowing a  trip to Grand Frais,  the best greengrocer in France...amazing range of fresh local and freshly imported fruit and veg.  Whilst we were moored there we heard from Tony that he would be leaving the popular little port of Blanzy the next morning. 

So we scuttled off and took over his spot there. It is one of our favorite moorings. A delightful little town with several good restaurants and possibly one of the best charcuteries we know.   . So we stocked up on his beautifully crafted sausages...absolutely no connection to the beloved English 'banger'....they are loaded with meat and herbs...and the variety is terrific. We stayed for several days and discovered that we could easily catch a bus back into Montceau. And so we did, including a great visit to the huge Saturday market.

The heat wave continued and we really enjoyed our aircon at bedtime. 

We had made a booking for the port at Fragnes for 7 July, so decided we should head off on our way there with some leisurely stops along the way..  After a night on the new quay at Monchannin we stopped at a lovely shady spot at St Julien Sur Dheune,  We  enjoyed the shade - and then the weather turned, the temperature dropped dramatically, and we had huge thunderstorms and torrential rain.  It is a lovely quiet spot, but there is nothing there not even a boulangerie!  We decided to wait out the storm.  After nearly a week, we had a slightly better day and headed of to St Leger sur Dheune, and made it most of the way before the rain started again.   Thank goodness for our generator, large water tanks and big freezer!    We decided to wait out the storm and leave after a great supermarket visit to restock. 

Heading off from Roanne

And so onto a new season .Lots of changes at the Port, many old friends have moved onto other things but lots of new friends have arrived.  After years of havering we finally decided that the time had come to paint our plain pine cabin roofs and walls a new dazzling white.  What a change!


We had a bit of a leaving party to celebrate our new decor...the theme was....'Prepare to be dazzled'

Paul and Lisanne

Nico Kevin and Mark

Millie, Jan and Ianne

Mary, Randy and Saga

Kerry, Debbie and Susan

Katink, Scott, Mark and Peter

Katink, Scott, Mark and Peter

The clever girl on Puddleduck have a Drone and took some wonderful video of Roanne from the air

Mark and Mary had found that a small town in the South of France near Avignon - L'Isle sur la Sorgue - have one of the largest Vide Grenier and Antique markets in France.  They had booked an Air B&;B and invited us to join them .  It is a very pretty town threaded with small canals and waterwheels.  We spent a fascinating couple of days exploring  the markets and the town....because it was with Mark and Mary, eating fine food and tasting even finer wines. Mark introduced us to the the new pre dinner necessity...the Apero...helped by the fact that they had been to Italy and stocked up on lots of  Prosecco...hic. Who knew that a violent orange drink could be so delicious...healthy too they assure me.Well they do serve it with fresh orange slices...so there is part of your 5 a day right there.

 L'Isle sur la Sorgue a massive Vide Grenier and Antique market

Air B&;B courtesy of Mark and Mary

Our great friend Richard invited up to his magnificently restored house at St Just en Chavelet just outside Roanne.   He has done a fantastic job rebuilding and restoring the house which was not much more than a ruin.  It provides a great backdrop for displaying his gorgeous Vide Grenier purchases.

A trip to Richards

Richards takes his kitchen seriously...all mod cons. 

Is this Maurice Chevalier in the 2CV?

Saga Driving

Saga Playing

An Alfresco lunch

 Of course after the party our supplies of bubbles had diminished so an outing to JB Clair was called for!  Peter Turner made the most of his first visit!

Our regular trip to JB Clair - Peter with his spoils

Sailor Saga..her first dress.What a change in this dear little rescue dog.

 An so celebrations out of the way, restocked on J B Clair and the weather was improving....time to head off from Roanne. After a night at Artaix and one at Digoin we arrived at one of our favorite ports - Paray Le Monial.  We joined up with Mark and Mary, Debbie and Randy and Paul and Susan on Gulliver.  The weather was finally warm and sunny.  So we sat out under the trees for snacks, wine and great company....let the adventures begin.

Underway at last - snugly moored in Paray

Brittany, UK and OZ

Before heading back to Oz we decided to take a trip to the UK via Brittany an area we had not been to before.  We stopped at Tours on the way up and were treated to a sound and light show at the cathedral. The lights were spectacular and gave the history of the Church, including two huge fires, and yet they rebuilt and rebuilt. it was a great way of showing 800 years of history.   

Tours Cathedral - son et lumiere

Tours a interesting old town

And onto Brittany and the famous walled town of St.Malo...historical note here...the entire town was virtually flattened during the second world war...however both Germans and Americans came together to rebuilt it exactly as it was....and everything that was old is new again. It is hard to detect what is new, but many of the buildings have very crisp edges, not showing the wear and tear of centuries. 

We moved onto our base in Brittany, an Air B&B in  St Malo on the outskirts of town. And although we had a balcony we were unable to use it as a pigeon had set up her nursery in the flowerbox...3 noisy little chicks arrived on our second day. Our arrival had been timed to celebrate a special birthday for Andrew. We booked an evening meal at one of the famous restaurants set in the walls that surrounded the old city. Seafood in abundance, ahoy!

St Malo - a birthday dinner

Seafood specialty

Most of the Oysters in St Malo come from Cancale - so we ventured there for a looksee , with see and found a delightful seaside town, with dozens of stalls selling the daily catch. We returned several times for dinner as it was quieter than St Malo.!

Cancale - home of the oyster

St Malo - Intra Muros (meaning within the walls)

These are all examples of rebuilding....looks authentic...but....we saw the pictures of it taken in 1946.


We did lots of trips out from St Malo to some of the very pretty ancient towns throughout |Brittany.  One of the highlights was Dinan which is perched way above a little river port.We were surprised to see lots of barge and boats, there is a small, but very active canal route here.

The charming  town of Dinan

And for those who think the 'Tudor' style is English...think again.

The older houses appear to lean into the street.

A very tiny square with old houses resting on the original walls.

The cobbled streets lead down to the Port.

Being France there was a les Halles just around the corner from our flat, and this specialised in the local seafood...all closely inspected and bartered for by the ladies of the town.

Les Halles

We of course had to visit Mont St Michel, which is interesting but VERY touristy.

Mont St Michel

Up and up and up

This photo is a rarity...no a single person in view. 

There have been great changes at Mont St Michael due to the huge number of visitors....no more parking on the sand and walking across at low tide. These days it is Park and Ride, huge buses go every 2 minutes.  Massive new shops and restaurants surrounded the old sand parking places. It is a dilemma...everyone wants to go...but everyone goes it loses the magic and the mystery.



Another famous town to visit was Rennes, a bastion to the 'Tudor style but with red and ochre rather than black and white.

Rennes

UK

From St Malo we caught the ferry to Jersey.  We spent a couple of days driving round the island on narrow one lane road. The island is tiny - only 5 miles long and 9 miles wide. ...but packed with pretty villages, quaint pubs...and a terrific war museum. A pleasant time before we headed to England.

After a night in Portsmouth we headed up to Wallingford where Brian and Mary had offered us a cruise up the Thames on Kyrenia. 

Moored in Wallingford

The butter Mountain!

It is good to see that Brian hasn't lost his French mooring standards

Sitting quietly at our mooring and what should appear!

Mauritzio offered the girls a ride

And the ladies declined his offer of a serenade...it was just so peaceful.

Maurittizio was taking his gondola from Oxford to London to rasie money to restore an old boat year in Venice.

After a terrific time cruising on the Thames we were amazed by the sheer volume of barges and boats, and the rapacity of the farmers who charge up to £10  a night for a mooring...no bollards, no water no electricity.  We cruised down to Reading and back again...so good to spend some time with Mary and Brian again.

Time to head off to the big city and city and catch up with Vanessa and Mark in London, and Dawn, Mark, Jenny and Susan in Ashington. . Did some sightseeing, ate some great food...took no pictures...sorry everyone!

David and Gill offered us a bed for a
couple of nights on the way to the ferry.

Australia

And so back to Australia for Xmas.

We joined our friendship group for a wonderful getaway in Bright up in the Victorian Alps

Bright

View across the Victorian Alps

This group just looks younger every year!

Visual representation of 'old codgers' 

Sometimes forget how beautiful Australian is.

The fit and active took the high road

Team trek

Others not so active, having a head for heights was mandatory.

A FAMILY MILESTONE

After much searching Cordelia finally took her first step on the property ladder with the purchase of a  lovely 2 bedroom flat in Thornbury,

Cordelias new apartment

Cheery Elfie

The girls have too many toys on their phones

Happy Nora

The gals

Miranda and Cat at white night

Peeping Nora waiting for a toy to be thrown

It somehow seemed appropriate!