With only 10 days to go we are relishing the last two days on the boat as it has truly been a chance to unwind and relax away from the rigors of hotel rooms and daily travel. It took me two days to get out of my comatose state and get into the swing of canal boating. Mark is obviously more resilient and has relished the challenge of being boat assistant from day one.
Being on a canal is a great way to experience rural France away from the crowds of tourists and bustling lifestyles. We have stopped in small villages and biked around them only seeing only one or two people. But these are very rural communities in full harvest mode as load after load of grain can be seen going along roads and into huge granaries that we have passed along the way. We are in the heart of a cropping region with most of the animals we have seen being in barns.
The rural villages have some truly beautiful homes with amazing court yards. The flower pots are out and in full bloom and the gardens are looking stunning. The flower pots add a different dimension to these places as without them the monotonous house exterior colours would been quiet unappealing.
I think I said to someone that we could do with a couple of overcast days and that has happened. And it has allowed us to see the many different moods of the canal. We have gone from sunshine, to thunderstorm, to brilliant sunsets, and steaming canals in the space of 30 minutes. We see pecheurs (fishermen) all along the canal as this appears to be a really popular pastime for mainly men and sometimes children.
The canal locks (ecluses) have been mastered by Mark as he has ably assisted the eclusiers to open and close gates (when they are not electronic). We have got ourselves into quite a good rhythm, with Jeanette driving the boat, Mark and Catherine manning either side of the boat and me, well I am cook. We boat till lunch time by which time I have lunch ready (our main meal) and then hold up for a couple of hours. To work off lunch we investigate the local village and then return to do a couple more hours boating before tying up for the night. There is one more daily routine that is not to be overlooked, the continuing desire of Mark’s to find the best bread in France. This means that every morning he is off on his bike to find a Boulanger, having gone as far as 10km on one day, to get bread. We should have kept a diary of Boulangeries I reckon.
The canals are largely beautifully tree lined and serene to motor along with fields of crops rising away into the distance. But best of all, this is a truly great way for us to wind down as we think about heading to Amalfi coast and home. We did not realise how much we needed to do this until we got here. But now we have to psyche ourselves up for an overnight train trip to Rome and them down to Naples and Amalfi. An overnight train was one of the other things that we wanted to do on our trip. We are a little concerned however because our sleepers seem to be along way apart although we are in the same carriage. But we will sort it out when we get on the train. Meanwhile two more days of boating and then it is farewell, au revoir to Catherine and Jeanette and onto our last adventures in Europe.
Being on a canal is a great way to experience rural France away from the crowds of tourists and bustling lifestyles. We have stopped in small villages and biked around them only seeing only one or two people. But these are very rural communities in full harvest mode as load after load of grain can be seen going along roads and into huge granaries that we have passed along the way. We are in the heart of a cropping region with most of the animals we have seen being in barns.
The rural villages have some truly beautiful homes with amazing court yards. The flower pots are out and in full bloom and the gardens are looking stunning. The flower pots add a different dimension to these places as without them the monotonous house exterior colours would been quiet unappealing.
I think I said to someone that we could do with a couple of overcast days and that has happened. And it has allowed us to see the many different moods of the canal. We have gone from sunshine, to thunderstorm, to brilliant sunsets, and steaming canals in the space of 30 minutes. We see pecheurs (fishermen) all along the canal as this appears to be a really popular pastime for mainly men and sometimes children.
The canal locks (ecluses) have been mastered by Mark as he has ably assisted the eclusiers to open and close gates (when they are not electronic). We have got ourselves into quite a good rhythm, with Jeanette driving the boat, Mark and Catherine manning either side of the boat and me, well I am cook. We boat till lunch time by which time I have lunch ready (our main meal) and then hold up for a couple of hours. To work off lunch we investigate the local village and then return to do a couple more hours boating before tying up for the night. There is one more daily routine that is not to be overlooked, the continuing desire of Mark’s to find the best bread in France. This means that every morning he is off on his bike to find a Boulanger, having gone as far as 10km on one day, to get bread. We should have kept a diary of Boulangeries I reckon.
The canals are largely beautifully tree lined and serene to motor along with fields of crops rising away into the distance. But best of all, this is a truly great way for us to wind down as we think about heading to Amalfi coast and home. We did not realise how much we needed to do this until we got here. But now we have to psyche ourselves up for an overnight train trip to Rome and them down to Naples and Amalfi. An overnight train was one of the other things that we wanted to do on our trip. We are a little concerned however because our sleepers seem to be along way apart although we are in the same carriage. But we will sort it out when we get on the train. Meanwhile two more days of boating and then it is farewell, au revoir to Catherine and Jeanette and onto our last adventures in Europe.
1 comment:
Hi Mark & Jocelyn
Great to read of your adventures thru Europe. Have fun and enjoy your last few days :-(
Cheers
Peter Waworis
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