Surprise! It is only about a month since the last update so we aren't doing
too badly this time !
Although most people we spoke to during the winter were intending to head
towards Strasbourg this summer, we haven't seen very many of them. Perhaps
they mostly took the shorter route via the river Doubs. Having said that we
have met lots of friends, old and new, and our slow pace and long stops style
of cruising has been very enjoyable.
So, on with the update....
Whilst we were at the town of Toul (heading north) we met Richard and Vivien
on their fabulous boat JOHANNES. They are now down in the Dijon area and we
were very pleased to hear that they will be part of the St. Jean de Losne
winter community. Here they are in our first photo just setting off from the
port at Toul.
RICHARD AND VIVIEN
The port at Toul is rather like a large aquarium. The water is beautifully
clear and absolutely full of fish.
Our friends Clive and Di, who we first met down in Carcassonne aboard their
boat HARVINK, spent some time in Toul and Clive likes to have the odd fishing
session. As you can see from our next photo, Clive always seems to get a bite.
NICE ONE CLIVE
Just around the corner from the port at Toul is a local winemaker (vigneron)
called the Domaine de l'Ambroisie. At the moment they are quite a small outfit
but very enthusiastic about what they produce and we can recommend their "Mystic
Gris" wine. "Gris" by the way is the French word for grey.
But the wine isn't grey it is a very, very, pale pink and is described as
being somewhere between white and rose. Definitely worth a try if you are
ever in the area.
Whilst we were visiting his cellar Thomas, one of the owners, said that
his wine tasted better when accompanied by food. So of course we said "Well
Thomas, maybe you should supply something for us to eat when we are tasting
your wine". He instantly produced bread, cheese and dry sausage….
absolutely brilliant!
Another day he joined us for a little lunch and brought a very nice Paté
de Lorraine, which is a speciality of the region. Very nice too.
THOMAS
Soon it was time for a visit by our friends Tony and Linda from Yorkshire,
who were doing a 3 week European trip on their new Harley Davidson. This was
their 3rd visit and again we had a great few days catching up with all the
gossip. They both enjoy fishing and Toul proved a good opportunity to keep
their hand in. It's just a pity that we don't have a recipe for catfish as
there are masses of them.
ANOTHER NICE ONE
Another beautiful sunset makes a nice backdrop for this set of posers…
BON SOIR
Whilst we were in Toul, we became friendly with Michelle, a lovely lady
who lives near the port. She likes to take pictures, especially of Gromit,
and on more than one occasion we were invited around to her apartment for
the evening. We were made very welcome and were given lots to eat. It was
something between aperitifs and a full meal although Michelle insisted that
it wasn't much. But on the first occasion her friend Jinette worked her socks
off in the kitchen. So many thanks to them both.
JINETTE AND MICHELLE
Back on board Lea Crest and it was time to eat more sensibly. That meant
one of David's favourites which is Pamela's version of salad Nicoise. Just
fabulous with lots of flavours.
DAVID'S FAVOURITE
Our outward journey this summer ended in the city of Nancy where we stayed
for about a week. It is the biggest place we have visited this year and luckily
Michelle, our friend from Toul, was kind enough to give us lots of advance
information on the place. She even gave us a pass for the tram system, which
we made very good use of !
Apart from the many other attractions in Nancy, one of the most beautiful
is an open area called the Place Stanislas. It is absolutely amazing to see
and is in fact a World Heritage site. The stonework in the square is so clean
that we recommend sunglasses during the day. And at night….. Well, in
the summer, after dark, the city puts on a magnificent sound and light show
there. We are not sure how they do it but it's quite something to see with
the Hotel de Ville (town hall) being used like a screen.
PLACE STANISLAS
LASER SHOW
Whilst on one of our many walkabouts in Nancy we spotted this lovely example
of a perambulator (to give it the proper name). They don't make them like
that any more do they ?
NOT MADE IN CHINA
As you can see, the young man in the next photo left everyone agog with
his animal magic
FASCINATING
Other friends we made whilst in Nancy were Les and Sally. They live on a
very fine example of a barge made by a company called Sagar Marine back in
Yorkshire. Their boat is called NANCY MAY and although Les is a man of few
words he did want to make the most of being in Nancy.
NANCY BOYS
But when Les does have something to say it's usually worth listening to.
David just happened to mention a noise that had been bothering us on Lea
Crest and Les told him where to go! Yes, he was spot on! The cause of the
noise was found and sorted. Many thanks to Les.
When we first arrived in Nancy, our friends Neil and Jan were already moored
up on their boat ODIN. We have known them for some time and in fact first
met them in the Paris Arsenal in 2006. Since then we have had 2 winters in
St. Jean de Losne together.
It was soon time to leave Nancy and head back to Toul. But as all 3 boats
(LEA CREST, NANCY MAY and ODIN) were going there, it gave us a chance to go
out for lunch together to a restaurant that Les and Sally recommended. A good
meal and a steady walk back through the town fortifications brought us back
to the port, with a quick photo shoot on the way.
NICE LUNCH
Before we left Toul for the 2nd time, the port gardener told us of a spectacle
that was to take place in the town over the weekend. So our friend Michelle
suggested a light aperitif at her place before going to watch the festivities.
As we walked into town, we spotted these blooms by the bus station. The time,
effort and money put into the floral displays in Toul really are a credit
to everyone concerned.
TOUL IN BLOOM
The theme of the procession was the wildlife of Africa and although they
had gone to great lengths, we weren't quite sure what was what. A great display
though nevertheless.
EVENING FESTIVITIES
EVENING FESTIVITIES
Michelle thought that a steady stroll up to the Basilica was called for
and it reminded us of York Minster at a glance.
ST. ETIENNE BASILICA
FABULOUS STONEWORK
We were soon back on the Moselle river, sharing the locks with the big boys
and as you can see from the next photo, when we say big we mean BIG! This
one was over 11 metres wide and 110 metres long.
A BIG BOY ON THE MOSELLE
The place where Gromit spotted a snake on the way north was another stop
we wanted to make again. You see we have 2 different sets of friends who enjoy
nothing better than lighting little evening bonfires. So we thought that we
would have a go at this remote spot just to remind us of the good times we
have had cruising with the boats INGRID and OSPREY. Needless to say a glass
of wine and beer was also in order.
GING GANG GOOLY
Stocks however do need to be replenished eventually so a trip to Lidl was
on the cards.
HUNTING AND GATHERING
When we arrived back at the town of Charmes they were celebrating the anniversary
of its liberation by US Forces in WWII. As you can see in the next photos,
the American Forces Vehicle Society (French Branch) spared nothing when it
came to the re-enactments.
WELCOME TO CHARMES
LIBERATION CELEBRATIONS
Time to reflect as we moved through the Vosges region and the village of
Thaon les Vosges put on a simple but interesting light display along the canal.
STILL WATERS
We thought that we must have taken pictures of Gromit in all of his resting
spots. But we hadn't seen him doing this impression of a bookend before!
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
September brought us a visit by friends Richard and Margaret from Yorkshire.
We met up with them at Charmes and took them on a short cruise to Epinal.
Not the longest of cruises but very enjoyable. We had been getting quite dull
weather up to Richard and Margaret's arrival but were then blessed with very
sunny days right up to them moving on into Burgundy to continue their holiday.
One thing that just about everyone seems to enjoy when visiting us is a
game of Petanque, especially in the late afternoon. The French are obviously
very good at this game. The rest of us just enjoy it and are generally all
equally matched.
CHALLENGING TIMES
So here we are heading south, back to our winter berth in St. Jean de Losne
and preparing for a cold, but hopefully bright, winter. Lots of catching up
to do with our old friends and we're sure new people to meet. Hopefully though,
we will update again before we get there.
Just two other things that may be of interest before we sign off…
Firstly, we always start our summer cruise with a full store cupboard and
take lots of tins, packets and bottles to see us through some of the shopless
stretches. Fortunately we don't often need all of these stored items. But
rather than eating them up through the winter, we are going to try and get
through as many of them as possible on our homeward journey. This should help
with our budget which has of course been hit by the exchange rate between
the pound and the euro.
The other item, which bugs us a lot is the flag we fly on board, the RED
ENSIGN !!!
For those of you out there who don't know what that is, the red ensign is
a flag split into quarters, 3 of which are red, the 4th being the normal British
flag (the UNION FLAG). So we are often mistaken for New Zealanders or Australians
and then have to explain who we are and why we can't fly the British flag
(or for that matter the GEORGE CROSS).
We have given up trying too much as they seem to get more confused the more
we say and often think that we are joking.
We find it ridiculous that generally speaking even British people, who have
no involvement with boats, don't know what our flag is!
Maybe the old fuddy duddies out there should rethink this bizarre flag etiquette
thing!
Anyway, that's our moan of the month over with so bye for now from David
and Pamela and more from us soon ......
