Bed Time in Provence

Final Days Pictures

The Final Days of Cruising The Canal du Midi

The fInal lock was cleared today. We are moored at Homps for our final night onboard. The kitchen is closed and the chef will be enjoying someone elses cassoulet tonight. Tomorrow we go our separate ways:Lesley and David to Rotterdam, the four of us (Simone, Trudi, Bruce & Gerry) to St Remy de Provence for five days of country life in France. We did four locks today and of course the final one was closed for lunch. So we had our lunch too!

So after 2 weeks we have learned that pretty good wines come from a nozzle for less than $1.25 per litre.

In the past two weeks in rural France we have learned that the French march to their own drum, opening and closing busineses as it pleases them. Sometimes, it's closed on Monday, sometimes Tuesday, or Wednesday, one never knows. In general though, everything shuts down at noon for anywhere from two to four hours for a leisurely lunch and possibly a little siesta. It's not uncommon for workers to have wine and/or beer with lunch. They do like to enjoy their food. However, this morning we visited a graveyard and found out a lot of the people buried there had died at a rather early age.




Must have been in the water. Most products are regional and will only be found whereever you happen to be so it's best to enjoy the moment and move on to new things. We have certainly sampled many local products especially the cheeses, saucissons, and of course the wines. It's been a wonderful adventure where we have truly experienced the French lifestyle. After two weeks, we have fiinally figured out that it's best to sightsee in the morning and move from one place to the other between noon and three. Now it's on to Provence for four of us for more beautiful sights and sounds of France. Bises, sometimes one on each cheek, sometimes two, depending on the region.

O


Wine tasting at Roubia at the Chateau Pique-Perlou







House at Argens-En-Minervois close to our anchorage for the night.



 

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French Time and Narbonne

We have found that the French have their own way of living their day to day lives. Lunch begins at 12 and may or may not end at 2. If a business is a sole owner - it is closed sometimes until 4. A restaurant that serves dinner does not open until 7 pm. The French eat late. Schools close on Wed and some businesses are closed that day as well. Museums are open in the morning then close from 12 to 2 then open again until 6. That is if they are open at all. After 1 Oct many museums, digs and displays are closed for the season or have very limited hours. Those that are open, may be closed on Monday, Wed or Sunday. From the perspective of a clock oriented westerner we are sometimes just baffled. There is no logic. And do they care? Of course not! That's just the way it is. The Midi group headed into town to check out the museums etc. And true to fashion they were closed on Tuesday! Go figure!!!!

 

They love their little puppies (we call them 'poopies' because they leave reminders everywhere).

After a long day of mastering 9 locks on the Canal de la Robine we arrived at the bustling town of Narbonne. The canal runs right through the centre of town and it even runs beneath some of its older buildings. There is an old palace (Palais des Archeveques - Palace of the Archbishop) at the heart of the city.

Adjacent to the palace is the Cathedrale St-Just. Beautiful stained glass windows are about 4 - 6 stories off the ground and the building itself is about 10 stories tall. One wonders how they could build something that huge! They surrounded their cathedrals with fierce animals carved out of masonry. The years have eroded the finer details but you can still see the shapes.

Cathedral St-Just

The group (Simone, Trudi, Lesley and David) headed to the Market and the laundromat. Bruce and I are watching the boat after a brief tour of the castle and cathedral. Tomorrow (Wed) we head back towards le Somail on the Canal de la Robine and the nine locks.

 

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Seven Locks of Fonserenes and the Viaduct de Millau

Day 8

A little back up history of Simone's trip prior to boarding the boat for the canal du midi. The pictures of the Viaduct de Millau (Mee-yo) was part of that trip.

It is a breathtaking masterpiece, setting world records for height with masts reaching 340 meters, 2460 meters long, it is multi-span, cable-stayed and provides 2w driving lanes in each direction, skipping over the Tarn Valley touching down only at 9 points. It has a streamlined steel bridge-deck supported by cable-stays and resting upon 7 very slim piers constructed with high-grade concrete. It climbs a gentle slope of 3% from north to south and has a slight curve on-plan. It is a magnificent sight as you drive up to it. The next morning as we drove out of the area, we could see the clouds hanging below the bridge.

Unforgetable.

Your reporter, Trudi, is back again

 

We docked at Columbiens last night and dined out at a little bisto which served paella. Great! On our way to Capistang. But let us back up a bit. Yesterday we went through the seven locks - like climbing Niagara Falls by boat!

There are tiered water chambers over a length of 300 meters, raising us 21.5 meters. Roaring waters fill each basin as you await the lock master to proceed forward. As if that wasn't enough of a thrill, we then had a water overpass over the Orb River!

Apparently this area used to flood at times and boats would flounder on the Midii Canal as they tried to transverse across the Orb so the French engineers looked after that problem! Today we climbed a mountain (ON FOOT) to view a circle of farmland that used to be a lake. The plots of land come out from the center like sections of an orange.

There are three drainage canals to take care of the water that collects in the area and an underground watering system for the farmland that remains. Three tunnels emerge from this area - one for the train, another for the water and the other for the Canal. Remarkable engineering skills built between 13th and 17th century. To the social part of the blog now -

Simone continues to provide us with meals even the French would appreciate! The sign of a grocery store makes her eyes light up and there is an ongoing list for future food. Life's good and we are happy and healthy.

 

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First Lock on the Midi

We departed Marseillan and joined the Midi Canal headed for Agde. We navigated our first lock very successfully but the second was a little more challenging. We may have left a little paint on the side of the lock but who cares. We have wine and plenty of food and good company. The passages into and out of the locks (eclus) are very narrow. We will park at Agde for a couple of nights and explore. Simone was in heaven shopping today for French food in Marseillan at a Tuesday market in the town centre. We selected French soap from such unique fragrances (basil, orange, passionfruit, miel, pine) and used one right away for my shower - passionfruit.

Gerry

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October 1, 2012

The sky is blue, the sun is shining, the natives are happy. We docked in Frontignan for the night . We had to get here before 4:30 in the afternoon because the bridge only opens then to let the boats through and then it's a wait until the next day. We all walked to the grocery store this morning to replenish the supplies both liquid and solid and on the way back we stopped at the boulangerie. Oh my, what a feast for the eyes. Talk about salivating! We will be tasting later. Today will be another day of adventure.

Simone

Your second reporter of the day is Trudi. Don 't blame the French for extra letters in words -- it's a combination of tiny letters and large fingers! We have passed CaRNOPN, PALAVAS-LES-FLOTS,FRONTIGNAN and the rain and are about to launch our Tarpon. Yesterday we passed flamingoes with bowed heads - eating or praying - on their way south or perhaps here for the winter. Walked to the Abbey owned by Fabrege - didn't open the gate for us. Perhaps their invitation to us is lost in the mail! Animals of France so far comprise of cats with French airs and pampered dogs - some I've never seen before. Seen a number of Plane trees with their multicolored bark and leaves that resemble our maple leaves, pomegranetes, olives and unknown fruits. Our chef is par excellence! It is amazing what Simone can prepare in a kitchen half the size of most bathrooms. Lesley would delight the most exacting of accoun tants.

 

Bruce and David have led us along the Canal du Rhone - haven't caught up with the Canal du Midi yet. I was surprised that the canal is often between two bodies of water - at times one spilling into the other where the bank has been breached. Gerry and I have finally arrived at our title for the trip - P>O>S>I> persons of superior importance. Someone actually referred to us as maids! They are no longer with us. Thanks to Gerry, I am on a real keyboard!!! Lot to be greatful for in life. Hugs everybody, TRUDI.

 

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Carnon et Palavas les Flots

We picked up the boat on Sat 29 Sept after a nice dinner in Carnon. One of the delicasies here is cheval along with many varieties of seafood and duck.

The Motley crew out for dinner. Below is our happy hour snack: sausage, fromage et du vin. Thanks to Simone and Lesley.

The Neptune hotel was comfortable and adjacent to the boat docks. We took a taxi into Montpellier to find a sim chip for the iPad and a phone.

The taxi took us to the old town centre. We found what we needed and the skies opened up and we were drenched.

Bruce & David did the checkout on the boat while the girls were taken by taxi to a huge grocery store for our provisions (wine and some food). Then off we went in our boat Agathe to our first stop: 5 km down the canal to Palavas les Flots.

We spent the night beside a campground Aire de camping car de Palavas at a cost of €24 (water & electrical) - RV's camp for €14 - €17 per night.

Our supper was salmon in a cheesy cream sauce with basil. Along with baked cauliflower and carrots with Simone's secret seasonings, boiled potatoes and a salad. We willingly did the dishes!

 

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London Tour - Tower of London

Bruce at the White Tower at the Tower of London. Some of the displays were surprising. Note the varied sizes of armor.

Touring London - 25 Sept

Bike rentals - free for 30 min, 3 hrs £15.00, 24 hrs £50.00 (Max). Not our cup of tea - especially with the dense traffic, narrow streets and they drive on the wrong side of the road!

Simone in Lyon

Update from Simone in Lyon Fr. :

Life is really tough in France; eating cheese and baguette; drinking wine; sampling different foods etc. It was very warm when I got here on Sunday; but has since cooled down considerably. I have spent a lot of time around a dining table visiting a variety of relatives, eating and drinking. It has been most pleasant so far. Tomorrow; I am changing locale, moving on to the country until next Tuesday at which time we will leave for our journey towards Montpellier arriving there on Friday pm. Looking forward to seeing you all and love to my wonderful family. I love you all and miss you.

Bises

 

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Preparation for Cruising

We have updated our passports, made flight reservations, tentatively planned our 'shoulder activities' and are ready to roll! Four friends and one new couple will be travelling to the Midi region of Southern France in September 2012 to experience the slowly meandering relaxing travel on a self-piloted cruiser in the beautiful rustic wine country of France. We are looking forward to sampling the local scenery and (thanks to our on-board chefs) we will thoroughly enjoy the local fromage, du pain et du vin. Simone and her friends: Trudy, Lesley and Dave have teamed up with Bruce and Gerry to go along on this exciting adventure in the picturesque countryside of France.!

Tarpon 42 our Cruiser Sleeps 8

 

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