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France Fall 2017

September - October 2017
A 22-day adventure by Heather Read more
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  • TravelerFrance Fall 2017
    Day 1

    Getting Packed Up

    September 17, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Hello everyone, This is a test of my new blog site. I hope that it works.
    For now, I'm going to copy the link and send it out each time that I post news. The idea is that if you click on the link, you should be able to see what I've written and some pictures. The site has a silly name - Find Penguins. It is, however, very well supported (German technology) So I'll give it a try as my other site shut down.
    The only down side .... if you want to leave witty comments, you actually have to sign on or sign up I believe. It's not a bad site for sending junk emails and marketing. So far that has been the case.

    Regarding our trip: Mike and I leave Wednesday the 20th and fly to Frankfurt , then on to Toulouse. There we will RV with Mac/ Steph, Fiona and Jiggs and my sister Helen. From Toulouse, we are traveling to a small spot called Castelnaudry where on the 23rd we take over as crew of a canal boat on The Canal du Midi in southern France. Fiona has provided a coloured photo of the crew - see attached. You may recognize a few of the crew - Mr and Mrs Howell ( Mac and Steph, of course - although Mac did fancy himself the Professor but since Stephanie is sooooooo Mrs Howell , it was a slam dunk). Mike is the Captain- being the crew senior, I am Ginger - who everybody knows was having a thing with the Captain. Fiona is a very cute MaryAnn (she was a bit bossy like a teacher if you recall). Jiggs who will likely be driving the boat is Gilligan. We'll try to make sure that the Captain doesn't keep hitting him. Helen is the Professor - and on this trip her job is to be the historian/ tour director.
    Our boat trip on the S.S. Minnow is for a week and since the canal is pretty straight we should find ourselves outside of Bezier on the 30th very close to the Mediterranean. If we find ourselves on the Atlantic side, well then we got turned around. From there, Mac and Steph peel off for more luxurious accommodations in the Dordogne Region. The rest of us ( Captain, Ginger, Gilligan, MaryAnn and the Prof) fly to Corsica for a week. Why Corsica? not sure really. We just picked it from the atlas over a bottle of wine.That's how most of our travel decisions get made. Turns out that Corsica is the murder capital of Europe. Fortunately, we understand that the Corsicans kill each other ( mafioso) and not the tourists. We'll find out I guess.
    We've set Mom up with a map of our route. We also have a cut-out of Mom which we have called Flat Mary. We will take her to all the fun places with us. Flat Mary visits Carcassone, Flat Mary drives the boat, Flat Mary orders escargot and wine etc etc.
    So that's it for now. Hope this blog site works. Look forward to your ever thoughtful and insulting comments.
    Signing off until France. A bien tot (sorry Simon and Ron, my keyboard doesn't have accents)

    Heather/ Mom x    Read more

  • TravelerFrance Fall 2017
    1
    Day 6

    The Crew Arrives in France...

    September 22, 2017 in France ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Hello from the town of Castelnaudry, France.
    Today is Friday the 22nd. Mike and I left Victoria on Wed. We enjoyed a mini vacation aboard our Lufthansa flight from Vancouver. Great service and surprisingly comfortable seats. We managed the layover in the Air Canada lounge which - given a shower, and lounge chairs to sleep in - immediately justified renewing our Amex next year.

    We met Malcolm and Stephanie at the gate for our Lufthansa flight to Toulouse. They had a bit less sleep and were looking a bit weary. The pilot announced that he wasn't sure how long the flights was going to take because French ATC were on strike and they were routing us via God knows where. Here is my surprise face, as Tara would say. Last time it was train strikes. Evidently, they are rotating at the moment due to Macron's taking on the unions.

     We arrived in Toulouse eventually and checked into our cheap and cheerful hotel then headed out for a beer - first item on Mikes list, see attached photo, and a lovely meal. Ah... steak, frites in France. Nouse sommes arrivees. ( really sorry Simone, I have no idea how to make the french accents work on my ipad.)

    Today was our touring day . We met up with Fiona, Jiggs and Helen who arrived from London as scheduled. We spent the afternoon wandering and touring about on a little tourist train which Mac dubbed the "loser cruiser". See photo.

    Some fun facts about Toulouse: it is the capital of the Haute Garonne Department, home to the large French aerospace industry and the Airbus factory. There are canals that go both west to the Atlantic and east to the Mediterranean ( that's where we are headed.) The name Matabiau is everywhere in Toulouse. We Checked it out and it turns out Matabiau is the name of a martyred Saint Saturnin who really cheesed off the local administration so they tied a bull to him and same bull subsequently dragged him up the main drag - so to speak- and he was killed. On the whole, I wasn't overly impressed with Toulouse as a destination. Not very charming or particularly interesting.

    Late this afternoon we headed by train to Castelnaudry. We are now in the home of the harricots or white beans from which they make the local dish, cassoulet - think French equivalent of baked beans, less sugar. The harricot actually have protected status here so you can't shoot them, or insult them. And you most definitely cannot blame harricots for any bad gastric reactions

    Tonight we had our first meal together. The gentleman who runs our B& B was kind enough to drive us to the restaurant and the waitress was kind enough to drive us back . For dinner we had - you guessed it - cassoulet and also some duck confit and some lovely local Rose wine.

    We're counting on Helen to handle our pre- boarding itinerary of touring about, we will pick up our onboard provisions such as wine, beer, cheese and bread and then at 1600 it is literally all hands on deck for boat training

    That's it for now. Hope all is well where you are. I hear Alberta had some snow. So right from smokey season to snow.

    Love Heather (Mom) ps if you want to see the pictures, tap on the first one and then scroll through    Read more

  • TravelerFrance Fall 2017
    2
    Day 8

    All Aboard

    September 24, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Hello everyone,

    We finally launched on our canal boat yesterday afternoon. ( Saturday). To begin with I have to modify my comments about Toulouse. I was voted down by the group when they read what I wrote. I was told that those who ventured further from the train station thought the town was very pretty and quite interesting. I guess I didn't get far enough from the train station. So don't be put off by my limited, jet-lagged opinion.

    We really enjoyed Castelnaudry. Our B&B proprietor drove our luggage right to the boat launch area where we were able to store it while wandering about on Saturday. We visited a very well stocked wine shop and the cheerful fellow kindly agreed to close his shop and drive the 2 cases of wine to the boat launch for 430. Next we had a leisurely French style lunch and then hit the grocery store for provisions. A friendly British couple drove our groceries to the dock. So everyone has helped us along the way.

    We got an extensive briefing from the boat company - it is a very large operation . There was a lot of paper work and a trial run on the boat.I didn't learn how to drive it, which is a relief because I'm not overly keen on driving this beast and also somebody had to meet the wine merchant at 430, priorities!!

    Our first locks last night were a bit shaky . We all tried to pitch in with ropes etc but Jiggs is our Captain and he had the most stressful job. The boat is very long and unruly. Jiggs has to thread it through low, narrow bridge arches. Trying to get used to the thrusters and wheel were a real challenge for him and no one else has been brave enough to try their hand. When we finally stopped for our first night, Jiggs was more than ready for a couple of beer. We all applauded his tremendous efforts and I am proud to say that none of the crew was heard yelling - "there goes our damage deposit". Although, Steph did mention after one heavier bump - don't worry, it will buff out.
    Today Jiggs has figured out that using the wheel oversteers and he is using the jog stick.so less stress for him.

    We all have our jobs: Helen is on board operations as she is the only person conversant with the pumps, She had all sorts of intelligent questions about grey water and black water tanks. Fiona is our navigation officer - planning the route - although you either go out to the Med or back, there are other decisions about locks, stops and distances. Mike as always is trying to handle our bikes and IT. although there is not much to do for IT as the WiFi simply doesn't work. Mike also restocks the beer fridge. Mac seems to be taking the lead with on shore operations. Hoping off in locks. Steph has scoped out the restaurants and is keeping the wine stocked and cool.

    We had charcuterie and cheese and local rose wines last night. It was a lovely warm evening on a very peaceful part of the canal. At least it was until we showed up.

    Today we hit a few more locks and took a break at the town of Bram where we got our bikes out for a ride.They are a bit low like clown bikes but we won't be doing any long distance biking. They'll be fine for short tours into the villages .
    Fiona assures me as I'm writing this that our Carcassonne ETA is 545.
    More to follow from there.
    Mom, I'll send more information about the boat since you asked. In summary, the inside spaces are tight, but couple of us showered this am and it wasn't bad at all. You just have to find a place for everything and keep it there.

    Hope all is well at home,
    Love Heather xx    Read more

  • TravelerFrance Fall 2017
    Day 8

    More pictures

    September 24, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
  • TravelerFrance Fall 2017
    11
    Day 10

    Rescue at Sea

    September 26, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    It's Tuesday morning and our hardy crew is in a holding pattern waiting to get into the locks. One of the locks right after Carcassone lost power so there was quite a canal traffic jam.

    We pulled into the busy town of Carcassone on Sunday night. Right after we docked, Fiona and I headed in for provisions. Right after returning Fi heard a splash. The lady on the boat tied up next to ours fell into the water while cleaning her Windows. (Hope she had her tetanus shot) Fiona grabbed her hand and called out to Mike and Jiggs who pulled her out of the canal. As you can imagine, no one on our boat has any plans to wash windows!!

     Yesterday was Monday . We all had a good look around the lower town, also called the Ville Basse. where we were moored in the harbour. . La Cité or the Citadel of Carcassone -which is how the medieval fortress is referred to - sits high above the lower , main commercial town. It was a pleasant stroll up from our boat, through town up to the Citadel which is the largest and best preserved medieval fortress in Europe. It is considered a masterpiece of military architecture with its various walls, moats, ramparts and protected entrances. The original buildings on the site are from early Christian times. Carcassone was in its heyday during the Middle Ages. It was a Cathar stronghold until the King of France threw the Cathars out at the request of the Pope. It was also, notably, a centre for the Inquisition and there is a torture museum which Mac, Steph and Helen visited. It all sounded very gruesome.We visited the main castle area where the local nobility and higher ups lived. Lots of bas relief and Christian sargophaguses (sarcophagi?)
    We also took a look at the main church- the Cathedral St. Nazaire with its beautiful stained glass. It was a pleasant visit and we returned in the evening to dine at one of the many restaurants in the Citadel. We had some traditional French fare including cuisse de grenouilles ( frogs legs), lapin ( rabbit) and some fish from the nearby Mediterranean. Also a bit of local wine. Just a bit.......
    Probably the highlight of our visit to Carcassone was our after dinner stroll back to the boat where , looking back, we were treated to spectacular views of the Citadel all lit up.

    This morning our Captain sounded revëlleé pretty early. We took off so fast I thought someone had stolen the boat. But Jiggs really wanted to get in line for the locks. So it was all - well most hands on deck.

    More to follow in the next blog. Must go and help with the "bumper boat" opérations. Poor Jiggs , the thrusters keep quitting on him.
    Love Heatherxx    Read more

  • TravelerFrance Fall 2017
    Day 10

    Happy Birthday Helen

    September 26, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Yup, once again we are celebrating Helen's birthday in Europe. Not sure if it's because we always travel to Europe in September or because her birthday is always in September - I'll check with the school teacher.

    Yesterday we had a beautiful cruise from Carcassone to just outside of Trebes where we are tied up. The weather has cleared and it was quite warm and sunny. . Although we only travelled 19 km, we went through many locks and had a few long waits. The scenery has been varied. The hills feel closer now as we came from a wider valley. The vineyards are close by not unlike the Wachau Valley last year ( shout out to Laura).

    Most of us got off the boat for a bike ride or long walk. The track along the canal allows for easy strolling. We also stopped at a couple of little towns to poke around. We found a particularly fabulous charcuterie for pate and cheeses.
    Last night we found a more secluded location for tying up. We had a quick chat with Mom (G'ma) in Victoria. Helen brought along in her luggage a bottle of Billecart-Salmon champagne that she received as a gift last year for her 60th. Jiggs cooked us up some local sausages on our little BBQ and we finished with some rumbabbas from the local boulangerie.
    A fitting celebration!
    Today our plans are to get to Argens- Minervois. It will be time to get more water.

    That's it for now. Love Heather xx    Read more

  • TravelerFrance Fall 2017
    Day 11

    Flat Mary Joins our Crew

    September 27, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    It is Wednesday and we have a crew member who has not been properly introduced - Flat Mary. We have a picture of Mom taken on her last cruise to Alaska (7 years ago?). We brought Mom along in spirit so that she can see all the great things she's been doing. Flat Mary has been particularly helpful at the helm of our beastly boat. Poor Jiggs has been rather stuck with most of the driving and the bow thrusters keep giving out. Early this afternoon they gave out at a very inopportune time - just as we were entering a very low, narrow stone bridge. Crunch went the front! Fortunately, there are big bumpers and so the damage appears to be cosmetic. One of the boat bases was just 1 km away so we decided to pitch up and get it repaired.
    While the boat was under repair Mac and Steph went to explore Homps. They found a shop with local wines so we are stocked up again. We always think we' ve bought too much wine and then, poof, it's gone. ( Flat Mary strikes again)

    We had a nice stop this morning at the Port Minervois where we went out for baguettes and some other provisions. Funny thing about those baguettes, by the time you get them back to the boat seems about 1/2 of the baguette is missing ( I blame it on Flat Mary). So we always buy 2 baguettes.

    Tonight we decided to stay in Homps . Lovely restaurant up the canal where we were well fed with local wines and entrecôte, duck and lamb,

    Onward tomorrow ,
    Love Heather    Read more

  • TravelerFrance Fall 2017
    Day 13

    Chateaus, Aqueducts & low bridges

    September 29, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Things have become much smoother with our at-sea operations. Jiggs is looking more relaxed, Mac has taken on much of the longer stretches to give our Captain a break. The rest of us are adept at ropes, locks and generally being more useful than in the way- but it has been a relatively active holiday.

    I've taken a break from drafting the news and following are Mac's notes which provide a good description of Thursday's activities.

    We started Thursday in Homps. We set out promptly to clear the first locks early. No such luck as there was a small line up but it was a pretty spot for the wait, including an old aqueduct (here, as has often been the case, just a small structure where the canal crosses a stream). Heather and Helen thought we would walk to the next, nearby lock but discovered that the next lock was not in use so we had to pull-over to shore to rescue them!

    Steph and I then got off to go for a run along the canal. As we were moving much more quickly than the boat we took the time to go up to the top of a local promontory to look over the valley. When we met up with the boat, Helen joined us and we continued on foot to meet the boat at Argent Minervois, a charming little town with a welcoming cafe on the waterfront. Helen walked around town, to see what there was to see - a derelict castle mostly - then we met up with the boat and continued on our way.

    Le Somail was our early afternoon stop. Another charming waterside village- a little larger than most. Many boaters had stopped to lunch there, so it was quite busy. We explored what we could, including a giant second hand book store in a local cave - then persuaded a somewhat reluctant waiter to serve us a late lunch.
    After lunch, we passed a key point in the canal where a branch heads south to Narbonne. We continued east direction Beziers. Mike and Helen decided to bike into Capestang, our destination for the evening. The canal really meanders on this section with many twists and turns and remains on a surprisingly high elevation compared to the Aude river offering many views over the Aude valley.

    Capestang is one of the larger towns along the canal, with a very grand church on a small rise, soaring over the other buildings. It is also a very busy port. Many boats had stopped there for the night and as a result we were not able to get a serviced berth for the night so tied up on a grassy canal side.
    Capestang also boasts the lowest bridge on the entire canal. We inched through with only millimetres to spare all round. No surprise, mike and Helen were sitting nursing a beer at the first riverside bar in town.

    After tying up and tidying up, we headed into town for dinner, enjoying a stroll through town en-route. Capestang is prosperous with many handsome stone town houses and a marble paved town square beside church. We also checked out the location and opening times of the Boulanger in in anticipation of an early morning croissant run.
    Dinner was at a little family run restaurant that gets great reviews on Trip Advisor. Well deserved, we discovered. Our host was very attentive, the food was excellent and we tried out the wine that the restauranteur had been making with a friend -also successful. Three hours later, we waddled back to the boat after another convivial evening dining in France.
    That's all for now. I'll send the pictures in 2 batches
    Heather ( and Mac my ghost-writer)    Read more

  • TravelerFrance Fall 2017
    Day 13

    Final day's Adventures on the Canal

    September 29, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Friday was our last full day on Le Boat. Thursday we moored over- nighted in Capestang. Steph and I set our alarms and took our bikes out early to line up at the boulangerie for some warm croissants and pain chocolat. A big hit with the crew. Our Captain had us untying the lines well before 9 . The crew's decision was to get ahead of the rental boat crowd and get at the front of the line for the 9 locks near Bezier called The Fonserannes Staircase - which has a complex schedule for boats going in each direction. Fiona was clear that we could not afford to miss the 1300 downstream operations if we hoped to make our scheduled distance. Such a whip our Navigator. I think she's sleeping with the Captain - is that allowed??

    Along the way on Friday morning we passed through many vineyards and a number of small towns including Colombiers. Mac and Steph hopped off with bikes and toured around some of the area. The rest of us tied up at the locks and took a 1 hour tourist train ride around Bezier. Bezier seems like a lovely Languedoc town with shaded squares, some interesting ancient sites and lovely gardens. It was also the birthplace and home town of Pierre Paul Riquet - the master planner of the Canal du Midi. We would like to have stayed longer to look at some of the historical sites but, alors, it was time for the 9 locks. We descended 6 times - so that's 7 gates. Then did a sharp right turn to sail over the beautiful Pont Canal du Bezier aqueduct high above the Orb River. Great fun. It was the. Down another 2 locks. Fortunately, the only other boat packed into the locks with us on this sequence was crewed by a friendly Scottish family.

    During our final lock of the series of 9 everything stopped. We were stuck due to something about water pressure. Never did get the technical explanation - that's why you bring an engineer on these journeys. After
    Much yelling and hand-waving (in both official languages) Steph and I helpfully suggested it was perhaps wine time and broke out the white. The men grabbed a beer and miraculously just as the caps came off, the lock started to operate again. Admittedly, given this is France and half of everything is closed at any one time , I wondered if the lock- keepers had simply gone on break and left us stuck there. In fact we've run into so many "fermé " signs that it has become a standing joke with the group - we came to France for a holiday but it was closed.

    After a short stop for water fill up and some local charcuterie, we sailed through the last couple of locks and moored along the canal in a beautiful spot. We are only 1 km from the Med and there is a large marsh on our starboard side. We can see lots of waterbirds in the distance.
    Last night we enjoyed our left-overs which Helen adeptly cooked into a lovely pasta meal. We were originally concerned about the amount of wine left, but by 930 we had finished it all. Mike pulled out his speaker and we used Spotify to play some great tunes. Our trip theme song is now "Pontoon" by Little Big Town.
    It certainly has been a blast doing this with our family. We sure have some memories and stories. No one will miss the bunks and small spaces - you pretty much had to leave the cabin to change your mind - but we all managed very well. Fortunately, everyone was great about pitching in and doing what they could.

    This morning we finish packing up as we are due to return this beast at 9. Plans are to take a hired van at 11 which Mike has arranged. Then we will try to see a bit of Montpellier before 5 of us fly to Corsica later this evening.
    Mac and Steph split off and stay in Montpellier for a few nights before starting a tour of some of the Dordogne area with a rental car. Helen, Fiona, Jiggs , Mike and I will have a week touring Corsica.

    More from there.
    Signing off from the Canal du Midi.
    Au Revoir,
    Heather. Xx    Read more

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