Thursday 3rd September - St. Jean de Losne

This will be my last post for this season folks as it’s full steam ahead clearing the decks and loading the car!  It’s amazing how junked up we have become on Aphrodite so Skip had a good clear out of his papers and put all the heaviest stuff on the port side of the boat.  We have a ballast problem in that we lean to starboard quite noticeably, so we are trying to redress the balance by putting heavier items to port.  We are also planning to acquire some lead blocks for next years’ season.  One of the main reasons for this problem becoming more noticeable is the acquisition of our new drinks fridge on deck.......have to store less beer and wine!!

Crew cleaned the cabin, the saloon and the galley and sorted out the books and DVDs so we are a bit less cluttered now - the rest will wait until next year now.

Henk came over as he wanted to go to the supermarket to stock up on heavy items so Skip drove him to the big Intermarche nearby.  We had a drink on their return and then a bite of lunch.  No time for a siesta today alas, so Crew set to work, organising the ropes - changing the new ropes for the old ones, as they deteriorate so much during the winter weather.

We had a takeaway pizza and a quiet night in front of the TV as usual.

Our 2019 cruise will probably go down as our favourite yet! The high point was definitely the beautiful River Mosel with its’ lovely castles and more vineyards than we have probably ever seen in one area.  But the lower reaches of the Rhine were also beautiful and the cruising fast and exciting.  Also, not to forget the River Saar, which also had its’ attractions.

All together we cruised for 1538 km and worked 324 locks......not bad for us oldies!!  Safe to say however, we have all enjoyed it very much.

There is no plan as such for our 2020 cruise but methinks it will be a more relaxed affair!!

If the blog was a little ‘thin’ some days, I apologise - I put it down to extreme tiredness but thank you for your attention readers and will be back on the job next year!

Au revoir.

Wednesday 2nd October - St. Jean de Losne

Crew woke a little later than desired so didn’t start cleaning till fairly late - we normally have a few days to put Aphrodite to bed for the winter but this year we only have a day and a half.  Skip was talking about having another day to pack up but that meant that we have to drive straight to Belgium in a day - a matter of 400 or so kilometres......way too much methinks!!  So we have to get ourselves sorted in a day and a bit.
Skip had had a sleepless night in Winningen due to more toothache and did not have a very good drive back in heavy rain, lots of trucks and roadworks.  So he was very tired when he got back to St. Jean de Losne around 2 p.m.
Henk was on board putting more ropes on our fenders and Crew doing some odd jobs.  We all had a catch up and a bite of lunch and decided on a last dinner in town, so Henk booked us a table at Le  Bouchon Losnais.
A little aperitif on deck - we cracked open a bottle of Cremant, then we walked to the restaurant.  We have all decided that this was now the best restaurant in town and indeed the meal was superb.  We all had quail - something different to the norm which was cooked beautifully with a lovely sauce.
Back to the boat and an early night after a bit of TV.......we are all very tired!

Tuesday 1st October - St. Jean de Losne

Skip left Aphrodite at 8 am. to walk to the station for his long trip back to Germany to collect the car - five trains in all!  He will stay overnight in Winningen and the drive back tomorrow.

Crew, meanwhile, after a bit of a lie in, started the cleaning and packing up operation, before going into town with Henk for some lunch.  The Bouchon Losnais which was our preferred restaurant was unfortunately not open so we opted for La Cotiniere next door.  However the set menu for €24 was good and we chose some very good wine, if a little expensive.  A bonus was that we managed to eat on the terrace overlooking the river and only when we had our dessert, did it become overcast and a bit chilly.  We paid the bill and luckily just got back to the boat before the rain came.

A few more jobs for Crew in the afternoon then a lazy evening in front of the TV.

Monday 30th September - Dole to St. Jean de Losne

Well folks, this it it - our last cruising day!  The weather was mixed but the good news was that the wind had died down, making cruising more pleasurable......indeed, the forecast was that we would enjoy more sun later.
We left at 9.30 with Henk to follow on later as he was not quite ready.  We had to fill with fuel in St. Jean anyway so he would probably catch us up.

All went well with the locks even though the first four or five were all against us but after a couple of boats came up, the locks were filled for us and made for a quicker trip.  When we arrived at our last one on the Canal du Rhône au Rhin, we had a red light but the lock was open.  We decided to go in and tie off and having looked at the notices, we realised that it was lunch hour - we had missed it by 15 minutes, so a 45 minute wait.....how frustrating!  Never mind - we had a beer and a rest.  This last lock has to be manned because we have to give back our remote control.
Then we were out onto the lovely wide River Saone - so nice to be back!  Just 4 km along the river and we were on the fuel pontoon.  Unfortunately it wasn’t manned so we had to fill using a credit card and were only allowed €148, which took quite some time - having to fill five times!  A Swiss couple came looking for fuel too and tried to moor in front of us.  Stupidly the pontoon is not quite long enough for two boats, so Crew suggested that they raft up alongside us.  I think they were new to boating as they weren’t quite sure how to go about it but Crew guided them alongside us and tied them off.  Henk needed fuel as well so he arrived at the pontoon whilst they were still filling and then came on to Blanquarts’ to join us.  He tried to moor opposite us but found himself grounded.  The marina is full of weed, indeed when we were getting into our berth, the thrusters failed to work so we were grateful to have someone assist us.
We had another late lunch on board and decided to stay in for the rest of the day.  Crew concocted a light supper and we watched some TV - pretty good connection here, apart from when it rains!

23 km 9 locks 4 1/2 hours

Sunday 29th September - Ranchot to Dole

We woke to a beautiful autumn morning, with clear blue skies.......lovely after the dreary days we have endured lately.  We are cruising to one of our favourite towns, Dole - it is a very ancient picturesque town with some very characterful old buildings and a lot of bridges.  It was the birth place of Louis Pasteur, whose father worked in the tannery.

We are now alternating between river and canal luckily, with good depth - Skip no longer anxious!
We arrived at 1.30 and moored in difficult conditions as now the wind was strong and we had to tie off with it against the current.  We were assisted by a very nice young man - not sure what nationality he was as he spoke good English and also German but his boat carried a French ensign.
We had a late lunch again whilst discussing restaurants for the evening. As it was Sunday evening, we thought it best to have a wander around and see which was open.  Both Henk and Skip went into town and found it very lively - there was a festival going on.....it was called Weekend Gourmand du chat perche.  Rough translation the gourmand weekend of the perching cat!
When Crew arose from a short nap, there were hundreds of motorbikes racing around the river banks, making a heck of a noise and hooting horns.
We met for an apero and went into town.  A lot of the streets are fairly steep, which Crew is not so fond of but worth the climb in most cases.  We ended up in Les Cinque Senses, a beautiful restaurant with arched stone ceilings - apart from one couple, we were the only diners.  The waitress was not over friendly but pretty efficient and the boys chose a menu for €29.50 but Crew just chose one course.  The food was excellent.....hope to visit again some time.
The rain had stayed away and we got back to the boat around 9.30 so a bit of TV and bed.

21 km 6 locks 3 1/2 hours

Saturday 28th September - Besancon to Ranchot

We left at 9.45 under occasional blue skies but still with a cold wind - it promises to be an improving sort of day.....hope the forecast is right.  The city of Besancon is surrounded by water so our first job is to get through a small tunnel, ending in a lock - then another lock straight away.  When we got into the lock, the keeper started to close the gates before Henk had got in, so Skip hooted and he stopped the process - don’t fully understand how he didn’t know that two boats were coming through. Crew was informed by Skip that the locks become fewer......not quite sure when as we have eleven today it seems!!
The wind seemed to get even sharper, resulting in Crew resorting to wearing a very unbecoming ski hat!!  All the locks behaved themselves today and we arrived in Ranchot just before three o’clock.  It takes longer to get settled now that the weather is not so good - a lot of canopy to put up,
so a very late lunch today!
After lunch, Henk went over to the restaurant to try and book a table for dinner but alas, it was closed.  So he tried over at the camp site on the other side of the river.....the restaurant there is evidently only open in July and August.  So, dining on board it is!
We only had a pack of minced beef left in the freezer, so Bolognaise it was to be again.  TV behaved itself but as usual, on a Saturday, nothing much we wanted to watch, so we watched The Theory of Everything, Stephen Hawkins’ biography, which we enjoyed very much.

34 km 11 locks 5 1/2 hours

Friday 27th September - Besancon

A rest day today.....hurrah!  We messaged Henk to say that we planned to go into town for lunch, so he got a move on and left Deluz pretty early.  Unfortunately he had a problem at the first double lock - his remote control wouldn’t work.  So a wait for the VNF.  Crew has been told off by Skip for saying we hadn’t needed to call out the VNF......always asking for trouble!!
Henk managed to arrive around 12.30 - good going!  We went into town and decided on the Italian restaurant where we had dined back in May.  Not a bad lunch, although the pichets of wine were  just average.  The weather was grey and damp but we did manage to avoid the rain.
We just watched TV in the evening, whilst observing the students comings and goings.  They had some sort of meeting in the cafe opposite us and then once again, they all made for the music venue for the evening. A hardy lot these students as the on and off rain was heavy at times but they didn’t seem to notice!!  An easy last rest day before we reach our home port.