Monday 26 th June - Toul

Now the work starts - there hadn't been much time for cleaning whilst we had our friends with us so poor Aphrodite was looking very neglected!  Crew was very grateful that we had four days in which to pack up the boat as the weather is still very hot - around 30c!!  Tomorrow Skip sets off on his mammoths train journey back to St. Jean de Losne to collect the car - 6 hours with 5 changes!  Then a two hour drive back - Crew had saved our last two fillet steaks to cook for the conquering hero on his return!!
Will leave you here, dear readers, as I'm sure you don't want to hear about the minutiae of our packing up!!  We will be returning towards the end of July and will start our adventures again.  We have two sets of guests on our summer/autumn trip - Skips' nephew, Martin and his wife Clare in August and our very dear friends Andy and Sally in September, so......watch this page!!
A tout a l'heure, mes amis........bisous!

Sunday 25th June - Nancy to Toul

We left the port at 8.40 - early for Crew.......quite a hard days' cruising for us without our spare crew today!  Our first lock was 7.3 metres deep, still descending, where we had to give in our zapper, our second only 3 metres but incredibly slow!  Then we were on the Moselle and the locks much bigger, able to take commercial barges.  Our fourth lock of the day had two red lights so we hung around for almost an hour, before finally tying off.......just as well as we waited another half an hour before we got the green light and yet another 30 mins getting through the lock!!  We arrived at Lorraine Marine which was where Skip had asked that we could leave Aphrodite for four weeks at around 3.30 p.m.  The only place we could find to tie off was alongside a miserable looking concrete quay and, looking around the whole place looked deserted - we decided to move on to the other port, Port du France and hope that we found a berth.  Of course this meant negotiating two more locks but we really didn't fancy leaving Aphrodite there for such a period of time.  We backed into a space right outside the Capitainerie and noted the nearby car park.  This port, unlike the other, was pretty central to town and all its' amenities too.....we made the right move!  Skip had a quick scoot around for a convenient bite to eat in the evening and then we relaxed - it had been a long day!  Dinner sadly, was less than averagely good but it served a purpose!!  We sat out on deck in the cool of the evening with our digestifs, then bed.

42 km 8 locks 7 1/2 hours

Saturday 24th June - Nancy

All crew a little slow this morning but Gary and Tina were all packed up and ready to go well before 11 o'clock.  They had booked a taxi to take them to the bus station at 11.30 and Skip was going with them to book a ticket for his trip from Toul to St. Jean de Losne on Tuesday to go and collect the car. We were all present and correct outside the Capitainerie at 11.25 and waited.......and waited.....and waited!  Gary went to the Capitaine to get him to check that the cab was on its' way - they had left plenty of time but time was a wasting!!  When it got to midday, the Capitaine shut down the Capitainerie and took them himself - it was a bit of a tight squeeze with three of them and the luggage. He had his guitar in the boot so that had to be removed and Skip looked after it in the front seat!!  It turned out that our Capitaine was in a rock band! We had lunch on deck and while Crew went for a lie down, after a bit of a siesta, Skip went to the suspermarket.  We planned on dining in which Crew was very happy about as she hadn't cooked anything for about 10 days.  We had duck steaks and the plan was to have sauté potatoes too but when Crew took the potatoes out they were not fit for human consumption, so plan B.......pasta with vegetables!  It turned out not bad at all.  A loll on the back deck for a while, a DVD and bed.

Friday 23rd June - Einville to Nancy

We left  Einville at 9 a.m. - not our best stop I have to say.  We had left ourselves a much easier day today, thanks to the trials and tribulations of yesterday.  At first all the locks were with us but Gary was helming (his last day!) and realised that we had a boat in front of us so tried to catch it up so that we could share the locks.  We did catch him up but on closer examination, realised that he was too big to share with so we were left with the problem of letting him go down and having to wait for the lock to refill before we too, could descend!  We had a much fresher day, albeit with a lot more wind making the boat somewhat harder to handle.  We hovered waiting for the lock to refill but the operation was suspended and we had to call the VNF - it was fixed easily and we were on our way again.  Two locks later we had the same problem!! We arrived in Nancy around 3 p.m. and managed to squeeze into a berth OK but it was a difficult mooring due to the narrowness of the space between the boats and the wind......Gary managed it splendidly though!!  We had a late lunch and then the boys went into town to find the railway station for Gary to buy tickets to Paris for tomorrow as our crew will be leaving Aphrodite to go back to Lanzarote.  Amazingly there is no train from Nancy to Paris direct- they have to take a bus from Nancy to a new station called Lorraine to catch the TGV to Charles de Gaulle airport. On summer evenings in Stanislas

Square in Nancy there is a light show around 10.30 p.m. - we saw it five years ago and hoped to repeat the experience, it being a nice finale for Gary and Tina. We were lucky enough to find a table in a restaurant in the square, although the service was chaotic and the food pretty average.  We had a charming young waitress who told us she was new to the job......this was rather obvious in fact.  She finally got our order in and we were serve aperitifs.  She couldn't quite grasp the concept of us wanting one red and one white bottle of wine but we got there in the end!!  However Skip and Crew had ordered a simple pasta dish which arrived simultaneously - we waited a little while but decided to start eating even though Gary and Tinas' meals hadn't arrived!  In fact we had finished by the time their dinner arrived!  The head waiter proffered a bottle of Grappa to make amends, not our favourite tipple I'm afraid!  The light show was very good but not the same or quite as good as the one we had watched five years ago.....Gary and Tina enjoyed it though.  We had our last digestifs and chat on deck ( the weather had been fantastic for their 8 day visit - even if a bit too hot and exhausting some days!

27 km 9 locks 6 hours

Thursday 22nd June - Niderviller to Einville

Crew was woken at 7.30 to the sweet sound of the engine starting up (only joking!!).  Skip had misjudged the time it would take to get to Nancy for Gary and Tina to catch a train to Paris on Saturday so, instead of three days, we only had two to reach Nancy.  Which meant a long hard day today - added to which the temperature rose steadily to around 40c with no wind!  We cruised for two and a half hours to our first lock which had a fall of 15 m.  Here we had to collect another 'zapper' to operate the locks on this part of the Canal de la Marne au Rhin.  Our crazy hard of hearing crew were waiting for the lock just in front of us, along with two other boats.  They decided to squeeze in at the back of the lock which took some time to organise, putting on their usual comedy show!  The man who had designated himself 'the boss' stayed ashore, along with one of the women - Skip, Gary and Tina were intrigued to see how they would manage to get back on the boat once out of the lock so they waited to see the performance......they were not disappointed!  The boss organised the mooring of the boat and helped the woman onto the boat but on her bottom and she couldn't get herself upright.  So he unceremoniously hauled her up somehow.  He then released the front line and pushed the prow out and threw himself onto the stern, with lots of arm waving and gesticulation!!  Aphrodites' crew were still laughing as we returned to get ready to enter the lock.  Again we were three boats and Aphrodites' bow was pretty snug on the metal of the lock gates, which eased as we descended the lock.  Altogether we waited and hour and a half!  Then 11 locks at regular intervals as the temperature soared!  We landed in Einville at 4.30 p.m. - hot and exhausted.  We had had a bite of lunch whilst underway so the boys went into town, looking for a supermarket to re-stock.  Unfortunately they came back empty handed - the small supermarket was closed.....on a Thursday!  The only restaurant was just a hop and skip from the boat however and although it was fairly ordinary we all stocked up on calories after our long day!  We played cards, then bed.

54 km 12 locks 9 hours

Wednesday 21st June - Lutzelbourg to Niderviller

We left Lutzelbourg just before 10.30 and had four quick locks before a kilometre run to the Arzviller inclined plane which takes the place of 17 locks.  After that two tunnels, the first being 2.3 km long.....it's a long way in the relative dark and was quite tricky keeping the boat from the sides as it was fairly narrow.  The second was much easier, it being only half a km long.  At least it was cool in the tunnels!!  The Arzviller inclined plane is a magnificent piece of engineering and takes boats up in a sort of big bath in next to no time....very impressive.  We came across a crew of six people with hearing impairments, who were pretty dramatic in everything they did and seemed to fight amongst themselves quite a lot!  They came in behind us in the lift and made quite a performance tying off.  One of the men was holding a rope and for some reason started to topple into the water......somehow one of the women got there and saved him just in time!!  Really don't know how he managed not to go in - we secretly rather enjoyed the performance though!!  They followed us into the long tunnel shortly afterwards and about halfway along, an enormous bang was heard....could only assume that they had come into contact with the tunnel wall!!  We moored in Niderviller around 1.30' got settled and had  some lunch.  No shops in Niderviller so......siesta time!  We had a simple dinner nearby and retired to Aphrodite for cards and digestifs.

14 km 4 locks 1 lifting plane 2 tunnels 3 hours

Tuesday 20th June - Saverne to Lutzelbourg

Skip allowed the crew a lie in, departure time 11 a.m.  We had 8 locks close together to ascend in 30 plus degrees, so hot work for the crew.  We cruised with an all woman German crew on a fairly new hire boat in front of us.  The helmswoman was a bit of a speed freak to say the least and we had to keep up otherwise we were not sure they would wait for us, meaning that we would miss our slot and have to wait at the locks.   Their method of securing themselves in the locks was highly suspect, not keeping the lines tight and the poor boat took quite a bashing as it swung from side to side!  There was a choice of moorings in Lutzelbourg, the first a bit further from the centre of town and the second, one more lock away and closer.  Skip, for some unknown reason, decided on the first option - much to Crews' dismay.  Anyway, after lunch, Gary went into town to try and find a pharmacy and came back very hot, saying it was quite a walk!  After diplomatic discussions, we decided to move on, nearer town for the night - if only Skip would listen to Crew!!  Skip had obviously not got his brain straight today as he managed to lose one of our big fat fenders coming out of our penultimate lock of the day, leaving half of it impaled on the lock gate!!  I think a red card should have been issued!  We re-settled ourselves, Tina and Skip reading on a bench in the shade of a tree and Gary and Crew retired below.  There were two restaurants near the port, so we made a choice and enjoyed a reasonable meal.  We played cards with our digestifs, then bed.

11 km 9 locks 2 3/4 hours

Monday 19th June - Waltenheim sur-Zorn to Saverne

We all woke feeling somewhat under the weather, except for Tina (the youngest member of crew!) but we decided to make the cruise to Saverne nevertheless.  Our departure time was 10 a.m. but we in fact left early as it was already so hot, with not much wind so we left just after 9.30 a.m. Although we had 12 locks to ascend, they were all with us and very quick to operate.  We arrived in Saverne just before 2 p.m. and we're helped in by the Capitaine and a young man.  Gary didn't want to eat anything and Crew was still feeling a little delicate so lunch was a brief affair!  We all managed a siesta in the heat of the day - 34c and no wind - and re-convened for dinner in town.  We have all been to this lovely town before and the boys had booked the same restaurant that we had frequented before, 5 years ago. It was good then and equally good now......very good quality food and excellent service.  We languished on the back deck with our digestifs before bed.

22 km 12 locks 4 hours

Sunday 18th June - Souffelweyersheim to Waltenheim sur-Zorn

We left the port at 10 o'clock with just 6 ascending locks today.  The system on the Canal du Rhone-au-Rhin involves a dangler - a pole hanging down before the lock which has to be pulled to operate the lock.  It was a beautiful day and a lovely cruise with no problems at all.  We arrived in Waltenheim sur-Zorn just before 1 p.m.  After lunch on board Gary and Skip went walkabout and sent Tina and Crew a picture of the menu in the nearby restaurant......modern technology, eh!!  Not having any other choice we decided to dine there this evening.  When we re- convened, Crew was not feeling 100% but soldiered on.  We all decided on Tartes Flambes, a speciality of the region.  They are similar to pizzas but the base is very thin and instead of a cheese base, creme fraiche, which makes for a much lighter taste.  They were delicious and the staff were fantastic.  We started to play cards but Crew had to abandon the game, still not feeling so good.  Bedtime!!

16 km 6 locks 3 hours

Saturday 17th June - Strasbourg to Souffelweyersheim

We left Strasbourg at 10.30 a.m. after Skip and Gary had been to the supermarket for bread and a few other goodies.  Skip thought an easy first day for our new crew was in order so just two locks saw us in Souffelweyersheim (Skip thinks that we have stopped here before but I have to say I certainly don't remember typing all that!!).  En route we passed the very impressive European Parliament and the European Court of Justice.  On arrival in Souffelweyersheim, we all walked into the centre of the neat little town, where there was a boulangerie, a boucherie, a small supermarket, two restaurants and everything else one might need.  After stopping for a beer, Gary said he would navigate us back along a different route.  It took about 15 minutes to get there but.........half an hour later saw us back with Aphrodite!!!  Needless to say he has been unceremoniously sacked as a navigator!!  All crew except Skip managed a bit of shut eye before getting ready for dinner. We decided to eat in the nearest restaurant to us instead of walking into town again (we might never get back to the boat - too risky!!).  The restaurant had a nice terrace at the back where we enjoyed a very good meal with excellent service.  Back to the boat for a game of cards, digestifs and bed.

10km 2 locks 1 1/2 hours

Friday 16th June - Strasbourg

We both awoke early, conscious of the work load still to do.  It was so hot yesterday that we didn't get as much done as we had hoped!   We had finished our jobs and tidied ourselves up in plenty of time for Gary and Tinas' arrival.  They flew from Lanzarote to Madrid, then on to Paris yesterday, where they stayed the night - the only problem being that the Madrid - Paris flight was delayed for about three hours, so they didn't arrive at their hotel till 2 a.m........not a lot of night left for them.  They took the TGV from Paris to Strasbourg, stopped at a supermarket to buy goodies then took a taxi to the port.  They arrived with us just before 2 p.m. and we spent time catching up, having opened the obligatory bottle of Cremant!  We had booked a taxi into town at 6.30 to take us to Petite France and thought we would have a walk round before finding a suitable restaurant for dinner.  We found ourselves back near the cathedral and decided on a different restaurant to where we had dined on Wednesday.  The menu didn't look all that promising but in fact, the food was very good.  We chose this area because of the nearby taxi rank but when we turned the corner, there were no taxis to be found.  We ended up waiting for about half an hour but arrived back at the port well before midnight and after a digestif, took ourselves to bed.

Thursday 15th June - Strasbourg

Up and at 'em this morning - the boat needs a good clean inside and out and it promised to get pretty warm as the day wore on!  A few personal jobs for Crew, put a wash on (sorry again Gordon - it has to be done!!) and made up the beds in our guest cabin.  This cabin is used as an office, miscellaneous dumping ground, etc. so it takes a while to clear and make it habitable for guests, not to mention the complicated bed making......a maths and science degree is necessary to work the whole thing out and Crew is no mathematician or scientist!!  Some blue air in the increasing heat was forthcoming!  Skip meanwhile worked on the outside, getting pretty hot......beer time came a little early!  Skip had been to the supermarket and bought some bread, so fresh bread for lunch - luxury!  We both managed to get an afternoon nap in......it was over 30c on deck by now.  Skip had a business call at 7 p.m. but by then the weather had broken and a storm came rumbling over us, preventing any connection so we went ahead with dinner preparations and by the time we ate, the storm had cleared away.  A bit of music then we went below to watch a DVD (with a further storm threatening) and bed.  Our friends, Gary and Tina are due to arrive tomorrow around 2 p.m.

Wednesday 14th June - Lahr to Strasbourg

We left Lahr at 9.40 but not before Anne had told Skip that she had another idea about where the BBQ might be.....in their 'cellar'.  And so it was!!  So money was exchanged, the princely sum was €20 which included 4 small canisters of gas - a bargain.  Skip is really not a fan of barbequing and only agreed to it to save Crew from boiling to death in the galley on hot nights!!  We only had two big Rhine locks today and a smaller one into Strasbourg. We were lucky with the two big locks - they were both open for us, as was the smaller lock into Strasbourg.  However, although the lock was open, it was showing a red light so we couldn't enter.  We tried calling on VHF but no response so Skip tried a phone call, to no avail!  Our next radio call got us through and Crew explained that the lock was open but we had a red light......we were told to wait for a green, which came on eventually.  Once in the lock, not knowing the depth we made sure we secured the boat both centrally and fore and aft......to our surprise, the back gate closed and a few minutes later the front gate opened - there was no movement of water at all!  We were ready for an onslaught and nothing happened!  A fifteen minute cruise to the port found us looking for a space to moor - we had actually booked a three night
stay.  Luckily it was just before the official French lunchtime so we came across the Capitaine who directed us back to the older wooden pontoons - we could only find one possible place but there was a floating pontoon in the middle of the space so we had to phone him and explain.  'Oh yes' said he 'forgot about the pontoon' and raced over to move it so that we could moor!  Got there eventually!!!
We had a bite of lunch and Skip went twice to the supermarket (that's how serious our supply situation was!).  On Skips' second return he helped in a nice French couple behind us as Crew stowed some shopping away.  He had also stopped off at the Capitainerie to book a taxi at 8 p.m. to take us into town for dinner. The old quarter of Strasbourg is surrounded by the river Ill (as in ill). Five years ago when we were here with our Kiwi friends, Peter and Gwen we took a team and visited the area known as Petite France so we decided this time to visit the cathedral area - we were not disappointed!  The cathedral is magnificent, especially all lit up - breathtaking.....photos cannot do it justice!!  There were lots of restaurants to choose from - we chose one just off the main square.  Our waitress told us she had an Italian father and a Thai mother - interesting combo - and she spoke French, Italian and English......no German.  Since the menu was in German and French we had to err on the French side!!  We ordered an onion tart as a starter to share (Crew only had one bite!) and a ham hock each.  Two onion tarts arrived but there was no way Crew could eat a whole one and a ham hock so we refused one and it was taken back.  We then had to wait an inordinate time for the ham hocks (Crew was starting to regret her refusal of the tart!!).  Our waitress came to apologise and said that the chef had forgotten our order........there's a bit of a theme going on here!!  It arrived eventually and of course, was huge!  A rose seller came by selling red and white roses which we refused but soon after, our waitress came over with a red rose and presented it to Crew to apologise for our food delay - a very nice gesture!  She said the rose seller charged €3 but she paid just €1!!!!  We finished our meal, paid, thanking this charming young lady and went for a wander.......Strasbourg is a big busy city but well worth a visit - that cathedral is something else!!  Digestifs, music and bed - busy day tomorrow!

25 km 3 locks 3 hours

Tuesday 13th June - Breisach to Lahr

We left our mooring at 9.40, a little apprehensive as to how we would get back onto the river easily as the current was so strong but we managed it by reversing out, narrowly missing the moored boat behind us!  We made 20 kph to our first lock, hoping to catch up with two cruisers Skip had seen going our way - which we did!  Then a half an hour wait for two barges to come up and once we got into the lock we had to wait for a big barge to join us.  The actual operation of the lock is pretty quick and smooth though and Aphrodite doesn't swing about much.  We kept with the two cruisers to the next lock although the big barge went through before us.  We arrived Lahr just after 2 p.m. And we're greeted by a friendly German man who helped us with our lines although he had no English or French so he was a bit difficult to understand.  We moored on an outside pontoon as it was easy but wondered if we would get too much swell when the big boys passed.  We didn't have long to wait before one loomed up.  No problem.......he was too far away to cause much swell!  A German couple on Quo Vadis arrived a little later and moored alongside us - we had met them before and the lady spoke good English.  Around 5.30 they set up a little BBQ on their back deck which Crew pointed out to Skip was a dinky little thing and something that Aphrodite could do with.  We got talking about it and it transpired that Anne, the lady, had a spare one that she would sell to us, so,off she went to locate it.  She was a long time looking but came back empty handed....she was mortified.  Skip went over to the Capitainerie at 6 p.m. to pay and enquire about a meal but there was nobody there.  After their dinner the lovely Anne appeared proffering two generous glasses filled with bubbly and strawberries from her sisters' garden - we had just poured our own aperitifs too!  We accepted of course with good grace - a very generous lady!  We chatted for a while as we waited for our meat to defrost.  We didn't dine until after 8.30 then just listened to music before bed.

40 km 2 locks 4 1/2 hours

Monday 12 th June - Kembs to Breisach

We left our mooring at 9.30 in order to be at our first big lock at 10.  The big locks are built for commercial barges, hotel boats, etc. and are a completely different prospect to the small locks that we are used to.  There is a floating bollard to be attached to and the boat rides down (or up) automatically.  The main problem with these locks is the waiting - the keepers have to make sure no other boats are wanting to pass through,so even when you are tied off there is still a wait, just in case!    We were now on the Grand Canal d'Alsace and making a speed of around 9 kph but adding about 5 kph making 14 kph.......Aphrodite's loving it!  We waited about an hour for the next lock which we didn't expect as a barge was ahead of us and we thought we could slip in behind him but we must have radioed a smidge too late so had to wait for him to go down and two there's to come up.  To our surprise, there were no floating bollards in this deep (14.7 m) lock so we had to keep moving our line down as we descended!  The lock keeper was at the side of the lock to greet us and explained it to us -he had some English and was a charming young man!  He said it was the only lock without floating bollards, having said that it was an easy operation and the emptying of the lock went quickly!  The other two locks went without a hitch, albeit another long wait at our final lock.  We arrived in Breisach not fully knowing where we would moor - we thought we would make for the port we had tentatively booked on the German side.....not sure whether it was suitable for us.  If not we would go back and more in the French marina where we had stopped before.  On approach we noticed other bigger boats so guessed it was OK and made our way in.  We were welcomed by two nice German men, who advised how to tie our lines, given the fact that we were exposed to the mighty river Rhine and its' large commercial barges plying their way up and down river (mostly upriver, it has to be said).  To be honest more rocking was to be had by the fast sportsboats passing by!  Skip went off to try and find a shop but came back empty handed - it was pretty hot by now and he decided it was too far!  We are running low on stocks so we have to find a shop soon!  We had booked a table in the large restaurant on the on the quai so we arrived and stood waiting to announce ourselves.  It was very busy and none of the waiting staff acknowledged us so we collared a young man and said we had reserved a table - he said 'just go and find a table'!!  We are definitely not in France!!  The food was good though, even though when Skips' food was served we were cheerfully told that Chef had forgotten Crews' meal!!  Very casual!  It arrived as Skip was halfway through his salmon and in the end was very good, although Crew couldn't finish it!  Both very sleepy (Crew put it down to the wind as we were going along at such speed!) so early to bed.

44 km. 4 locks. 6 hours

Sunday 11th June - Kembs

Another lie in for Crew and, it being Sunday, The Archers omnibus to look forward to!  Before that a bed change and a load of washing put on (sorry Gordon!).  Skip walked the half a mile into town to buy bread whilst Crew was busy - a nice change to have fresh bread for lunch!  He was unable to buy a baguette, however as they had run out and came back with a very good little brown loaf but it cost €3!!  A bit steep for bread we thought! The temperature soared as the afternoon wore on, getting into the early 30s' so not much done by Aphrodites' crew!  Usual leisurely lunch and siesta, then showers and out for dinner at Le Peniche, right by the side of the port, so not far to go!  What can I say, everything was perfect, aperitifs came quickly (Cremant of course!), then white wine, bread and water, followed by an 'amuse bouche' of gazpacho - not exactly French but perfect for this hot evening!  Skip had a sort of prawn cocktail with lots of prawns and Crew had roasted figs with goats' cheese.....absolutely delicious!  We both had fillet steak, which was perfectly cooked with lovely accompaniments but was too much for Crew, so one of her fillets was packed up for a steak sandwich for tomorrows' lunch!!  We couldn't managed a dessert so just finished the excellent Vacqueryas red.  We expressed our gratitude to the by now assembled staff of five and wished them a good night.  Digestifs on the back deck and bed.  On the move tomorrow!

Saturday 10th June - Mulhouse to Kembs

We had arranged to be at our one and only lock today at 10 a.m., along with two other boats, so we left at 9.45 and slipped in behind them.  The eclusier was German of course which flummoxed us a bit since we were still in French mode - he asked all sorts of questions about the boat and where we were stopping - we planned 2 nights in Kembs but he said there was a kayak race happening on Sunday, so we could only stay for one night......plan B already!  The large steel cruiser at the front was crewed by a nice German couple and as Crew was talking to the crew on the little motor sailer, she realised that they were Dutch, so that made it slightly easier - Crew lived in Holland for a year (many years ago it has to be said) but still retained a few words!  We finally descended the lock without a problem.  So now just a leisurely two hour cruise to Kembs.  We were greeted by a very friendly Capitaine, Gabriel, who helped us tie off and said he would be back shortly whilst we settled ourselves.  We thought there was a bar just across from us so went to investigate (very warm by now you understand) but it was a huge Peniche, used as a restaurant with the Capitainerie behind it.  We asked if we could book a table for tonight but the answer came 'complet', hardly surprising for a Saturday night.  As there was no mention of any kayak racing, Gabriel said we could stay for two nights in this delightful little port, so we booked a table for tomorrow night at the  Whilst Crew was  enjoying her siesta, Skip went into town to book a table in Le Petit Kembs, the other restaurant in town.  We dined on a delightful terrace in this family run restaurant, which also served as their garden. We had expected there to be a 'menu' but alas, no......so we just had starters and main course.  The starters were very good and the main very acceptable but fairly expensive.  The waiting staff, mother and daughter we think, the chef being the father, were very attentive and accommodating!  Digestifs and a DVD before bed.

20 km 1 lock 2 1/2 hours

Friday 9th June - Mulhouse

Another lie in for Crew.......getting spoiled!!  We decided to self- cater as we've been rather indulgent for the last couple of days - time to defrost the mystery meat that Skip bought!  He maintained that it was lamb but Crew is almost sure it's turkey - so garlic and rosemary or stuffing and bacon....who knows, will keep you posted!!  We don't buy each other presents for our anniversaries but Crew promised yesterday to clean Skips' toilet - an act of love if ever there was one!  Needless to say she didn't manage it what with all the eating, so she set to it this morning, cleaned the cabin and the fan, in preparation for the really hot weather!  A light lunch on board, sitting outside although the occasional gusts of wind were not so welcome.  As the day wore on the weather improved and warmed up a little, apart from the odd drizzle.  The mystery meat has to remain a slight mystery I'm afraid, although safe to say it wasn't lamb!  Crews' new guess was pork or turkey - needless to say the bacon and stuffing won!!  Skip doesn't dare give marks out of ten for Crews' cooking but am fairly sure it would have got an 8 at least......that's what I tell myself anyway.  TV reception very bad in Mulhouse so another DVD and bed.

Thursday 8 th June - Mulhouse

Skip and Crew exchanged cards as it was our 43rd Wedding Anniversary......crumbs, where did all those years go?  Then with a lazy day stretched ahead of us, Crew mouldered in bed for a time while Skip did a bit of boat cleaning.  We then had a stroll around the city, which is a mixture of old and new - quite an extensive shopping area with the more upmarket shops in the small streets of the old part of town......Mulhouse has a good feel about it.  There were lots of pavement cafes to choose from for a light lunch and we were drawn in by a very nice lady to one in particular in the Place de la Reunion.  We ordered salads, which were not cheap but huge, especially Crews'.  Skip sensibly ordered Gravadlax with salad and bread but Crews' order of Melon and Jambon Cru came with a shot of port, about half a kilo of ham and at least half a melon, not to mention the salad!!  Almost finished it!  Definitely needed a siesta after that!  Skip had booked a Lebanese restaurant for our anniversary dinner and we finally found our way onto their terrace as, by now, the weather was a very pleasant warm 24 degrees.  We sat next to two very attractive French girls, who were drinking 'un coupe de Champagne' - which is Cremant d'Alsace.  Cremant is produced both in Burgundy and in the Alsace.....both very good 'Methode Champenoise' wines for any celebration.  Crews' favourite is the Cremant d'Alsace - so we are in the right region for that now!  We have experienced Lebanese food twice before, one very good experience, one not so good so we were interested to see what Mulhouse had to offer.  Well, the long and the short of it was, in the end, we both gave a 7 out of 10 but the highlight of the evening was the attractive young woman on the next table who offered Crew €2 for a cigarette to have with her glass of wine!  She was trying to give up smoking but the glass of wine was too wet without a cigarette obviously!  Crew sympathised with her, gave her a cigarette and refused the €2!  As the evening went on she accepted two more cigarettes, eventually offering €7 which, obviously Crew refused to accept!!  We do meet interesting people!!  A lovely day after yesterdays' trials!  DVD and bed!

Wednesday 7th June - Dannemarie to Mulhouse

Even though the weather had not improved much - still pretty windy and rain threatening, we decided to leave Dannemarie and stop for the night somewhere between there and Mulhouse.  As you can see from the blog title it did not quite work out like that!!  Our chart told us that there was a chain of 11 locks so we assumed that one eclusier would see us through those but he was not the communicative type so we were surprised when he continued for two more after the eleven.  We passed the mooring where our friend, Henk had stopped earlier in the year and thought we could do two more locks then stop at another little town but on calling his 'chef' he said there was not enough depth for us there so the only option was to press on to Mulhouse.  So on we pressed for an interminable five and a half hours in the cold wind, rain and very occasional sun.  Crew definitely not pleased, especially since she had only managed three hours sleep the night before!!!  Our second eclusier was a young man who saw us through nine locks, a swing bridge and a lifting bridge.....poor boy, the weather was 't kind and he was on a moped!  In the last lock the heavens opened, ensuring that we arrived in Mulhouse thoroughly soaked!!  A welcoming committee of the Capitaine and a very well meaning elderly Swiss gentleman ensured that we were well tied off in view of the still strong wind.....think we used all our ropes!!!  After drying off and a quick late lunch, Crew managed an hours' sleep, just reviving her enough to walk into town for dinner.  We dined in Le Nelsonino, where Crew enjoyed a very good pizza and Skip a Steak Tartare, washed down with probably the best pichet of Cote du Rhone we have had.  A slow walk back to Aphrodite and bed!  An exhausting day with a relaxing finish!

23 km. 22 locks, 2 bridges. 5 1/2 hours

Tuesday 6th June - Dannemarie

We woke to steady rain and wind, which gradually got worse as the morning went on.  Skip however made a foray into town for supplies - Crews' vodka was without tonic, amongst other necessities.  He wore his rain jacket and cut a rather strange figure, wearing Crews' Barbour hat!!  Nevertheless stocks were replenished - happy Crew....always good!  The gusting wind gradually got worse as the day wore on, tossing Aphrodite about on her mooring - our stern was being thrust against the pontoon,with just a fender to protect us from being rammed against it.  We had experimented with placing the bikes on the bathing platform (instead of being on the front deck) - so that was a worry too!  We were so glad that we decided not to travel because the locks would be tricky in high winds.  When we enter the locks, the boat is so high in the lock that even fenders can't protect the hull in strong winds, so there is no pleasure in high wind cruising!  Only have to hope that the wind abates tomorrow as we have booked a table for dinner in Mulhouse for our anniversary on Thursday and Mulhouse is 22 locks away.......we were hoping for a stop midway somewhere.  Fingers crossed!  We were thinking of going into town for dinner but, as the weather was not improving, Crew got to work in the galley and we dined on board.  Watched some TV (patchy but watchable) dined and fairly early bed.

Monday 5th June - Dannemarie

A nice lie in for Crew - much appreciated!!  Skip went to inform the lock keeper that we would not leave port until Wednesday morning as the weather forecast for Tuesday had not changed.  Just after 11 a.m. we made a foray into town, armed with a shopping bag, although we were not very hopeful and  returned with an empty shopping bag!  A very friendly Swiss man on a big Dutch barge had told us that there was always a boulangerie open but as it was Pentecost (Whitsun) I guess that had closed early, so the baguette remains elusive!!  A good job that man cannot live on bread alone!!  Skip (the lunch chef!) cooked potatoes for a potato salad and served it with salad and carpaccio of salmon.....very good!  A much better day, weatherwise, than expected but as we were parked the wrong way round we were unable to use our new sun curtains and had to retreat to below to avoid the direct sun.......shame!  The port is technically in Wolfersdorf, not  Dannemarie but all the 'action' is in Dannemarie, such as it is!  Walking into town, the houses are very large and detached with neat gardens (normally the French plant well but then never look after their gardens......here they are well tended.  We had a lazy afternoon and Crew cooked fajitas for supper, the. TV and bed.

Sunday 4th June - Montreux-Chateau to Dannemarie

We left the mooring at 8.45 as we should be at the first of our 16 lock chain, however we had 5 km to cruise to get there and didn't turn up until 9.30!  We had a very nice, helpful lady lock keeper for the first 8 locks which were very rapid.  Then a rather good looking young man took over who was keen to practise his English........we managed to get ourselves tied up in Dannemarie at 11.45!!  We moored stern to in a good space but with the fairly strong wind pushing us onto the pontoon, we struggled to keep the stern of the boat from hitting the pontoon.  So it was later than planned that we set off into town for lunch.  We had a good lunch in the Auberge St. Leonard but as we were both very tired, we made our way back to the port for a siesta.  In fact,  Crew slept for almost two hours!!  We discussed our forward plans as there is yet another chain of 11 locks for the next part of the cruise and another 11 on to Mulhouse.......a smidge too many for us old things!  So we decided to stop for a night at a small bank side mooring, the only problem being that the weather forecast predicted strong winds on Tuesday and Skip is not too keen on wind!!  So it's quite possible that we stay in Dannemarie for three nights - it's a good spot with a supermarket, three restaurants and a bar on the other side of the river......not bad at all!  And we actually managed to get TV too!  So a bit of TV and bed.

10 km  16 locks 3 hours

Saturday 3rd June - Montreux-Chateau

Well readers, not much to do today folks, no nearby boulangerie or supermarket (and stocks are getting low!).  In fact, we have not managed to buy any good bread at all so far......still hunting for that elusive good boulangerie!!  Skip set to cleaning the outside of the boat, whilst Crew put a wash on.  Once the machine had finished its' cycle Crew started to hang things out just as it started to spot with rain, which continued on and off for the rest of the day, so internal drying was necessary.  Our meagre lunch was a little spoiled by having to watch people going for lunch on La Peniche and again watching them walking back, replete!!!  The same for the evening as we tucked into Crews' Thai chicken curry.......which was a heroic effort, given the fact that several ingredients were missing.
DVD and bed.

Friday 2nd June - Montbeliard to Montreux -Chateau

We left the port at 9.30 a.m., both feeling a bit liverish after last nights' dinner. The first three locks went swimmingly but on approaching the fourth, the zapper failed to work and of course, no landing stage.  Some mediocre lassoing by Crew and heroic leaping by Skip allowed him ashore to call the VNF.  A man was with us in a matter minutes and locked us through.  The next two locks were also attended by a lock keeper, whereupon we started a chain of five locks, also manned, to our destination. We were instructed by the lockkeeper to tie up further along until lunch time was over - 1.30, which we did, partaking of a bite to eat ourselves.  We ascended the five locks together with a three man French crew ahead of us and it went very quickly.  We arrived in Montreux-Chateau at 3 p.m., later than expected  due to the lunch stop.  We whiled away the afternoon, Skip making two business calls in between trying to book a table in the La Peniche restaurant, moored a few boats from us......neither of which was successful I believe! Of course, as it is Friday and then Le Weekend, the restaurant was 'complet' (full) which doesn't mean full just that the chef can't cope with any more bookings!  That went for both tonight and tomorrow night.  So a cobbled together cold chicken salad for us with a taramasalata and pitta bread starter for us.......too late for cooking as Crew had got herself dressed and ready to dine out!!  That's always very frustrating! After our 'feast' Crew decided to go and throw herself on the mercy of the restaurant staff and a few trips were made to the chef who, unfortunately proved to be immovable!  The ironic thing was that there were rather a lot of tables free, both on the top deck and below......c'est La France!!  The best hope was that if a cancellation occurred the waitress would come to the boat to let us know, either for lunch or dinner tomorrow - not holding my breath though!! Internet and TV both bad here so another DVD and bed.

22 km. 11 locks 5 1/2 hours

Thursday 1st June - Montbeliard

WhenI say a 'rest day' I mean cleaning jobs really - Skip cleaned all the fenders and the hull and Crew set to work on cleaning the small windows.  Then a foray to the supermarket, which is clearly visible from the boat.........oh, for a dinghy!!  Montbeliard is blessed with numerous bridges and we somehow got ourselves on the wrong bridge, so the walk to the Intermarche was elongated somewhat!!  On the way back, keeping the little quayside bar in sight we struggled with our heavy bags until we reached Nirvana - cold beer!  Crew is not really a beer drinker but needs must!!  Usual lunch on board and siesta ( don't know of a French word for that!).  Then, all set for a gourmet dinner at Chez Joseph, which we booked on our way home yesterday evening.  Well, what can I say.......the most disappointing meal we have ever had in France!!  The menu gave us no clue as to what we would be eating and all the lady told us was there was an entree, two fish dishes, a meat dish and dessert - not a clue as to the meat, so ordering wine was difficult!  The bill came to €250, yesterdays' was €54 and the quality of the food so much better!  Have never before had the urge to comment on Trip Advisor but......oof!!  There's always a first time!  Early bed after a very disappointing evening!
Nite, nite folks!

Wednesday 31st May - L'Isle-sur-Le-Doubs to Montbeliard

We had thought of staying for two nights as the heat was getting to us a bit but decided to move on to Montbeliard and stop there for a couple of nights for a well earned rest.  We slipped our lines at 10 a.m.  The first two locks were nice and easy and Crew was about to extol the work of the VNF when our poor engine changed tune meaning that we had a filter problem and no water was coming in to cool the engine.  Sure enough, no water was coming out at all - just steam.  We had just exited the lock and unfortunately there was no landing stage around so Skip had to land Crew in the greenery on the port side of Aphrodite. As Skip was having trouble getting both ends of the filter pipe free, we had to take the floor up for easier access.  When Skip had finally cleared the blockage (with a wire coathanger!) the whole operation had taken an hour.  Luckily the Canal cleared soon afterwards and all went well until just before our 6th lock and were confronted with a lifting bridge that Skip hadn't registered.  We tied up on the waiting pontoon.  Not seeing any informative signs we consulted the chart to find a phone number.  Unfortunately Skips' eyesight is not what it was and he first called a restaurant, completely confusing the man on the other end, being asked to lift the bridge for us!!!  We realised that, as it was lunchtime there was no use in calling yet, so settled down to a bite of lunch ourselves.  At 1.30 Skip called the correct number and was informed that a man would be along soon. A few more locks - crossing the Doubs river (unnavigable) and we arrived in Montbeliard just after 4 p.m.  We moored next to a nice English couple with a lovely Airedale, called George and chatted a while with them.  Unfortunately we didn't take note of the direction of our mooring and had the hot sun facing us, so we had to fix up a makeshift sunscreen (we have bespoke sun curtains for the other three sides!).  Not sure whether it's our age or the heat but we were both very tired on arrival and decided to relax for the afternoon........makes a change!!  We ventured into town for dinner and found a delightful Thai restaurant, where we enjoyed a delicious 3 course menu for €26 and a 50cl pichet  of good Sauvignon for €7.........bargain!!  Tired happy crew.......early to bed!

23 km  11 locks  6 1/4 hours