Wednesday 9th August - La Chaussee-sur-Marne to Chalons-en-Champagne

Around 10 o'clock a commercial barge went past and the undertow took our front spike out so Martin leapt ashore to secure the line.  We took the chance to leave the mooring even though we would have to wait for the commerce to lock through.  We were just waiting before the lock for him to exit when another commerce hove into view so we went to the bank and let him pass......they always take precedence over pleasure cruisers.  This meant, of course, that our cruise took far longer than it should have.......the commerce was painfully slow in and out of the locks, so we had long waits before each lock.
We arrived in Chalons around 2 p.m., got settled and had some lunch before taking a stroll into town. We came to the conclusion that Chalons is a getting better sort of town - a lot of closed down shops but repairs and improvements in evidence in the centre.  There is a 13th century cathedral, also the striking Notre-Dame-en-Vaux church and a plethora of lovely old houses.  We stopped at a bar for a refreshing glass of bubbles......it had to be done, considering where we are!!  As we were researching restaurants for dinner we happened upon a lovely courtyard garden which was attached to a restaurant and, having looked at the menu decided that it was a very good possibility.
The restaurant, Les Caudalies, was a beautiful building and very good food......we seem to have struck lucky whilst Martin and Clare are with us.  The only fly in the ointment was that the evenings were not balmy enough to dine outside which would have been lovely in that courtyard.  We returned to Aphrodite for digestifs, then bed.

17 km 3 locks 4 hours