Monday 4 th September - Donjeux to Froncles

Crew woke late again so we set off as the clock in the village was chiming 10. There were two VNF men at our first lock, clearing weed and as it was almost 4 metres deep, Crew struggled to reach up and secure her line to the bollard.  One of the men ran round the lock and secured the line......nice man!  The following locks were not quite so deep, making life much easier!  Although there was a lack of sunshine, the temperature had improved by midday and did not distract from the beautiful surrounding countryside.  We didn't know what to expect of the moorings at Froncles as a report from the Dutch Barge Association had reported that they were 'average' but we found it to be a lovely port with a long wooden pontoon and plentiful mooring rings.  There was a well kept area alongside with space for motor homes and caravans, a boules court and even a Capitainerie with a shower block and washing machine, etc.  Crew had a little wander around crossing a green bridge over the Marne.....plenty of water around here.
We had some lunch - no fresh bread this morning, so we used the new toaster we bought in Joinville for toast and pate de foie.  Skip had one of his famous 'power naps' - which lasted 45 minutes!  By now the sun was shining and with a temperature of around 24/25 degrees, Crew decided a little sunbathing was in order, so dusted off her bikini and had a 45 minute session on the front deck.  And to think a t-shirt, sweater and coat was the order of the day earlier!!  Then around five o'clock we walked into town for an exploration.  Our maps told us that there was a good restaurant nearby but we decided to look for the supermarket and boulangerie first and find the restaurant on our way back.  The little town was very spread out......there was a tabac (open) and a coiffure (closed) together then a ten minute walk away a Carrefour Express which was very good for a small supermarket.  Skip said he would look for the boulangerie tomorrow morning.  Now, for the restaurant........well, it seemed that it had disappeared!  We walked up and down several times but the area it should have been in looked most unsuitable - the back of a big workshop doing something with wood!  We ambled back to Aphrodite, scratching our heads!
So back to the galley for Crew!  We managed to dine on the aft deck before retiring below for another DVD then bed.

12.5 km 5 locks 2 1/2 hours