Monday 24th - Thursday 27th September - St. Jean de Losne

Now for the hard work of packing up the boat for winter and loading the car!  We are not leaving for the U.K. until Friday morning so we had a few days to organise ourselves.
On Monday, Skip cleaned and painted the aft deck - finally it matches the rest of the deck - and Crew sorted out the galley utensils and dishes.  It was good to have a bit of a clear out and make some space, although I’m sure it won’t be long until those spaces are refilled!!  We had lunch with Henk on board as usual but Skip and Crew dined on the sausages that we needed to use up and had a lazy evening.
On Tuesday we took a day off work and drove to Nuits St. Georges, where we had a very good lunch and then on to Beaune to visit the Hotel Dieu, which Beaune is famous for.  We had visited the beautifully restored hospital twice before but for Henk it was his first time.  It was a lovely day, although the strong sharp wind meant coats and sweaters.  Another quiet evening watching TV.
After our trip out we were too tired to move Aphrodite to her permanent winter mooring spot so we moved her on Wednesday morning.  Crew had to clear the freezer a little so made use of some minced beef and made a Spaghetti Bolognaise for dinner.
We managed a few cleaning jobs before being ready to go for our last lunch on the waterfront.  We were blessed with beautiful weather, after a cold start in the morning and had a lovely lunch in Le Bouchon Losnais

 which has become our new favourite in St. Jean de Losne.  Then packing!!
So folks, our 2018 summer cruise is over.  The weather has been exceptionally good, even though some waterways were closed due to the lack of rain, which meant that we had to return to our home base on the same canal as last year.  That said, just being afloat in beautiful France is enough for us!
No thoughts about our direction for 2019 but we have our sojourn in Lanzarote, and indeed, Christmas and New Year to enjoy yet!  No doubt, Skip will put his mind to a schedule during the cool months of March and April.
So, dear readers, time to say ‘adieu’ once more!  A l’anee prochaine!!!

Sunday 23rd September - Verdun to St.Jean de Losne

Our last cruise of 2018 today!  We left Verdun at ten o’clock with a longer cruise than recently as we had decided to return to our winter base.  As rain was expected this evening Skip put our full canopy up, meaning that we could use the back deck in all weathers.

We had a longish run with two big locks, the first of which was Ecuelles, Crews’ most hated lock as it makes us sway all over the place with Aphrodite out of control! 

We arrived on the fuel pontoon just before 2 p.m. and topped up our tanks, leaving Henk to do the same.  When we got to Blanquarts’ we found our berth was taken so we had to moor on an outside pontoon - not ideal.  As there was nobody in the office today (Sunday) we would have to make do until tomorrow.

A very late lunch today as we didn’t settle Henk until almost three o’clock, so a late siesta too!  As Crew needs to deplete the freezer, it was agreed that we would have a Sunday steak dinner.  We even managed to dine on deck since we were all covered up.  The weather is much cooler now and we did get the promised rain although it arrived later than advertised.

39 km. 2 locks. 4 hours

Saturday 22nd September - Gergy to Verdun sur le Doubs

After an evening of light rain, we woke to blue skies and an autumn mist clearing from the river.  We didn’t leave until 10.30 as we had another short cruise today.
We arrived in Verdun at 11.15 and were seen in by the Capitaine, accompanied by a large excited dog.  We moored stern to but without any finger pontoons which makes it more difficult to keep the boat straight, which Crew is rather keen on but doesn’t seem to affect Skip at all!  The French couple on the next boat to us had a cat which seemed to be the object of the dogs’ excitement.
After settling in we had an earlier than usual lunch, whilst discussing restaurants for an evening meal.   We have stopped here several times over the years and we used to eat at a hotel/restaurant in the town but alas, it seems to have closed down.  There is another hotel very near the port but we don’t remember eating there so, with the aid of the Internet we found another, Le Caveau du Verdun, which looked interesting.  Skip walked across the bridge to suss it out and returned having booked us a table for dinner, mentioning that it was also a wine tasting cave.
We whiled away the afternoon then got ready for dinner, partaking of our usual aperitifs on deck beforehand.  The walk through the quiet old streets of Verdun was very enjoyable with many old buildings for Crew to admire.
The restaurant was very cosy with only a very small kitchen and we were served by the very genial maitre d’.  The meal was excellent and not too expensive - we will certainly pay another visit.  We were just about able to enjoy a digestif on deck but the weather definitely had the feel of autumn now!

8 km. 0 locks. 45 minutes

Friday 21st September - Chalon-sur- Saône to Gergy

We left just after ten o’clock under slightly grey skies, with a promise of some rain later and a much cooler temperature.  No locks today so a straight hour and a half run to Gergy, with the hope that we would find space this time and also that the restaurant might be open.  We were in luck......it seems that the restaurant was only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during September!
We decided to have lunch instead of dinner as the weather was reasonable and we could enjoy the large under cover terrace of the restaurant.  We had an excellent meal at a very reasonable price - a pichet of wine (50cl) was only €6, although it was agreed that the white was superior to the red.  Now that we know the opening hours, we will be sure to stop here again.

We thought a quiet night in front of the TV would be a good idea but as we had no reception we watched and enjoyed the film The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society and then continued with Poldark.  A nice lazy evening!

17 km. 0 locks. 1 1/2 hours

Thursday 20th September - Fragnes to Chalon-sur-Saone

We left Fragnes at 10.20 for our short cruise to Chalon-sur-Saône with just the big ancient lock to descend at the end of the canal (10.6 metres).  Another beautiful warm day with a promise of the temperature rising even higher in the afternoon.
We were greeted by the very helpful Capitaine who found us two perfect mooring spots and who helped us in.  This comes at a price however, as the mooring fee is €23.90 and much higher in the summer months.  We have visited the beautiful city of Chalon many times and always fall for its’ charms.
We had an earlier lunch, followed by a siesta as usual in the heat of the day.....by now over 30c again and not much wind!
For a change we decided to try the Lebanese restaurant in the town.  Skip chose a menu for €25.90 and Crew and Henk decided on a Mezze, a mixture of small dishes, much like is served in Greece or Turkey.  All in all it was very good and we washed it down with a rather expensive but delicious Lebanese red wine.
The usual digestifs were taken on deck and not too late to bed.

8 km. 1 lock. 1 1/4 hours

Wednesday 19th September - Seurre to Fragnes

We left port just after 10 a.m., again in beautiful sunshine under a cloudless blue sky - we are so lucky to be enjoying these warm autumn days.  The plan was to stop in Gergy as there is a restaurant there.  Having said that, we haven’t been very lucky to find it open in the past and indeed it was once again closed!  We tried to moor Aphrodite on the end of the pontoon but it was far from a comfortable berth, so we decided to move on.
We took the decision to cruise a few kilometres along the Canal du Centre to Fragnes, where we had stopped earlier in the year with our friends, Gary and Tina.  On that visit however we did not visit the restaurant on the quay as we had enjoyed a large lunch in Chalon-sur- Saône.
We had to wait a while for the very ancient guillotine lock to be ready and as there was already a boat  waiting in front of us ( the lock only took two boats) Henk had an even longer wait!  We followed the boat in front of us at a miserable speed of around 4 kph, made more miserable for us as we had taken our canopy down to accommodate the lower bridges on the canal and the heat was unrelenting at that speed!
  We were helped in by a very nice young lady Capitaine who had extremely good English and told us that the restaurant would be open at 7 p.m. which was good news.....too hot for galley work!!
Another very late lunch, then some rest before a cool shower.
After our usual aperitif on the deck we ambled over to the restaurant just before eight o’clock and enjoyed a good, if a little expensive, dinner.  An earlier night ensued after a digestif - it had reached 32c during the day and we all found the heat fairly draining!

44 km. 2 locks. 4 1/2 hours

Tuesday 18th September - St. Jean de Losne to Seurre

Hello again folks!  After our convoluted trip back to Blighty we arrived back in St. Jean on Friday afternoon.  The plan was to have a couple of quiet days before cruising again, however as our Kiwi friends, Peter and Gwen were in port, staying on their boat which was on hard standing, that plan was negated!  We went out to dinner with them and Henk on Saturday evening, then invited them over to Aphrodite for lunch on Sunday.  So the party carries on!!  On Monday Skip took them to the station to start their journey home, staying in the U.K. for a couple of weeks before returning to New Zealand.
The plan for us today was to cruise to Seurre for lunch as it was just a short trip but the weather had other ideas!  Henk came over and showed us his weather radar which showed a storm heading our way - indeed it had rained somewhat overnight.  Shortly after ten o’clock the storm rumbled over us and continued for almost two hours, so we didn’t leave until 12.15 p.m.
We enjoyed a fast cruise on the lovely River Saône in glorious sunshine, as did Aphrodite and, after one big commercial lock, one and a half hours later saw us tied up in Seurre.  We had a very late lunch and planned to dine in town.  Skip in fact, walked into town and booked a table for us in the little pizzeria where we had lunched last year.
We had our usual aperitifs on deck then walked to the restaurant where we enjoyed a good meal.  Seurre is what Crew calls a ‘shabby chic’ town, dating back to the 5th century BC with many very ancient buildings......a favourite stop for us.
After digestifs on the back deck we retired a little later than we should have!

17 km. 1 lock. 1 1/2 hours

Sunday 9 th September - St. Jean de Losne

Crew allowed herself a mini lie-in before setting to work with her packing and cleaning.  Skip gave the hull a well needed clean after all the filthy locks and did some inside cleaning too.

The logistics of our trip back to England were very complicated as our car was still in Chalon-en-Champagne and all the trains from St. Jean to Chalon went via Paris, so an eight hour journey.  In the end we decided on a taxi to Dole airport, pick up a hire car, then drive to Chalon to pick our car up.  We would then to drive to a hotel near Calais for the night - a long day!  With this in mind we decided to have a last lunch with Henk, have a pizza for dinner and an early night.
So, dear readers, I will say ‘a bientot’ for the next five days - will resume the blog next Saturday!

Saturday 8th September - Pontailler to St.Jean de Losne

We left the marina at ten o’clock together and out onto the wide River Saône.  The boats were enjoying travelling at a faster speed, about nine knots in clear, weed free water.  Another beautiful day to cruise this beautiful river!  We were now back in hire boat country but,luckily not too .busy with them since it’s now September.
Our two locks were no problem, although a bit of a wait at both and we arrived in St. Jean around  1 p.m.  We had mailed ahead (several times!) to Blanquart’s Marina, resquesting two berths for us but without receiving an answer so we found two spaces ourselves.  Henk tied off next to us but his berth had a boat name on it so chances were that he would have to move at some time.  Our New Zealand friend, Carol appeared as we approached and helped us in.  She and her husband, Frank were just going to drive to Paris, then fly on to New Zealand......it was very good to see them, albeit for a very brief time!  Sadly, Carol informed us that our favourite restaurant, Sauconna, was closed down.....such a shame!  We had a short chat, waved them off then got ourselves settled in.
We had a light lunch then Skip found the phone number of La Cuminieres restaurant and booked us a table for dinner.  A few jobs were done , then a rest.
Our dinner was passable but quite simple, at €24 for theee courses.  We decided on an early night as we would be busy tomorrow, cleaning the boat and preparing for our trip back to England on Monday.  We are going back to attend the funeral of a dear friend and will return late on Friday 14th September to resume our cruise.  It means that we will have the car so we plan to visit some places by road and also by boat for the rest of the month.

33 km. 2 locks. 3 1/4 hours

Friday 7th September - Oisilly to Pontailler-sur-Saone

Back to civilisation today!  We left at the more human time of 10 a.m., choosing to travel together.  It had rained during the night but it was a beautiful morning with blue skies and sunshine.  We just had a problem with our penultimate lock on the canal but after a call, it was solved remotely.  In our last lock there was a ‘post box’ in which we had to deposit our telecommandes before the lock would operate - we had forgotten this from last year!
We arrived in the marina at Pontailler at 1.15 p.m. and squeezed into a space just about big enough for us both, at a pinch.  In the morning, Skip had phoned the restaurant, Hostel des Marronieres near the marina to book us a table for dinner, so no galley for Crew.....hoorah!!
We enjoyed a good dinner, if a little expensive, then back to Aphrodite for digestifs and chatting till fairly late.

17 km. 7 locks. 3 1/4 hours

Thursday 6th September - St-Maurice-sur-Vingeanne to Oisilly

We knew that the commerce would leave at 7 a.m. when the locks open so we decided on 8 a.m. as our departure time since rain was expected later.  At eight o’clock however, the barge was still in the lock with two red lights showing, meaning that the lock wasn’t functioning.  A VNF man was in attendance, clearing the lock of weed which seemed to be the reason for the malfunction.  We then had to wait another half an hour or so for him to pull out yet more weed - all the while Crew bemoaning the fact that she could have had another half an hour or so in bed!!  We eventually left the mooring at 8.45 a.m.
After two locks we caught up with the commerce who was just entering the lock, meaning we had to wait for him to pass through and re-set the lock for ourselves - quite a delay!  In fact each lock was now taking us almost half an hour, as opposed to around ten minutes - a long tedious day with 12 more locks to pass through yet!!
So as to save some time preparing dinner, Crew set to work with said task......nothing much else to do really!
We didn’t moor where originally planned as we spotted two dolphins and thought it wise to stop as we were not too sure about both of us mooring on the small pontoon after the Oisilly lock.  It meant one more lock tomorrow but, to be frank, we had all had enough by then anyway....arrival time 3.45 p.m.
Well deserved nibbles and drinks were partaken of on arrival!!  This was not a bad spot to stop at all, with the added bonus of six or seven Charolais cows to watch - as they were observing us!  We managed to dine outside - the promised rain having not arrived, although we did hear a few rumblings of thunder.  One of Henks’ daughters called him just as we had finished dinner.  When he returned we just stayed on deck for a while but decided to have an early night.....we were all pretty bushed after our long days’ cruising!

21 km. 12 locks. 7 hours

Wednesday 5th September - Piepape to St-Maurice-sur-Vingeanne

Aphrodite left at 9.30 as usual with Cornelis k. following on a little later.  With two fewer locks than yesterday and a perfect cruising day under a cloudless blue sky, we made good time ambling down our eleven locks, even though Crew got her rope jammed in a crack in the wall of the third lock, which required skilful use of a boat hook and some brute force and ignorance from Skip!
Unfortunately when we reached Cusey, there was simply no space at all for us, as most of the moored boats there were liveaboards.  We have stopped there two or three times before and just managed to tie off on some metal struts of the toilet block but even that was occupied!  So, onward and upward.....three more locks to Crews’ dismay!  The upside of that was three less locks tomorrow though!
The ‘mooring’ consisted of two blue dolphins, really meant for commercial barges, so we manoeuvred between them and moored on the bank with pins.  Twenty minutes or so later we helped Henk in, then a very well deserved beer was imbibed,  followed by our usual lunch.  Another upside of being here was that a little restaurant was just by the lock in front of us - bonus for Crew!!  I wandered over to see if it would be open and was very happy to see a sign to say it would open at 7.30 for dinner!  However (there’s always a ‘however’ isn’t there!). When Skip went over around seven o’clock to ask for a table at 7.30, he was told a definite no......not without a reservation!!  Words fail me!
At the same time a commerce appeared to cause us consternation as we were moored on his space really.  We watched him, or rather his wife, manoeuvre the barge right up to the lock gates and tie off there - have never seen that before!  The bargees were Dutch so Henk had a long chat with them.  It seems that they were making for St. Jean de Losne too so we were afraid that he would slow down our progress somewhat.....we will see.
There was a small outboard powered boat also moored in front of us with an American crew and a couple in a motor home with a British number plate, all of whom would have liked to eat in the restaurant, making a total of nine people the restaurateur could have provided for......entrepreneurship eh!!
In the end Crew put some potatoes in the oven to bake, cooked some peas with bacon and onion and Henk broke out his barbecue to cook our steaks, which we enjoyed on the back deck as the evening was balmy.

19 km. 14 locks. 4 1/4 hours

Tuesday 4th September - Langres to Piepape

We left at 9.30 with Henk just fifteen minutes or so behind us.  We have the difficult part of our cruise back to St. Jean de Losne now, with long days and lots of locks, although after the last two ‘up’  locks today, it’s downhill all the way!  We were to take our time getting back to our home base but due to a dear friends’ funeral on 13th September, we had decided to go back to England for a couple of days, to pay our respects.  This means we need to cruise every day, so long days ahead for us!
After our last two uphill locks we had a 5 km tunnel to negotiate!  Unfortunately we chose the wrong time to start the day and ended up having to wait three and a half hours to pass through the tunnel!  Two cruisers left an hour before us, going our way and then a commerce was passing through the tunnel the other way......c’est la vie!!  The tunnels are not difficult to navigate but the concentration required to hold a steady course in such a long tunnel is immense, since we have less than a metre each side of the boat to play with!  Skip earned himself a gold medal - not even touching the fenders once!!
Once through the tunnel a 3 km run saw us approach a chain of eight locks, at over 5 metres each.  It sounds daunting but the locks were very fast and smooth and we took just under an hour and a half to navigate them.  Then three more less deep locks saw us moor on the bank in Piepape around 5 p.m....a long day!
None of us had eaten so far and as, once again, Crew was in no shape to take to the galley, we had our usual lunchtime selection of cheeses, pate, ham, etc. and indeed, we even cracked open a tin of corned beef around 7 p.m.  Having slaked our thirsts with a beer or two, we enjoyed some red wine with our ‘feast’.  Then early to bed as the next few days will be arduous!

21 km. 13 locks. 7 1/2 hours 1 tunnel

Monday 3rd September - Rolampont to Langres

We left at 9.30 with Henk to follow on a little later, under grey skies with a promise of a couple of showers later.  The locks were very well behaved again - quick and gentle and, when in our fifth lock, the sun appeared.

Most of the lock houses so far have been occupied, so Crews’ habit of making over the derelict one’s was altered to making improvements to the current occupants design and decoration!   However on this stretch there were more empty houses for her to get her teeth into - it passes the time in the locks!

A nice tranquil easy run to Langres saw us tying up on the long concrete pontoon just after midday - Henk arrived forty minutes later.  As we did in Rolampont, we moored the boat facing the direction in which we had come, in order to get TV reception.....this we remembered from last year!
We had our usual lunch and siesta.  Skip toyed with the idea of walking into town but it is a long, very steep climb......a shame because Langres is an ancient fortified city, dating back to Roman times with many buildings of interest.
We decided on a quiet evening in watching TV, with just a bowl of soup and cheese for supper as Crew wasn’t feeling like cooking.

10 km. 7 locks. 2 3/4 hours

Sunday 2nd September - Rolampont

Quite a rude awakening for Crew as Skip decided he wanted to move the boat sooner rather than later - two spaces had been vacated on the pontoon and he wanted to relax and watch Match of the Day.  So, without even a restorative cup of tea we moved Aphrodite and re-settled - Henk decided to move too just in case another boat appeared.

As Skip was watching the football, Crew looked up and notice that a huge snail had attached itself to the window just above the TV......maybe he was interested in the football highlights too!
Although the boat needed a good internal clean, Crew decided that personal grooming was more of a priority......mañana for the cleaning!!
Skip went to the supermarket and boulangerie to keep our stocks up as we were aware that there would be no available shops fairly soon when we are in the ‘wilderness’.  We lunched on top in sunshine but with an occasional sharp wind, then some relaxation for us all.
There is a restaurant in Rolampont but obviously, it was closed on a Sunday evening, so Crew prepared a leek and potato pie to go with the large pork chops that Skip had bought in the boucherie section of the little supermarket.
We dined below as the cold wind had beaten us.  Henk left us around ten o’clock and we watched an hour or so’s TV before retiring.

Saturday 1st September - Foulain to Rolampont

We left together at 9.45 a.m. but as we arrived at the first lock we realised that it was automatic and we used our telecommande again.  Henk decided to let us go ahead of him in this case as it was easier for all of us if we locked through separately.  All the locks behaved themselves, although we lost a fender due to Skips’ lack of concentration coming out of our last lock.  Crew messaged Henk to ask if he could retrieve it for us, which he did and we moored in Rolampont at 12.45 p.m. in warm sunshine but a rather keen wind.  Unfortunately the pontoon was full (it only takes three boats) so we had to moor on a very awkward bank with mooring pins and Crew unable to get ashore.  Henk joined us a half an hour later, and Skip helped him in. We wanted to stay for two nights which we would do as long as we could move onto the pontoon in the morning!
We had a late lunch again, with Henk coming over in his dinghy, then Skip went across the canal to the supermarket for provisions.  Crew had the challenge of turning two beef patties into an edible cottage pie for three people for dinner, with the aid of some finely chopped vegetables.  Henk is not too keen on vegetables but he declared that the result was tasty!  Result!!!
A little TV and bed.

14 km. 7 locks. 3 hours

Friday 31st August - Chaumont to Foulain

We had told the VNF yesterday that we would depart at 9.30a.m. but the steady rain was not conducive.  They came around again and Skip said we would go when it stopped raining as our weather forecast suggested that would be around 11 a.m..  We left just after, even though it was still drizzling.  Unfortunately we omitted to look at both our forecasts as the alternative one was more correct and it only stopped raining at our last lock!  After just two locks the locks became manual and  a young VNF woman came to operate the lock for us.  She was joined by another young woman thereafter.  Again some of the locks were almost four metres deep - difficult to attach a rope to a bollard when it can’t even be seen!
We were very surprised that the girls worked through the usual lunch hour but glad that they did as stopping places were simply not available.  We arrived around 2.45, pretty damp and tired.   Foulain is what Crew calls a ‘country mooring’ with just two wooden quays, a bit the worse for wear.  So Henk had to raft up alongside us as a Swiss family had taken the first quay - luckily the canal was wide enough.  We got quickly settled and had a restorative and much needed beer, followed by a very late lunch.  Crew was willing to cook something in the evening but research was done and two restaurants found, not too far from the boat so it was decided we eat out again.
We partook of our usual aperitifs on deck at 7 p.m. then walked up the hill to the restaurant, passing a very closed looking hotel on our way.  When we arrived we were informed that no food was being served and that we should have reserved.  However the owner took pity on us after a quick discussion and offered to serve us a plate of charcuterie, which we willingly accepted as we needed to refuel after a fairly heavy day and a climb up the hill!  We were served with an excellent plate of meats and salad, some good bread and passable red wine.
Back to the boat for digestifs, retiring a little later than we should have!

14 km. 8 locks  1 lifting bridge. 3 1/2 hours