Four Canals Completed and Back on the Scary Seine (Or, The Rain Outside of Spain Falls Mainly on the Seine – or so it would appear today………..)

The summer weather called for the first Barbeque of the year at Montbouy

I’ve opened with a summery pic as it looks nothing like that today.  We’re moored on the River Seine at Valvins, having decided to stay put as we can hardly see the opposite bank for the rain and we’ve lit the stove!!  But before summer reverted back to winter, here’s what's happened……..

We’d told the lock-keeper at Montbouy that we would be staying two nights there and wouldn’t go through the next lock until Monday morning at 11am, so the next morning, Sunday, we got up, put the bikes together and headed off down the towpath for a couple of kilometres to the remains of a Roman Amphitheatre.  They’re fenced off as they’re on private land, but were discovered when the canal was being dug out.  It seated 3/4000 and you can still see the little doorway to where the animals were kept before being sent out to fight.  It was really quite impressive, just sat there at the side of the road and it would’ve been nice to get a bit closer.

The little doorway leads to the room the animals were kept in, so gives an idea of the scale.

Back at the boat we decided to shuffle on a bit with a couple of mooring options before the next lock.  We weren’t that enamoured with the mooring at Montcresson but pulled in for lunch and a walk around the town, which housed the smallest post office we’ve seen.

Is this the smallest post office in France?

The roof of the old Lavoir next to the canal at Montcresson

Just before the next lock, which was the first in a chain of four, we pulled onto a rural mooring, only spotting the overgrown bollards due to the picnic table that was visible and in the DBA description.  As we tied up the lock keeper appeared at the lock and walked down the towpath towards us.  He asked if we spoke English……….  We explained we were staying here tonight and had booked to go down tomorrow at 11am, but would probably be ready at 9.30am as we were closer, so he said he’d let his colleague know our change of plans.  We then set off for a walk down the short flight and to see if there was anything left of the old route which used to run alongside.

Back at the boat we settled down for the evening, after dinner on the front deck, and it was one of our most peaceful moorings.  The amount of bird song going on was incredible and actually continued long after the sun went down as the Nightingales made their presence known – beautiful.  I had read a few days before a ‘Tweet’ from Quaintrelle’s sister ‘Baleine’ saying spring must be on its way as she’d heard a cuckoo.  I remember the first time in my life I heard a cuckoo for real.  It was in 2009 in Slovenia on a biking holiday and I remember thinking how they actually sound exactly like the clocks!  Over the last week or so here in France, we’ve been hearing cuckoos all day/every day, so we’re a bit blasé about them now…..

The next day we headed off down the flight which was a chain of four and means you’re set off by a lock-keeper at the first, but thereafter the sensors at the entrances and exits of the locks put the next lock in motion for you coming.

We soon arrived at Montargis, known as the Venice of France as the town has lots of waterways running through it and the Tourist Office provides a Tour of the Town Bridges which we followed.  It’s a really nice town with lots of shops as well and a Leader Price supermarket, which is not our favourite, but provides the supplies.

Much hilarity at the name of this lock, "Lock of Suffers Pain" - which we didn't!

Hotel barge passing at Montargis

Montargis, the Venice of France

A lady from the local Mairie’s office came round in the evening to collect our mooring fees and we hooked up to the electric and filled with water.  After getting so low on water earlier on in the month, we now fill up whenever we get the chance, even if we’ve filled up the previous day – and of course, if we’re paying for it, we might as well use it!

Leaving Montargis the next morning we were met at the manned lock and handed a remote control – woooohooooo – end of the nanny state for a while.  The lock-keeper put us through that and the next lock and we were off.

At Montargis they have tried to retain and combine the old city walls and buildings with the new ones.

At the next lock the lights were out, meaning the lock is out of use…… I pressed the magic button on the remote, but nothing, and there was a lot of activity going on around the lock.  With the binoculars, I could see that there were guys in high-vis vests clearing around the lock, picking up rubbish, the weed/wood fished out from behind the gates, but there was also two men working on the downstream gates.  We hovered and eventually one of them headed back towards us and we established there was a problem with the lock but the lock-keeper was on his way.

It turned out that they are in the process of making this lock fully automatic.  It’s semi-automatique at the moment which means that the mechanism is automated, but it needs the eclusier there to push the buttons on his remote control.  He was a really nice guy the eclusier and chatted away as we locked down.  The next lock was also semi-automated, but he would operate that remotely for us, watching for us on the security cameras.  This was the last lock on the Canal du Briare and as we left it and passed a trip boat, we moved onto the Canal du Loing – our fourth canal of the season!

Welcome to the Canal du Loing

This bar is owned by a Scot, but it was closed, so no chance for a chinwag.

What has become our favourite mooring at Chateau-Landon

Another easy lock - as long as you wait for the lights!  We learned that earlier in the day when being blown about by wind, Mike misread the red+green light for green and went in before the gates were fully open.  The lock seized and we had to call VNF to come release it and move us on our way.  When the eclusier arrived he asked what had happened and I had to admit our mistake and apologised.  He accepted the apology with a grunt, gallic shrug and a slight raising of his top right lip.

The Loing is not very long at 49kms and we were still keenly watching the notifications coming in for the stoppage at the end of it.  The water levels seemed to be coming up and the status was now amber so they seemed to be letting some craft through if you had a shallow enough draft.

Our target for the evening was a rural mooring at Chateau-Landon and as we pulled up in the sunshine in the middle of bird-filled woods, despite the DBA rating of adequate, we felt we’d struck gold.  There was no one around apart from a few cyclists and walkers and no sound of traffic or anything, it was just gorgeous and we realised that the DBA rating isn’t necessarily the same as our rating of places.  (This was confirmed when at Nemours later the same week; rated as ‘good’ – because it had power and water – but we thought it wasn’t very nice at all, next to a carpark and a building supplies yard!).

Mike had a conference call for work to make so I busied myself with some chores and then decided as it was a nice evening to try a short run.  I did 1.09 miles, once round the port at Roanne!  And then did some leg raises in a desperate attempt to get some muscle tone back.  As I came out of my post-run shower, Mike had finally finished his phone call and was trying to make conversation with two little French girls who had arrived with their grandparents at one of the picnic tables for a picnic tea.  The little girls were very curious about the boat, so I asked if they’d like to see the inside.  They didn’t understand my French, so their grandmother, Corinne, came over and translated for them.  Well, having shown India (7 yrs) and Tia (5 Yrs), around, it was only polite to invite Grandma Corinne in for a look too.  She was so amazed by it all she asked if she could ask Grandpa, Pierre, to come on board too.  So we ended up having four French visitors on board for about an hour, telling them all about our travels and living on the boat.  They were absolutely delightful and despite not speaking any English, we managed to have a great chat with them and a bit of a laugh too when we got things wrong. 

The next morning we reluctantly moved off from our little haven of peace and joy knowing that having been spoiled no other mooring would ever compare.

Bagneaux was our next stop and it certainly didn’t compare.  We were moored next to a disused glass factory!  It was very quiet and the towpath clean and clear but the town seemed to exist only for the current glass factory, Corning and had a real feeling of being purpose built almost.  It was quite odd.  We found a post office to post a letter off and got a couple of the last remaining cakes of the day from the local bakers, but it was a very average stop-over really and we were happy to get underway to Nemours the next morning.

As I mentioned earlier, the port at Nemours wasn’t that attractive, but it had power, water, rubbish and recycling and was free.  The town of Nemours is nice though, and well supplied with shops and bakers.  We purchased our cakes for the next couple of days and some quiches from Maison LeBeau and the cakes were the nearest we’ve come to as those from our beloved Maison Roye in Auxerre.  The lady was really nice and said she was disappointed I spoke French as she likes a chance to practice her English.  I needed no further encouragement to revert to English and we had a nice chat with her – her English was really excellent.  It was nice to speak to someone French in English as my French is limited so can’t have a really good conversation, and I’d have loved to spend some time with her and ask her what she thinks of France, Macron, the strikes and all the other things I’m curious about the French to know, but don’t have the language to ask.

The next day our first lock took us for a brief soujourn on the River Loing as the canal and river merged for a short while.

The pretty chateau at Nemours

Looking back up the river at Nemours

Leaving the lock on to the River

2 kilometres later and we were back on canal again as the river went off on its own course and we followed the canal down to Moret-sur-Loing, our last stop before the Seine.  For the first time since we left Roanne we couldn’t get moored.  Mike had researched a free mooring just above the last lock, which we were keen to get on in case we had to wait extra days for the stoppage on the Seine to come off.  However, as we crawled past lines of moored boats it became clear that the little quay was full, as was the lock-landing with a liveaboard moored on it!!  We reversed back and pulled into the off-side and put pins in.  Not a disaster but the side was a fairly steep slope which made getting off and on tricky.  We then walked into the town and what a pretty town it is with the river making its way through as well.

The Samois Gate and at the far end the Bourgogne Gate

First ice cream of the season - yummmmm!!!!!

At the tourist information Mike asked how far we were from Fontainbleau as we were keen to visit the Chateau whilst in close-ish proximity.  It was a seven-minute train ride away and the trains ran fairly regularly.  It was a bit of a walk to the station but that didn’t bother of us, however, suddenly the girl’s face fell as she remember that the next day, Saturday, and Sunday were national strike days so she wasn’t sure if the trains would be running.  At around 12kms away, it was too far for us to cycle, especially as we had no idea of the terrain; if it was hilly, on main roads or side roads etc, so we decided that we would just stay the one night here after all and head somewhere closer to Fontainbleau the next morning. 

That meant and early start on Saturday and I was kicked out of bed and we were underway just before 9am and just beating another boat to the lock.  We handed back our remote control and were dropped down onto the River Loing.  It was a nice morning but much chillier than it has been of late, so as Mike steered us out towards the Seine, I got coffee and bacon and egg rolls underway in the kitchen.

An early start out onto the River Loing

And onto the Seine

They operated this huge lock just for little us!

Choppy waters as we leave the lock

The Seine was quiet and easy and we dropped down the first lock, which had had the stoppage on it, with no problem.  However, as we left the lock, we were buffeted about on unusual currents from the weir which still has one half-valve not working and is letting more water through than normal.  With the bit of extra water we reached our mooring at Valvins sooner than we thought and were glad to get onto the pontoon mooring and safe water.  Safe but quite fast flowing to the point that we are stuck on the pontoon at the moment like glue and it’s going to be interesting trying to spring off when we come to leave.  We caught the Capitain as he was coming and going and he said we were welcome to stay but at the moment there was no water or electricity.  We said that was fine and paid his suggested fee of 10 euros (I think it’s normally about 25 euros with water and power).  We asked about cycling the 4.5kms from here to Fontainbleau and he sucked air and said it was a bit of a hill, so Mike looked up the elevation and there was a 39 meter difference, which we reckoned would be fine.

It was the longest 4.5kms I’ve ever cycled………  I took it easy as it was a long slow hill for about half the way there and was fairly tired when we arrived.  But we’d picked a good weekend to come as there were enactments on for the bank holiday weekend and although busy, it wasn’t unbearably so.

Which one's Napoleon?

Soldiers marching off to war.

Marie Antoinette's  boudoir - pretty.

The throne room.

Napoleon's bed.

The very table where Napoleon signed his abdication

The town of Fountainbleau itself if really nice, like a really mini version of Paris really and had a nice feel to it too.  Once we’d satisfied ourselves that we’d thoroughly explored the palace and gardens, we set off for home, stopping off for a bank and then Mike managed to get himself a new watch strap in one of the jewellers.  On the outskirts of town, I started hearing a slightly flumpy sound from the bike – yes, puncture, and I shouted to Mike to stop.  Having tried and failed instant repairs over the years, we now carry a supply of spare inner tubes with us and just replace them if one goes, and we did so now fairly quickly, as it was on the front, easier wheel.  However, as I set off I could feel the tyre bumping and called to Mike again, so he went behind me and we continued on.  As we pulled into the train station to pick up some tickets for next month, there was a bang and a hiss and my tire went flat as the inner tube exploded – it must have been caught on the rim.

Fortunately Mike had another (last) spare tube and we switched it over, printed the rail tickets and headed off again.  We got home with no further excitement and enjoyed coming downhill for the last couple of kilometres.  Back at the port another boat had arrived on the visitor pontoon but no one was aboard so we got settled down for the night, had our tea, some wine and then watched some tv.  The forecast for Sunday was for rain all day, so we decided we’d probably not bother moving and here we still are.  Our neighbours are back on board but we’ve not spoken to them as our hatches are shut against the heavy rain.  We’re hoping to move tomorrow, Monday 30^th, as 1 May is a big holiday in France and the locks are all closed for the day on this stretch of the river.  We also now have another stoppage further on as there is a problem with the gate on Lock 4 Vives Eaux………….

Looking forward to getting back on the Marne……

Spring Has Sprung on the Canal du Briare (Or, It’s Too Hot…………..)

Glass of trees anyone?......

I’m getting quite disciplined at doing my blog.  I’m not really.  Mike listens to the York City game on a Saturday afternoon (it’s like some form of self-flagellation……) so I use the time wisely whilst he is otherwise occupied.  We’re another week into our summer cruise and what a difference a week makes!  This time last week we were lighting the fire – today, for the fourth day in a row, all the windows are open, the doors are open, the parasol is up and the USB fan is plugged in.  The shorts are on, the suncream applied and I am more than perspiring sitting in the shade…….  Cruising on Quaintrelle is just the bees-knees when it’s like this and we’ve enjoyed pootering along through the beautiful French countryside under huge blue skies and smiling sun.  We were last in Beaulieu……..

Lovely light as the sun goes down at Beaulieu

On Sunday 15^th we unplugged the free power we’d had use of overnight and pushed off for a short lock-free cruise of 7km, just over an hour.  The Canal Lateral de la Loire is very pretty and peaceful with lots of bird-song accompanying you along the way.  We’re often also accompanied by views of the river Loire racing alongside us.  Our stop for the night was Chatillon-sur-Loire at the port there, so we put a wash on as we knew there’d be water there as you had to pay to stop.  The port was pretty full and the long stone quay recommended by the DBA mooring guide was taken up by a line of permanent live-aboards, so we headed towards the only gap in the pontoon moorings we could see.  It wasn’t ideal as we’re half a boat too long for the little pontoons, but we could make do.  However, when Mike went to have a look further on, on foot, he returned with the Capitaine who advised we’d be better on the quay further on next to her boat.  We paid up, and made to move, but on arrival next to her boat, were a foot too long for the space, so continued past a further three boats and tried to pull in.  It was a sloping wall so we couldn’t get on and off without a considerable leap, and there was more dog-shit on the grass verge than we were happy with, so we headed back to the pontoon.  We took a stroll into the town, and initially unimpressed, became quite charmed by some of the old buildings not to mention the best café eclairs we’ve had so far this year………

Back at the boat we had a spot of lunch and then got the Ninebot out.  It’s been a while and I was decidedly more wobbly than the last time I was on it, but we headed off towards the Loire to look at the old port and locks there, from when the boats used to come up off the Loire and load their cargo onto the barges which then took it up to Paris by canal.

The big Loire

The old lock from the Loire up to the canal

Above the lock is the old port

The next day dawned bright and clear and whilst Mike donned on his shorts, I acknowledged the chill hanging in the air and made gesture by rolling my jeans above my ankles for what was our shortest cruise to date of 4km.  We moored 4km out from Briare, whose claim to fame is its Pont du Canal (aqueduct), which at 660 metres long is the second longest aqueduct in Europe.  (The jury is still out as to whether although longer, it is as impressive as the Pontywhatsitsname in Wales, which is definitely more exciting to cross as it’s much higher and has an open sheer drop to one side.).  We walked into the town to explore, although with it being Monday, most shops and restaurants were closed.  We were astonished however, that despite it being a sizeable town, there wasn’t a decent supermarket in the town itself, just a little corner shop about the size of our living room (who bizzarely did stock jaffa cakes!), and that for more supplies we’d need to cycle 3km to the Super U on the outskirts.  By the time we had wandered around and walked back to the boat, the overcast sky was clearing and we sat out on the front of the boat enjoying the warmth, before heading in doors and lighting the fire at 7pm.

Low level aqueduct going into Briare

The lovely old port at Briare

The next day, even I had my shorts on, although I had to put my hoody on initially as I was a bit cold when we set off to cross the Pont du Canal to moor in Briare itself for a night.  Our shortest cruise ever of just 2km, we moored up at the commercial port (19 euros a night including power and water), and taking advantage of the facilities, put another wash on.  I should explain, our washing machine is in perfect perspective for our narrowboat in terms of size and can only take a maximum load of 3kg, so little and more often than I’d do in a house is the order of the day.

Quaintrelle heading on to the Pont du Canal

660m long

Sadly the posts at each end are being renovated and we didn't see them in all their glory with lamps and marble plaques

Think we might be heading here later if the sun stays out....

We then put the bikes together and cycled up the canal a few kilometres to suss out a stoppage that was taking place that day, to see whether it would indeed be lifted for the next day, or whether we’d be staying another night at Briare.  The canal was in water and the lock operating, and checking with a chap in the lockhouse, it looked like the stoppage was already off………  We were keen to move the next day, as the 19^th was a day of strike action and this time some VNF staff might be on strike and we didn’t want to be in Briare for that long.

From there we headed up to the Super U, packed as much as we could into our paniers and back pack and by the time we got back to the boat had clocked up 16kms!  To reward ourselves we headed to the Chocolatier on the canal side and enjoyed some refreshment.

Yummmmmmmmmm.............

The next morning, Wednesday 18^th, we filled with water and were off by 9.30am as we were doing quite a long day.  We’d been wondering how we’d let the lock keeper know we were there as it had been a few days since we’d done a lock so the usual round robin of phonecalls that the eclusiers perform to let each other know what boats are on their way and when had long fallen by the wayside.  All came clear as we approached, as a sign indicated a ‘Phone Point’ on the lock hut.  Sure enough the little orange box was there and I had a quick look-up and practice of what I wanted to say.  I did well, as I was met by a barrage of French that I understood about 10%, the bit, “Ce n’est pas possible…..”  Hmmm……  I said I didn’t understand very well, so he tried again, then eventually said, ‘Okay, no, it’s fine.  Come up the lock.’  As we rose up, he appeared in his van, obviously thinking it would be better explained in person with sign and mime (we’ll be brilliant at charades by the end of the season….), which it was and whilst this lock was working, the power to the next two (they were automated on this stretch) had gone down and they weren’t working.  EDF were on the case but the eclusier couldn’t say how long it would take.  He asked us to wait here and he’d ring the orange box when we could set off again.  So, not knowing if it would be one hour or four hours, we exited the lock and pulled into the side and made ourselves comfortable at the front of the boat in the sunshine.  We’d no sooner finished our coffee then our friend reappeared in his van – “C’est Bon!!!”  and we were off on our way again.  Lunchtime provided a second delay for an hour which we again made use of the front deck to soak up the sun and have some lunch and after that we made good progress until our third delay of the day, a boat coming up the other way we’d need to wait for.  It was only a short wait as our first hotel boat of the season climbed the lock and waddled past us – all shiny and new for the start of the season.  Shame half her paint will be on lock walls by the end of it…………

A lot of the locks on this section have old lift bridges which are no longer used.

Being on a short flight gave me the opportunity to walk between locks and meant I was able to take the rope from Mike in the locks as we were climbing upwards again for a short period.

And if there's no one to take your rope, it's a bit tricky and involves standing on the roof with the rope on the boat pole and trying to reach the bollards.

On leaving Briare the canal changes from the Canal Lateral de la Loire to the Canal du Briare.  The first summit canal in France, it was built to link the Rivers Loire and Seine.  As with many summit canals there are resevoirs or lakes at the top.

Happy days cruising in the sun

Our first hotel barge of the season

Despite the delays, we reached our destination of Rogny-les-Sept Ecluses just after 4.30pm and having read the instructions on the power/water stantions, made our way back through the town to the Locaboat (hire boats) base to pay the Capitain for the night.  The door was locked and the hours on the door stated that he had finished at 5pm.  It was two minutes past.  We continued our walk up to the Seven historical locks that give the town its name.  They are really impressive.  They were built in the 1600s and used until the 1800s when bigger boats no longer fitted into them and new locks were built to the Frejnet standard and the canal redirected.  They were left to go derelict but were renovated and made an Historic Monument latterly.  All along this stretch of canal there are old locks from the old route the canal used to take, it’s really interesting.  Having done a longish day, then walked and it being very hot, we decided to eat out rather than cook on the boat, so having discovered from the Tourist Information Office that two of the restaurants were closed, we headed to the third one only to discover it doesn’t do food in the evenings apart from Friday and Saturday.  We had a glass of wine and the lady took pity on our hungry eyes and gave us a bowl of nibbles, then we headed back and had some tapas.

Coming through Rogny with the ancient Sept Ecluses behind me

Rogny was really pretty with lots of little waterways and bridges through the town.

The Sept Ecluses.

Nice mooring at Rogny

Thursday was the day of the national strike, but we had checked with the lock-keeper yesterday and he said that in this region they would most likely be working, so after deciding that I couldn’t be bothered walking all the way back to the Locaboat base to pay for our one night (and we didn’t use the electric or water), I decided we were just going to do a runner.  I figured that if they were that bothered, they’d stay open later because most boats are not moored up by 5pm, or come round to collect your cash, or at the least, provide a phone number on the stantions so you could let them know you were there…… It was their loss, we tried, as far as I was concerned, but Mike insisted on winding me up the rest of the morning saying we’d not be allowed through the next lock until we went back and paid!

 

There are lots of old locks along the way marking the old route of the canal

Another stonking day on the weather front, we set off in our shorts for Chatillon-Coligny, a pleasant 2 and a bit hours cruise and we were pulling into the port, a lovely little tree-lined mooring that sits under the Tourist Office.  As I put away the cruising paraphernalia, Mike popped into the office to see what the charges were.  Not only was it free to moor, it provided water and electricity free of charge too!  Fantastic.  We fancied eating out again, but discovered that the restaurant we wanted to eat at (Le Coligny) wasn’t open in the evening as it was Thursday and they only open on Friday nights.  (It really is all about lunch in France!)  It being just after 12 we made a snap-decision to go for lunch instead, and after picking up a couple of leaflets and a town map, we headed off for lunch.  And quite delicious it was too, although food always tastes better sitting out on the terrace under a shade…….

As we let our lunch go down we looked at the information we’d picked up and realised there was an Auto Sport Museum, really a car museum for all intents and purpose, that was meant to be really good, but was only open at the weekend.  And there was a Super U within and easy cycling distance, and it was a great mooring and rather a nice little town.  We wanted to stay longer but had booked our next lock for the following morning and had no way to contact the eclusier to change our plans – so frustrating.

I suggested a walk up to the last lock to see if there was a number or Phone Point, then we could tell the lock-keeper of that lock we’d changed our plans and either get the number for the next lock or see if he’d call them.  There was indeed a number in the hut window but when I gathered the balls to ring it, it was the central office at Montargis which was now closed.  Back at the boat, Mike went into the Tourist Office and explained to the girl our situation and did she by any chance have a phone number.  Bizzarely she did!  She actually had the phone number for the eclusier for the next lock up, so I again prepared my speech and when I rang, she, “Oui”’d, appropriately at each sentence and by the end of the call we had re-scheduled to stay another night and meet her on Saturday afternoon at 2pm at the next lock.  Woohooooo!!!!!

The rest of the day was spent lounging out front on the boat while Mike caught up with some work – it’s a hard life!

Friday was set to be another roaster, but whilst Mike set about finishing off some work stuff, I got going with the laundry (well with free power and water it would be rude not to!) and stripped the bed.  Shortly after starting the wash, the power went off and the inverter roared and the battery state of charge started plummeting.  I switched the washing machine off and plugged into a different shore socket and started again.  Same thing……  I reported it to the Tourist Office and she came down and flicked up the fuses again which I’d managed to trip.  The next time I tried the machine it was fine, so we got two loads done which were dry in under an hour on the whirly gig.  Whilst that was doing, I swept and washed the floors and dusted.  That’s the drawback of having all the doors and windows open, everything blows in!

Once Mike was finished his work, we headed off on the bikes to the Super U and loaded up, including a bottle of Chablis.  Since tasting Sancerre which we love, we’ve been wondering how it would compare to Chablis, which we also love – how different are they?  So we decided that for Friday night’s entertainment we’d do a blind tasting of each, back to back, to see what we preferred and if we could tell which one was which.  Puchases made and loaded up like nomads, we cycled back to Quaintrelle and after lunch, Mike did some more work, and I headed into town armed with the map of interesting historical places and the camera.

Great wee mooring at Chatillon Coligny

The pretty chateau is only open to groups by appointment.

Remains of the old town wall with the start of the River Loing running in the foreground - that will be big enough for us to cruise on in the next few days!

Remember these car adverts in the 70s with the sexy bird sprawled across the bonnet??.... ;)

As the sun went over the yard arm, I got four wine glasses, placed red dots on the bottom of two and green dots on the bottom of two (colour-side down so we could just see the white backing when holding the glasses).  I put Chablis in the green dots and Sancerre in the red and then handed Mike one of each.  I then shut my eyes and swivelled mine around several times so I didn’t know which was which.

Mike actually sniffed out the Sancerre straight away – I was really impressed.  I thought I sniffed the Sancerre but it turned out to be the Chablis, but when I tasted it I could tell it was the Chablis.  We both preferred the Chablis so drank the rest with our evening meal and left the Sancerre for tonight (much to Mike’s disappointment – you should have seen his wee face light up when I opened two bottles…).  However, we think we should have a re-taste as the Chablis was a Premier Cru, so we’ve bought a bottle of normal Chablis to do the test again.  (We’re still only having one bottle though!!).

Saturday, today, it’s boiling again; shorts, parasol, sunscreen, need I say more?  We were up quite sharp, bacon-buttied and off on the bikes by the back of 10 and headed for the Auto Museum.  We weren’t expecting much, and both wow-ed as we walked in having paid 5 euros each for the pleasure.  The chap had a fantastic selection of cars all grouped by country ranging from minis and fiat 500s to Jaguars and Daimlers and everything inbetween.  The sad thing is, the British section was by far the best and had the most impressive cars and yet it’s the country that has lost it’s car industry.  It didn’t take long to get round but was most enjoyable and as we left we realised we were just a few minutes from the Super U.  So we headed there and got a bottle of Chablis and some charcoal to have a barbeque – it’s really too hot for the Heritage stove.

So many fantastic cars - this is just one side of the British section.

I have always wanted one of these - Scimitar - lovely car.

Much cuter than the current version of the Fiat 500

Back at the boat, we topped up water, unplugged and headed away from our little idyll – what a great couple of days.  We were early at the next lock, but so was the eclusier (who obviously hasn't seen a narrowboat coming into the lock on one gate and videoed us to show her friends later!) and we were through both locks and at our next destination by 2.30pm.  After a walk around Montbouy, home for the next two nights, we had some lunch and Mike settled down to take his punishment (York City Game).

Four years on I still get a buzz as the doors of the lock open on a new world......

The pretty church at Montbouy

Another old lock at Montbouy meant Mike can now claim he has stood in the bottom of a lock AND in a sluice!

We’re currently a couple of days ahead of schedule which is great as a)we can take our time and chill out in pretty villages and b)they might have fixed the weir on the Seine that a barge went into that has closed the river, by the time we’re on it next week!