Vive le France!

La Cite - Carcassonne

Square Gambetta - Carcassonne

Crikey!  I haven't blogged for a month!!  This is partly because I am having to use the iPad and it's a pain in the arse so I keep putting it off, partly because we've been busy but mainly because I'm a lazy git :)  Mike is currently revising his French for his lesson on Thursday, and I have exhausted any alternative activities such as making a cup of tea, so here we are......

After my last entry I spent a couple of days in bed and about a week housebound with a chest infection. I eventually decided to have it checked out and had practiced and practiced my ailment in French only to find there was an English doctor at the nearest practice - woohoo!!  I asked why she was in France and she replied, 'Because I am allowed to do my job here.  I am allowed to spend as much time with a patient as I need to determine what treatment they need. It's a lot less stressful than the UK."  The thing is, being a doctor is so much nicer in France than the UK that there is a surgery on every corner and you just turn up and see a doctor that day.  You might have to wait an hour but the French are in no rush, they just wait.  In the South, they also say Bonjour to everyone else in the waiting room when they walk in!!  We met a Scottish lady called Liz outside the doc's who it turned out went to Inverkeithing Primary in the 70s. She moved before attending high school there, but small world indeed!  I've since met her and her friend Tanya, who is Canadian, for coffee.

On the Saturday after the New Year weekend, we went into the market in town for a wander.  Standing at a cheese counter, I heard the chap in front say in French that he lived on a boat in the Port here.  I turned to the woman with him and said, "Excuse me, you're not Charles and Pamela from Xenia are you?" (We'd made contact via their blog). They were and thus a new friendship was struck.  Pam invited us to supper that evening and we arrived at 6pm and staggered home some 6 hours later...... They have spent the last 18 months touring France on the boat and basically doing what we hope to do, and they, and their brilliantly written blog, have given us lots of information we were looking to get.  We see them a couple of times a week and have great fun with them.  It will be quite a wrench when we head off at the end of February.

I then signed up for some French classes.  Three hours every morning for a week.  With a teacher that doesn't speak English...... It was good.  Very hard work and I was shattered by Thursday, but I now know the Passé Compose like the back of my hand, even if I am still lacking in vocabulary to use it ;)  In the classes I met Laura, who lives with her partner Steve six months in France, six in England.  We went to their's for lunch last week to pick their brains about their house and living in France.  Their house is absolutely gorgeous, and their Old English Sheep Dog, Maya, and we had a really nice time with them.  In England, they live fairly near Weedon, where we are moored just now, so will keep in touch and meet up when we get back.

After my week at school, we were off on our annual skiing trip to the Alpes!!  

View from our chalet in Chatel

Taking it easy on the blue runs

Some great skiing the day of the Face Plant (which happened when I didn't even have my skis on!)

Well, that was quite an adventure..... My friend Angela was coming with us for the first time.  She has snowboarded before so decided that she would continue with that but had some lessons booked.  We arrived on Saturday at Chatel and a fairly boozy session ensued as we caught up with everyone, then on Sunday we took to the slopes.  It was a slow start as the resort was new to us, so we had to work out where we wanted to go etc.  Angela had a lesson booked for 11am-1pm, so we headed off, did a couple of runs then met her for lunch.  After lunch we did another couple of runs then called it a day.  Unfortunately, despite an easy day, Mike's knee began to play up through the night and he was up for four or five hours trying to alleviate the pain.  The next day he was in no fit state to board, so I headed off for a lesson then skied with some of the group in the afternoon.  Mike was still out of action on the Tuesday and Wednesday, so was there to sort out Angela when she was stretchered off the mountain..... :(  No, not a tumble doing a black run, but trying to stop the board slipping away coming off a chairlift :(

Angela's joggers hiding the splint holding her knee in place :(

She somehow managed to twist the leg not on the board at a wrong angle and something went in her knee.  Ange being Ange says, "No, it's fine, I'll just board back down...."  No, she came off on a stretcher and spent the rest of the week flat out, trying to sort out things with her insurance to get her extra room on the plane home.  She's still waiting on the results of the scan she had when she got home to see what damage she's done.  They know she's torn a ligament, but not sure if it's the all-important cruciate one or not :(  Fingers crossed....
So, now there was Angela, Mike and Cara (who doesn't ski due to an injury sustained years ago - like Angela's.......) to have fun in the chalet while we were out and about.  The next day, Stuart joined them as his chest infection reappeared and knocked him for six.  We were falling like nine-pins.......  Thankfully my injuries were limited to a split lip and bruise when I took off my skis to slide on my bum down a sheer bit of ice on a red, and things got all tangled up, including Jamie, our friend Simon's son, who valiantly tried to stop me half-way down - ouch!!!  Wish someone had filmed it, must have looked hilarious.....
Mike managed to board the final day, which was cloudy and overcast after the most fantastic week.  The temperatures had been so high the snow was beginning to get slushy. Around about lunchtime, my stomach started cramping and I had to make my way back off the piste toilet by toilet.  I don't want to give too much information on that, but it was a pain in the ass!!
On the Saturday, Mike and I took the train back to Carcassonne, which was a long journey, but very pleasant with the fast and roomy French trains.  We took first class for the section from Lyon to Carcassonne, which was only spoiled by the scent of the lady sitting in front of us.  People should only be allowed in first class if they have showered at least once in the last week - her BO was like nothing I have ever smelled before - yuk!!
We had a grand reunion and Sunday lunch with Pam and Charles and then on Monday picked up a hire car for a week.  This enabled us to do a bit of exploring around and about the area, and take Pam and Charles to the Supermarket on the outskirts to stock up on heavy stuff.  We were also very, very brave and drove to Toulouse on Wednesday where we met our friend Stuart for dinner.  We then couldn't find the car in the multi-storey carpark and thought it had been nicked, 'til the guy in the wee office pointed out there was another identical entrance in the opposite corner..... doh!!!!!!!

The village of Saissac in the Montagne Noir - with rather noir weather.......

The Lac du Lampy which is a second water source for the Canal du Midi - hope the first one's got a bit more water in it!!!

The locks at Trebes

Looking along the Canal du Midi at Homps

Our 2 euro bottle of wine was delicious along with our tartiflette - c'est bon!!

We stopped off at the town of Olonzac, where we spotted a lady selling some veg from her garage.  We needed onions and garlic so went in, and spotted her homemade wine for sale too.  2 euros a bottle, no label, we bought some thinking if it was awful we could use it for cooking.  It was delicious and we wish we'd gone back and bought some more!!

Marmot looking for snacks in the basin at Castelnaudray

The car was returned on Friday afternoon and Charles and Pam came over for dinner that evening.  Saturday, therefore, was a quiet day, though we took a stroll up to what Charles calls his 'Spiritual' shop....

Difficult choice to pick just a couple.....

Superb whisky selection

And today we've been looking at boating routes in France.  I tasked myself with trying to find out what options there are for craneing us in as we'd quite like to avoid the big commercial sections in the north.  At the end of next week we see the start of a role of visitors before we leave Carcassonne on 29th February.  A bientot!!!

From Weedon to Carcassonne Over the Festive Period

Already feeling at home in France...... but first.....

We had a lovely evening with Jill, Alan, Ben and Cumin and Coriander, the cats. It seems such a long time ago!!!  The next morning we left Lower Shuckburgh fairly sharpish, with Mike's knee still bothering him, and headed for Braunston. There we picked up some bits and bobs from Midland Chandlers then headed into the marina for a pump out. And what a pump out!!! You put the token in, but you can keep going as long as you want, til you switch it off!!! It meant we could give the tank a really good swish out prior to Jim trying to get the gauge to work ;) As we went into the bottom lock, another boat appeared behind us - woohoo - someone to lock share with :) It was a mother and son, Myrtle and Murray, on Myrtle's boat, Seycoya (hope that's spelled correctly) heading to Blisworth to spend Christmas with family. Murray was young and fit and we were up the Braunston flight in no time, through the tunnel and heading to Norton junction.  At the junction we stopped for lunch and Seycoya took water.  We decided to continue down the Buckby flight as we still had an hour or two daylight left and were working the locks well together as a pair.  Despite the new gates on three of the locks, they are still the shittiest, heaviest gates to operate. Clearly the last boats going down thought so too as they hadn't bothered shutting them behind them so double work for me and Murray :(
We reached the bottom in darkness and moored up.  Myrtle and Murray continued on to Weedon, but we were knackered.  It was lovely locking with them and I hope we meet up again. This was now 22nd December and I decided it was time to put up the Christmas decorations!

For the shortest duration ever - they were taken down again 7 days later before we left for France!

In the morning we treated ourselves to breakfast at the Whilton Marina cafe and headed down to Weedon.  It was a nice winter's day and we felt like we were, 'Driving Home for Christmas'..... We got moored up and ready to head to Daventry to do our food shop for Christmas.  Barry, from NB Owzat was just leaving and kindly offered to drive us, even though he lives in the other direction - what a lovely man :)
We stocked up at Waitrose and the butcher's and then had a call from Jim.  Half an hour later we were sitting in the pub with him for a quick pint.  Five hours later we staggered up the road, got a taxi back to the boat and poured ourselves into bed.......
Christmas Eve was a fairly subdued affair.
On Christmas Day, Santa had found us!!!! 

Santa brought Quaintrelle a new tiller pin :)

We basically ate and drank our way through the next couple of days, not doing much or seeing anyone until 28th, when Ali, Jim's partner, popped over for a cuppa, then Jim and then later that day Angela and Darren arrived - and the drinking started all over again.  Drinks on board, curry up the road in Weedon, then a nightcap in the pub - a splendid evening and great to catch up with the lovely Ange and meet Darren.

Quaintrelle's winter mooring at Weedon, where she'll get some repairs done while we're in France.

Weedon is a busy little boatyard with a mixture of liveaboards and storage.

This is Steve's beautiful trad boat - he has recently moved to Weedon to take over the workshop there next to Jim's.

The 29th saw us finishing our packing and sorting out with Jim what's to be done when we're away.  We've never felt so disorganised and unplanned for a trip.......
We left Quaintrelle at 7am on 30th and headed by taxi to Leamington Spa to pick up our train to Gatwick.  All travel went to plan and at 5pm we were met at Toulouse by Jason, our landlord for the next couple of months.

Nous arrivons a Carcassonne!!

We live just over this bridge, with the Medieval Cite at the end of our street. 

We arrived in glorious blue skies with a big sun in it, but since then, the weather's been rather British :(  
Wednesday evening was spent settling in (i.e. buying some supplies from the local grocer then getting pissed at the local wine/truffle bar - just round the corner, handy....).
Thursday our first guests arrived, Pete and Jane, to spend New Year with us.  We walked around the old town of Carcassonne in the afternoon and stocked up with food and wine at a local supermarket.  The big excitement however was finding the Canal du Midi!!!

The lock at Port of Carcassonne - nice to see something familiar... ;) At the very end of the line of boats on the right you can just make out a cream wide-beam, Xenia.  She has spent the last 18 months travelling through France having been dropped in from the UK at Belgium.  We've made contact with her owners and will meet up with them to pick their brains!!

Canal du Midi approaching the lock at Carcassonne - with the now apparently obligatory big wheel at Christmas ;)

Mike cooked that evening and we enjoyed a fair share of wine to bring in 2016. The next day we cleared the cobwebs with a walk round the Medieval Cite.

Near the church in the Cite

The Cite gate by night, where Mike finds some friends....

Followed by the obligatory game of charades, when Mike decides that John Gielgud doesn't have a look in.....

On the 2nd, having not had enough wine in the last 72 hours, we decided to go to a winery.  We decided on the Domaine Chateau Auzias; it was open and it was nearby.  We called a local taxi firm, but they were busy, so gave us another number to try.  Fate kicked in and we got the loveliest taxi driver, Christof, who chatted away, took Mike's email address and later sent us his recommendations for restaurants and places to go - what a great guy:)

Mmmmmmmm......wine......

Entrance to the winery.

Red Wine vat.

Once you've tasted, you can buy!!

The visit was really interesting not least because the guide spoke French and Spanish but no English.  She was fantastic though, spoke very slowly, and had her own game of charades trying to explain things to us.  She was incredibly patient and very, very funny :) It was good as it made us try to understand/speak more French!!
On the 3rd we decided on a long walk to shift some of the calories piled on in the last couple of days, so we crossed the city and picked up the canal and headed east.  By the time we got home we'd walked 12K!!

Ecleuse St Jean - closed for repairs over the winter....

Bridge at the Ecleuse St Jean

A Winding Hole!!!!  In the UK a winding hole (turning point) wouldn't command such excitement or a photo - but THIS IS FRANCE!!!! :) :) :) 

Jane, Pete and Mike on the Aqueduct over the Fresquel river.

The Aqueduct taking you to the staircase lock.

Fresquel Locks

Jane and Pete left us on Monday morning and we began our research with another walk around the town, where we found a second hand shop we can buy a couple of bikes, and along the canal where we had a look at the boat Xenia, moored at the port.  There didn't seem to be anyone home, but we found their blog when we got home and have made contact with them via that.  The next day was spent in bed as I've come down with a terrible hacking cough, accompanied by aches and pains, and today is a chill day too.  I think I've partied too hard over the last month..... :(  I am on day four of 'no booze', Mike managed two, but clearly nursing me yesterday took its toll and he resorted to a glass of wine in the evening.
I hope you've all had a fun-filled Christmas and that 2016 brings all your dreams and wishes true xxx

From Birmingham to Warwick, Maldives, York and Edinburgh.....

......but not all on the boat clearly.... ;)  It's been a full on three weeks, but we're back on board and heading towards Weedon for Christmas!

Back down the Farmer's Bridge Flight - didn't we just do this!!!

Closely followed by the Aston flight, where a contractor going the other way helpfully left all the gates open on his way up.......

So much history coming through Birmingham.  I love to imagine it bustling with working boats back in the day.

The trip out of Birmingham was quite exhausting.  The locks were fine, but the constant stopping and delving down the weedhatch was a pain in the arse :(  We've never picked up so much rubbish, not even the last time we were here.  The first lot was plastic bags, but in lock 54 on the Camphill locks, there was a dull 'WHUMPH!', followed by bits of white fluff floating to the surface.  'Er....we've picked up something major Mike....'

A sleeping bag!!!  The smile didn't stay on my face long as it took 45 minutes, a knife and pair of scissors to remove the damn thing.  Followed by several bags and a large bit of a roll of bubble wrap :(

10 minutes after the sleeping bag was removed, we picked up this black crocheted cardigan on the prop - another 10 minute delve......

 We managed to reach Catherine de Barnes just as it was getting dark.  We were due to meet my old drama teacher Isobel and her husband Neil in the pub there for a drink but I texted to say we were running a bit late.  We were even later as when we arrived Mike had the pleasure of a 50 minute call to our insurers of the flat in Edinburgh, where we'd had news that our floor joists in the living room were failing and bringing my neighbour's ceiling down below us.  It was a really great day..........
The next day we continued our way down the Grand Union towards Warwick, mooring just above the Hatton flight on Friday afternoon.  We had to be at the Saltisford Arm before noon the next day, so Ian, the manager there, could get us in before he knocked off for the day.  We left just after 8am, but with all the locks against us and not another boat in sight we started to panic halfway down that we wouldn't make it.  Even Mike began to run to and from the locks to get them set - unheard of and apologies to anyone in the vicinity experiencing strange ground vibrations that day ;)
We got there with 15 minutes to spare, and got moored and hooked up.  Wondering why we weren't getting any power to the boat, I checked the meter and it was empty.  We needed to buy a card from Ian.  Who had now left.  And wouldn't be back til Monday, and we were flying to the Maldives on Sunday.  We put a note through the Reception door with some cash in it asking him to pop a card in for us.
On Sunday we joined the great unwashed on the bus to Gatwick.  It was great, comfy seats, on time, helpful driver - no complaints.  Our flight was delayed by two hours, so Mike had time to phone Ian about the electric card for the boat.......
10 hours later.....

And relaaaaaahhhhhhhhhxxxxx............ The small but perfectly formed Komandoo.

I won't piss you off with too many shots of us enjoying the sun and warm sea while you folks at home were entertained by Storm Desmond, but here's a few snaps....

Found I was quite good at this once I got my balance :)

Waiting outside the dive centre.

We did six dives altogether, including my 100th dive, which I got a certificate from the guys for :)

All too soon it was back to Blighty :(

Our return flight was delayed by 20 minutes or so, which was fine, except it meant we missed the 18.13 train to Reading by 10 minutes and had to wait for the 19.13.  At Reading, our connection was cancelled and we had to wait 40 minutes for the next one.  We got back to the boat at 10.30pm having been travelling for 19.5 hours - we were knackered.  The boat was freezing, so cold the bed felt wet :(  We got the fire and heating on, but went to bed tucked up in our onesies.  We pinged awake at 6.30am and began to unpack and repack as we had to catch a train to York at noon.  We had a great weekend there with the Robertsons, who, as always, were the perfect hosts.  Managed to catch up with a few friends and felt all Christmassy after ice-skating and mulled wine on the Sunday evening.  Thankfully we were still a bit jetlagged so our 5.30am start on Monday wasn't such a shock and I boarded the 6.39 to Edinburgh and Mike the 6.40 to Grantham for the last week of work this year.  I caught up with my neighbour and dodgy floor/ceiling in Edinburgh - poor Neil and Janet, they've been so great about it all, really laid back and done lots of phoning around.  I took them beer and chocolate as a thank you, but am so pleased to have such good neighbours.
At mum's I caught up with my lovely brother Murray and his wife Julie, and, after lots of headscratching and heaving, we managed to fix mum's recliner chair!!

Julie and I did the brain work - 'Just which hole does the end of the spring go in??!!' (it took several tries to get this photo without either Julie or mum with their eyes shut or me with my mouth open...)

And Murray did the support work - ie. holding the chair upside down.  Mum is delighted :)

I came back to the boat on Thursday, Mike on Friday and after topping up water and shopping, we headed off again.  It felt really good to be on the move again in our lovely home, even if it was just a couple of hours to Leamington Spa!

Back on the cut and not another boat in sight :)

Having topped up our booze at Majestic Wine, we spent the night at Leamington and headed off around 11.30 on Sunday, heading for Cuttle.  It was a nice winter's day and we passed four boats in all, two of them on the Bascote locks.

Some lovely winter sun making the countryside look pretty and the shadows long!

After a night at Cuttle we headed off at 8.20am this morning.  We're now over our jetlag, but unfortunately Mike is having really bad knee problems and was awake from 3am :(  So I was dug out of my scratcher too and we set off early.  I must admit, it was rather nice coming up the flight so early, everything was very still.  It didn't get properly light until about 12 noon, but it clouded over so seemed dark.  Today is the shortest day after all!

Not much light in the sky as we stopped for water at the top of Calcutt locks.

And so we have moored at a little place called Lower Shuckburgh, just a few miles out of Braunston.  We are getting picked up at 6pm by friends Jill and Alan and getting taken to theirs for dinner :) :) :)  Tomorrow we will continue on towards Weedon, where one of our first stops will be A&E at Daventry to try and see someone about Mike's knee :(  
Meanwhile, to each and everyone of you, may I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peacefilled New Year :) xxx