Sunday
17th August, 2014…….Flew Dubai to Nice with Emirates….a good flight
as we picked up on the rest of our Business Class ticket to Europe……once on the
ground it was back to reality to find a bus and then find our hotel carrying
our packs and it was hot, a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Nice and the bus
route took us all along the promenade so we had a good view of the beach and
everyone enjoying the sun……we had booked to stay at a Best Western and can you
believe it but there are 4 Best Western’s in a 1 km radius and of course we
walked to the wrong one didn’t we!!!
Michael and I had forgotten that hardly anyone speaks English in France
and absolutely nothing is written in English…we really have been spoiled in
Africa…..however settled into our hotel and then went exploring the area before
hunkering down for the night……...M & F
Monday
18th August, 2014…….To the Railway station at 9 am to pick up our
rental car and oh the queue and they were taking about 20 minutes to process
each person…..Michael and I had decided I would do the driving and he would do
the navigating……however the Eurocar person said I couldn’t drive as I didn’t
have my NZ licence…when I carry my international licence I don’t bother to take
my NZ licence too, however eventually we convinced her to let me drive……then
out to pick up the car and she gave us a card to lift the bar to get out of the
building….well that wouldn’t work…..we kept trying and a queue of cars was
forming behind us, eventually a guy said to me to come and pay so I went into
an office where a female was sitting, doing what I do not know but she had no
facility to take money and she couldn’t give a damn about my problem as she
pointed to the time on the card which in fine print said the card expired at
mid night the previous night….so I ran back into the station, queue jumped to
tell the woman my problem and she then gave me another card and
apologised…..when I got back to Michael in our car the noise was deafening…the
queue behind him had got longer and they were all sitting on their car horns……I
thought, oh boy is this what it’s going to be like driving in France….then
coming out of the park onto the narrow streets I clipped a wing mirror on
another car but thought this must be my
3 things!!!! And so on our journey to
Uzes and St Maxim where we had booked a 3 night stay…….once on the motorway and
a bit of open road it was pretty easy driving until you reach the darn toll
gates and in a split second you have to decide if you are going to pay by
credit card or cash and there are cars in all directions as there are often 15
toll gates across the road……yes we had a few dramas but we live to tell the
tale!!!!! We reached St Maxim mid-afternoon and checked in to our accommodation
and then went walking down to Uzes……the French countryside is beautiful and
apart from the driving aspect we really witnessed a lovely part of France on
our drive to Uzes…..and oh the supermarket at Uzes which really isn’t a big
town but it serves quite a rural area……and the French do good food and of
course wine and the wine is cheap....didn’t really know what we were drinking,
it was red and tasted good so that was all that mattered!! We had a lovely courtyard as part of our
accommodation so we ate there most of the time and in all had a very pleasant
evening there eating and drinking the local produce……we bought lovely fruit
from the road side sellers too…so man goodies!!!! M & F
Tuesday
19th August, 2014……Down to Uzes again as I had made a hair
appointment to have my hair tidied up……my hostess, Hester, at our accommodation
recommended her hair dresser so I took a chance that I would come out with
something like what needed to be done….in the afternoon we explored more of the
area which was really appealing, so nice to be in rural France…..M & F
Wednesday
20th August, 2014……We decided to explore further afield and drove to
the Castle of Les Baux de Provence which covers an area of 7 hectares…..the
castle is a listed heritage site and has won titles as one of the most
beautiful villages in France….and the essence that gives Provencal villages
their very special atmosphere is here too with the small squares, well shaded
terraces, narrow streets and small shops……then you pay an entrance fee to go
into the actual castle grounds ……the castle is just ruins now but it is part of
the Grimaldi family heritage here and apparently Prince Albert flew in by
helicopter last week we were told….. the views from the castle grounds stretch
from Aix to Arles are breath taking and we struck a beautiful day weatherwise…..it
was about a 40 minute drive to get there and then quite a walk into the area…..
climbing……it was hot and oh boy did we climb some steps and walk and walk but
we were pleased we got there early as the crowds were still pouring in around
1400……the French are not early risers!!!!
And so back to St Maxim and we were lucky to be present for their annual
event of a street party that night….all the tables and chairs and food stalls
in the street with music and all sorts of craft things being sold too so we
joined in buying wine and food to sit down at the tables and enjoy with many
interesting people……2 folk I spoke to had been and stayed in the village as we
were doing but had now both bought their own properties there…one guy was from
the UK and the other guy was from Holland…..very easy for them to get to St
Maxim living in the UK and Holland…the guy from UK said he had been here 5
times this year already!!!! M & F
Thursday
21st August, 2014……Time for an early start as much as we would loved
to have had another day in St Maxim but today we had to drive to Moulins to
meet our friends Rex and Laurel….oh boy, another fun day on the motorway and oh
those toll gates which I managed to get into the wrong queue again……it was a
480 kms drive though and we only took a 10 minute stop for fuel so I was over
it by the time we reach Moulins….we had just parked the car and walking to our
hotel and Rex and Laurel came walking down the street….so good to see familiar
faces and to speak English!! We found a place for dinner and then settled down
for the night as we were all pretty tired having travelled some distance to get
to Moulins……M & F
Friday
22nd August, 2014……We walked the street of Moulins and what a pretty
place with a very good street market in progress.….another thing the French do
well is their flower gardens and parks….the flowers in flower boxes and hanging
baskets just beautiful……then at midday we took a bus to Dompierre to pick up
our canal boat……didn’t really know where we were going and got dropped off at
the railway station…no one seemed to know where the Locaboat depot was, thus
Michael and Rex went into the station to see if we could get a taxi but the
local taxis weren’t interested…..in the end the guy in the station took us in
his very small car thus he had to make 2 trips so we paid him 10 Euros per
couple…..unbelievable these French…we had phoned the previous day and they said
we could have the boat at 1400 but when we got there, oh no, come back at 1530
so off we went again to find a supermarket and to have some lunch……walked
around in circles again but eventually got supplies…..back to the boat and now
the Locaboat guy was doing a briefing with someone else…..eventually at 1630 we
got a very brief briefing as we wanted to get away and get through the 1st
lock tonight at the locks close at 7 pm…..we got through and drove to the next
lock to be 1st in the queue when they opened the lock at 9 am in the
morning….we were fast learning that our week on the boat was going to have to
be by the French timetable and not ours!!!!
And we certainly enjoyed our wine that night……M & F
Saturday
23rd August to Friday 29th August, 2014……our week on our
Locaboat boat on the Loire Canal……Where
does one start, what a week it has been, 33 locks, 180 kms and at least 100 low
bridges to duck under….every night we had a wine and said well we didn’t kill
anyone, we didn’t sink the boat, we didn’t lose the boat……well we nearly did
one day as Rex, Laurel and I went walking but Michael opted to stay with the
boat thank goodness….whilst he was sitting there a big boat went by too fast
and with the current and the waves it sucked our stakes out of the bank that
was holding the boat….some jet fighters had gone overhead and Michael went out
to see them and realised that the boat had broken loose….when we tied up there,
there was a bit of steel poking out of the bank which we were trying to work
around but that turned out to be Michael’s saving grace as he managed to get a
rope around this bit of steel and start the motor…some of the doors on the boat
were still shut too as we had had a shower of rain and he said he was running
all over the place….oh to have had a video camera……we were in stitches as he
was telling us as we could just visualise the whole thing…….the other 2 things
we used to say when having our wine was that we didn’t lose anybody overboard and
we didn’t behead anybody on those low bridges……we witnessed so many things
though…one day there were some Italian guys, drunk as, on a boat and they were
snaking up the canal in front of us….they were all over the place until all of
a sudden they rammed the boat into the bank and there is steel walling on the
canal banks….they got themselves free eventually and we saw them a couple days
later and they were still afloat……there were quite a lot of yachts with their
mast lying on their deck and that was a bit of a nightmare when you ended up in
a lock with them with the mast poking out bow and stern……most of the locks took
2 boats but some took 3……we had a few dramas on the 1st couple of
locks but after that we got a system going
so that when we came into a lock the lock keeper never helped us whilst
others entering just stood on the deck and handed the rope to the lock
keeper…..Michael was always on the wheel but I said to Rex and Laurel that we
were now looking too professional and that’s why the lock keeper didn’t help
us….. the gardens at some of the locks were beautiful as with some lock keepers
you could see it was their pride and joy whilst some lock keepers were
difficult……one day we got to a lock at 12 noon and they close until 1 pm so
that stuffs up your day and on this particular day the lock was empty and he
knew boats were coming up stream so he made us wait until 1350 for those boats
to go through as with then, the lock had been filled for us to go into but he
had time to fill the lock and let us through but he was too lazy……our main
complaint is that we didn’t get time to explore the small villages as you had
this lunch break and you didn’t know if it was going to cost you 1 or 2 hours
and if you utilised that time to go into a village all the shops would be
closed anyway as everything shuts down, even the supermarket from 12 noon to
1400…..the first 2 days was just fields and trees but the more we came along
the canal to Briare where we handed the boat in, we saw lovely houses, gardens,
whole villages in fact from the boat….we worked at getting a day ahead so we
could take time out and so at Sancerre we took a wine tour….that was a fluke as
we had the brochure and as we were coming out of the supermarket we were asking
around how could we do this tour and again no one spoke English or seemed to
understand when the next thing this girl said, oh that’s my brochure…….she
arranged to come back and pick us up at 6 pm that night and took us goat cheese
tasting 1st which was great then she drove us up into the vineyards,
very elevated area and it was a lovely evening so we got some great photos, the
views were magic, and she explained where the pino noir grapes grow and where
the sav blanc grapes grow etc……all individually owned and harvested manually
here….then she took us to a wine tasting, we met the winemaker and his son who
have both been to NZ……it was all very good wine, we all commented there wasn’t
a bad one in all the tasting…….this area of Sancerre produces a third of
France’s wine….certainly a very picturesque area the way they grow the wines,
like a patchwork quilt……and so we got to Briare a day ahead of time to explore
the place and what a picturesque spot it is too……we ate on the boat all the
time as we always managed to get a good variety of things at the
supermarkets……not so easy to get a coffee though…..they don’t go in for cafes,
it’s all restaurants but we did find a lovely café in Briare beside the big
Pont Canal we had to cross which is built above the Loire River….Michael nearly
had a heart attack when he saw it knowing he had to cross it but he lined the
boat up and made it look easy……we had no wind but some days there was quite a lot
of wind and that made it difficult getting into the locks……also holding the
boat off waiting for your turn in the lock…if the wait wasn’t too long Rex and
I would get off and just hold the boat
with ropes but if the wait was long we had to put in the stakes and tie the
boat up…..the weather was a bit of everything….we had sun, some showers, cloud
and heat but nothing that really upset our progress on the canal……we all said
it has been an experience we are glad to have had but we wouldn’t rush to
repeat it….always been on the bucket list though, and so glad we have done it…………M
& F
Friday
29th August, 2014…….Early start on the boat this morning as we had
to do the paperwork handing the boat back and Michael and I had booked a taxi
to take us to Gien at 8.30 am where we picked up another rental car….easy get
away this time but it was a manual car which tested me a little!!! We took the
country roads to Blois to keep off the motorway and those toll gates which are
very expensive too….some of the tolls we paid from Uzes to Moulins were 20 Euro
a time!!!!! But I don’t know which was the worst as today we seemed to go from
one village to another….you never seemed to get out of a village and the roads
are so narrow with the houses built to the footpath and cars parked on the
footpath….however we had a pretty good run but of course the car depot was shut
when we got here…their 12 noon to 1400 break so we checked into our hotel and
caught up on the washing and then took the car to the depot and oh boy, I’m
finished driving in France forever….next will be Italy and the Amalfi Coast
will probably be worse I’m sure as we know how narrow those roads
are…..tomorrow we join our bike tour for the 400 kms bike ride through the
Loire valley so we may be out of touch again…….not sure what sort of
accommodation we will have and we may be too buggered to do anything….we had no
internet on the boat and it really was quite nice to switch off all the
electronic gadgets……our hotel in Blois is in the heart of town and from what
we’ve seen so far a very picturesque place too…..M & F.
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| The door to our accommodation in St Maximin...you can see we couldn't park at the door!! |
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| The courtyard at our accommodation.... |
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| The courtyard looking into our accommodation...... |
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| Our kitchen...... |
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| Our favourite spot....so relaxing..... |
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| The streets of Les Beaux...... |
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| The view from the castle..... |
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| As above..... |
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| Climbing the castle ruins...oh those steps...... |
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| The street party at St Maximin..... |
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| As above..... |
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| Typical lock and lock keepers cottage...... |
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| A double lock this time and it was oh so deep...... |
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| As above...... |
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| The plug has been pulled and the door is about to open..... |
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| Quietly drinking our wine one evening and all of a sudden a women's bike race came by.....we wondered why people were standing in the street as earlier we made a messy job of our mooring and we thought they were getting their entertainment from our lack of experience!! |
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| As above..... |
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| The vineyards at Sancerre...... |
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| As above...... |
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| As above..... |
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| At the vineyards of Sancerre...... |
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| The vineyards of Sancerre...... |
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| As above..... |
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| And they had concrete vats at this winery!!!!! |
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| Wine tasting....... |
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| The streets of Sancerre.....a very interesting town...our wine guide drove us back to the boat through the old town but unfortunately getting late in the day so not very good for pics...... |
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| Commercial boats get priority over pleasure boats so that was another thing we had to deal with..... |
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| As above and us waiting in the background......of course the lock is emptied for this boat to go through and we had to wait for it to be refilled for us to go through so all very time consuming!! |
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| Another picturesque lock....... |
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| And another one...... |
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| The town square in Briare...... |
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| Our boat which slept 6 but 4 was a nice number as we had a bathroom in the bow and one in the stern.... |
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| And this was the last bridge we had to get the boat under....Michael always drove the boat from the flying bridge and he was literally on his knees to get under this bridge...... |
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| Looking back up the canal we had just come through...... |
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| The Pont Canal...2/3rds of a km long...2 boats have entered so one has to back out...we came early for this crossing so missed the traffic and we got through without touching the sides but some boats bounced from one side to the other....very entertaining!!!! |
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| Still can't believe we got our boat through that gap and under that bridge...... |
