After breakfast on the boat, we continued on the canal. On this part of the canal, there was a bicycle path that followed the canal. I decided to get off the boat and bicycle about 5 km. AnneMarie and Torben pointed out the mistletoe growing in the trees.
leisurely trip while fishing and knitting
the pole to activate the lock when we have finished securing the boat
an option for tying the boat if you can't reach the top wall
mistletoe growing in the trees
We went through a tunnel today. They have lights that direct you when to enter so you don’t end up meeting someone in the tunnel.
view of the upcoming tunnel
transiting the tunnel
twisting the pole to enter a lock
see the green light for entering the lock?
after you exit the lock, you give this pole a twist to clear it for the next boat
We stopped at a marina in Port de Savoyeaux for ice cream. It was really hot for several days. We thought we would keep moving to have a breeze through the boat and stop later for the evening.
lunch
the marina library had the shelves arranged according to language
At 5:30 we had appetizers while under way. Olives, smoked mussels, apricot and basil wrapped in smoked beef and pastis, and the licorice liquor.
We arrived at a lock at 6:15 and didn’t realize that some of the locks close at 6:00. There happen to be a lock tender at this lock and he let us through. He also sold us 2 bottles of wine. Since the next lock was closed, we tied to a dock near a restaurant, not in a town. We tried to make reservations at the restaurant, but they were full for the entire night. We thought that was odd, but we later realized that there is usually one seating and people stay for the evening.
cute mural
Dave made us a pasta dish for us onboard. When we bought groceries, AnneMarie would always suggest picking up “stores”, referring to something non perishable that we can use in cases like this.
We decided to spend the day in Gray. Torben, AnneMarie and I headed into town to pick up bread and cheese for breakfast. This is one of the best memories, getting fresh bread everyday. After breakfast, we took the bicycles and toured the town.
We visited a prehistoric exhibit of France in a local museum and a church that was built between 1478 and 1560.
love the tile roof
such old buildings!
we saw several churches with chairs verses pews
such intricate work
Statue of St Teresa, my mother's name
We spent time in the air-conditioned grocery store to get out of the
heat. We were amazed at all the different pâté. We bought rabbit and
boar wrapped in a pastry.
This morning, Dave and I walked into town for fresh bread. We had breakfast on the boat at 8:00 and were on our way by 9:30. At 1:30, we stopped at a dock for water and to charge our batteries at Le Port in St Martin.
better view of the instructions for the pole to open the lock
entering a lock
"mowing" the side of the canal
other canal boats
We decided to move to the next town, Gray, for the evening. We walked across the river to eat outside at a cafe. We had French hamburgers with goat cheese and honey.
Torben and AnneMarie were up before us. They returned to the boat with a 2 cups of coffee on a tray from a nearby hotel where they enjoyed their coffee. They had to leave a credit card for security to bring everything back to the hotel. They also picked up some breakfast for the 4 of us, which we enjoyed on our rooftop.
drinking out of pirate cups that we gave the Dane's
After breakfast, we hiked to a grocery store to provision for a few days. By 11:00, we headed north on the river/canal system in the Burgundy area of France.
the fruits and vegetables were weighed at the display area and a ticket was printed out to stick to the bag
love the tiles on the roof
our first night
We reached our first lock by 1:00, which only took 20 minutes to travel through. By 5:00, we moored in Pontailler-sur-Saône. We traveled 36km.
beautiful canal/river
our
boat approached this rubber hose. you twist it and it starts the
automatic lock. a green light let us know when we could enter the lock
exiting the lock
After a walk into town, we prepared dinner. AnneMarie and Torben showed me how to sort and cook mussels.
