First of all, thanks to you who have dropped a line or two to tell us your news. Its so comforting to have a touch of familiar and to know that you think of us too.
The weather has done everything in the month since leaving Paris from unrelenting heat to booming storms and days so glorious you wish you could bottle them. I don’t handle the heat well.
We are currently traveling the Canal de Bourgogne, southeast of Paris. It is said to be the most most beautiful of all canals, but one of the least traveled. The reason…there are 189 locks. I’m the first one to whine when things get too hard and I have no complaints as the scenery is so lovely. The countryside is green with forested rolling hills. On the valley floor and up the hills are many farms with grazing cattle and fields of grain or corn.
By car, we are about two hour from Paris. As it’s also one of France’s prettiest parts the whole area is scattered with old country homes and grand chateaus. We are limited in the number we can visit because they have to be close enough to walk or ride our bikes. We’ve seen three so far and have been astounded by the amount of wealth there was to indulged in these showplaces.
We have seen 100’s of villages up and down the hills. When I say small I meant 10-30 houses all built between the 13th and 19th century. They are built of a beautiful limestone. The method is called “dry stacked”. The walls are about 20 inches thick with stone on the outside and inside then filled with dirt, water and rock. There was no mortar used originally. But in the last fifty years, as they’ve been renovated, it’s used.
As with the villages we saw last year in the northeast of France most took a huge downturn after WWII. Since then things have only gotten worse and now with the recession, more than 40% of the old homes are falling into ruin with not much chance of ever seeing new life. 70% of the small cafes and groceries stores in France have closed in the last 20 years. Poor old France is going through a very rough period and yet the people have never been nicer to us. Once they find out that we are American/Australian, and not British, they are even more happy. Strange, but true, the French seem to like Americans very much now. 
We visited Alesia, the ruins of a Roman hilltop town that seemed quite sophisticated. There was a amphitheater (that sat 5,000), a large meeting hall, many cobbled street with two story houses, gardens, orchards and more. They had basements, so to speak, where they would keep fires in the winter to warm the stone floors of the home. 
The highlight in the last few weeks was the Abbaye de Fontenay, “a superb example of a 12C Cistercian self-sufficient monastery nestling in a lonely but verdant valley”. The Abby was sold during the French Revolution and became a paper mill. In 1906 a prosperous French family bought it. They spent a fortune restoring the original buildings, built a very tasteful large home within the grounds and created simple gardens that create a wonderful atmosphere. The church and cloisters are elegant and. for us, more moving than any of the many Cathedrals we’ve seen. We loved it.
The month in Paris and this last month have been so special and interesting and all we had hoped for while on our boat. Now that we are in a more popular area of the country we have been able to enjoy many meals off the boat. Most cafes do a lunch meal of three course tasty meal for 11-15 Euros ($16-23). It includes a starter (entrée), main dish and dessert. Sometimes a glass of wine and coffee are included. Other times they will have a cheese course as well. We never need big dinner in the evening and will usually have soup, bread/cheese/pate or leftovers. I love not cooking! By the way, the stone fruit here is soooo good this year. Is it the same where you are?
Books: I can not recommend Erik Larson’s, “In The Garden of Beasts.” I found it wordy, tedious and dull. I can recommend Jane Kirkpatrick’s, “The Daughter’s Walk”, fiction based on a true story. I was given a paperback by Anita Shreve, “Fortune’s Rock”. An ok book for the ladies who want an easy read. As always, I’m looking for book titles.
Just so you know not every minute is bliss. There are times when I am just plain bored. I really miss being able to see a movie, driving my car and a nice glass of Californian Chardonnay.
Terry
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