Our first year had too many cold days. The second year was perfect. This year started off with a mixed bag of weather and some spectacular storms. Now, it’s hot. That sticky humid sweat dripping down your face hot. Much too hot to sit on the boat even with the shade cover. So where have we spent the last two days? In heaven. My idea of it anyway. Rob will take a photo of our spot with our new little Canon. Our other new and better Canon started acting weird, not wanting to work half the time, then completely bit the dust when I dropped it on the floor of the wine caves. 
Meanwhile back in heaven we sit, we read, some of us nap, we picnic, and people watch. The boat is moored just on the other side of the sidewalk on the Yonne River. In this heat there are plenty of people swimming, mostly teenagers who hang out in groups and throw each other in. Very cute. The best part is the plush soft fine grass between our toes and the numerous flower beds. One of the prettiest parks, wait, THE prettiest park I’ve ever seen. Not in the league of Kew Gardens of course yet more colorful and inviting.
We’ve been doing so many things I’m not sure I can even remember it all. I mentioned the wine cave above. It’s in the area that grows my favorite stuff. The bubbly, Cremant (de Bourgogne). The Champagne that is not. The caves were discovered long before the Romans, but they first started using the stone for building. The cave grew larger and longer through the years. Important buildings all over France have used this warm sand colored limestone, including Notre Dame. In 1972 they were bought by a wine conglomerate of 80 Companies for wine storage. Temperature is a constant 52F and 69% humidity and there are 8 million bottles of Cremant stored while they go through a two year process before selling. The tour was very interesting. The tasting tasty. We bought 1/2 a case which was all Rob could really carry back in the hot weather. We also went through the Chablis growing area. We are not big fans. We did tasting and found a nice one and bought a couple of bottles for when we have others on board for drinks. The Brits like their whites.
We visited another Chateau, “Bazoches”, as lovely as the rest, but has a wonderful and important history. I won’t bore you with the whole story. It is now privately owned by 
someone who must have an awful lot of money. They have their family tree in one of the rooms. They both come from the best of families over the centuries. They’re not only a descendant of an important former owner, Engineer Vauban, but one side traces back to Saint Louis, the first of the main line of the Kings of France. Not too shabby.
Last year we were in Paris for Bastille Day. This year the village of Clamecy. The parade 
was headed by four men each holding a flag, They were followed by a few policeman, fireman, a couple of oldies in old service uniforms, a group of kids from the Judo club and then people from the town who chose to join in. That was the good part. Old couples all dressed up, families, dogs
and a few teens acting silly. I didn’t attend the jousting down by the river. Rob went. Two small boats with rowers, the jouster standing, coming at each other and trying to knock the other standing person over. (photo: preparing a kid) They started with kids, then the ladies and then the men. But the best part, as always, was the fireworks which was set off just 75 feet from us on the other side of the canal. We sat on the back drinking Cremant. Very cool having it just over our heads. Rosie and Lilou hated the noise.
In Noyers, fab intact medieval village, we attended a Brocante, an outdoor antique fair. We ran into folks from Washington that we have spent time with at other mooring locations. They had guest from home staying with them. The husband was 91, wife 88 and a friend to give them a hand who was 80. Amazing people who were enthusiastic and having a great time. The wife spotted the old linen baby bonnets a second before I did and bought both. Inside I was screaming…but what about my grandchild! I just smiled.
For two days we rented a car so we could do things like go to the hilltop town of Vezelay 
with it’s 11th century Abbey. We fell upon a chorus giving a concert which sounded unearthly in the huge chapel. It was great traveling the many miles of pretty countryside ,rural rolling hills, really tiny really old villages and the full rage of landscapes. Miles of grape vines planted in dry rock soil, then miles of wheat and corn in rich black soil, the odd Sunflower field, the Morvan National Forest, so thick it felt like rain forest in some parts and then you come upon another knock your socks off piece of architecture when you least expect it. The one thing I couldn’t help thinking about was life in these tiny little villages that all at least 500 years old and many miles from each other. Few would have owned a horse. I said to Rob, “Who did they marry?” Each other of course.
Today is the fourth night in Auxerre. We were here four years ago while on a rental boat. Rob had sprained his ankle on the second day so was unable to sight see. The view you get when coming into Auxerre is one of the most impressive sights with three huge hilltop cathedrals surrounded by crowed steep tile roof tops from the 14th Century. Although we are on the park now, the first two night we spent in town with the town rising right above our boat. The first night we went out to live music. The group and crowd made it so much fun. They played music that we didn’t know mostly, except some U2 and REM. Everyone was dancing. Even a couple two year olds got the beat. Last night we went to another café/street closure for “French Jazz”. A base, guitar and accordion. A much older crowd, enjoyable, but nobody danced.
The Nivernais Canal ended in Auxerre. We could do it this year because of the huge amount of rain last winter. It is the most shallow of all canals. This was the first in many years that we could have gone. It has been different then any of our previous travels in that there are so many other boats AND for the first time, so many French. It’s great to see them using their own wonderful canals. In the past seeing a Frenchman was rare. Here we’ve met many owners, young people and three generations of French.
TWO DAYS LATER: Traveling the Yonne River at the moment, the third boat in a group of four moving from lock to lock. First boat a Belgium couple, second Brits, us, and behind us a big charter with 12 40ish French woman. We have a clip of them we will show when home of some doing exercises on the bow. When we come out of the lock there are boats waiting to come in. It’s one of those times that we worry about getting a spot in the mooring. Tonight we want electricity to watch some of the Olympics.
Just two more things to mention. I love to pick wild flowers for the boat when they are available. I have seen many different kinds and am always on the look out for new. I came across one small bush of purple Queen Anne Lace growing in the middle of a purple flower. Haven’t seen one before or since and wonder if it was a mutant of some kind. The other is interesting. While admiring a person’s flower garden I noticed a little something like a very hovering like a very tiny hummingbird. But they don’t have them here. I moved around for a closer look. You know how something hits your brain and in a fraction of a second you process a million thoughts. I swear that for one millisecond this is what went through my mind: Oh my god, it’s got a face with eyes, it’s a fairy, they are real and Rob’s not here!!! Then I saw it closer and it stuck out a “proboscis”, like a honey sucking insect and there you go, just an unusual bug. They are rare this far north in France though. They are called, a Hummingbird Hawk Moth.
Weather has cooled down, smooth sailing and great desserts. Who could ask for more.
Love, Terry
Looks and sounds absolutely heavenly!
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