Off up the Bourgogne.

La Bussiere-sur-Ouche

Two posts today so see the other before this.

We are sitting in this lovely spot sitting out a rainy Sunday.  Well that was the plan based on the forecast but right now it is beautiful out with only a little light cloud. The forecast that said yesterday rain would start at 11am now says it’s possible at 6:15. If the predicted r20mm (0.8”) of rain fades away that will be par for the course of this summer. The day we left Dijon the regional water authorities were meeting in response to the shortage agreed on the closure of most of what is left of the canal system: including this remaining section of the Canal de Bourgogne by October 13th.  This will speed up our meandering  but we should still get up to Vanderness and back without too much rushing.

On Wednesday I called VNF to tell them we wanted to leave on Thursday at  9:30 - No problem they said..  Yes problem when we see a very slow Hotel Barge go off before us at 9:00.  We dawdled a bit and arrived at the lock at 9:45.  Half an hour later I called the VNF who sounded very apologetic (it was in French so I may have misinterpreted), seems like they forgot about us.   After another 45 mins the lock gates open and we motor in only to see the eclusier disappearing on his bike.  Another call to the VNF, a call back from someone who spoke English and finally the frazzled young eclusier appeared at 10:45 also apologizing.  Not his fault they had scheduled him to get the hotel boat and us through the first 6 locks.  .   He was a very nice young man who spoke decent English and was running everywhere -I told him he could slow down.  At one point in our intermittent travelling conversation I asked him where he grew up.  He pointed to the isolated and picturesque lock keeper’s cottage and said “there”.  His father still works for the VNF and he was doing a summer job since finishing his Masters in Biology and looking for a real job. He worked into the lunch hour to get us in to the little port at Plombiers. We left there late for the single mooring right by the supermarket at Velars.  Clear day with a cool wind.  Some weed but not too bad.

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Thursday took us the pretty village Fleurey for lunch where we noted how prosperous this area is looking with lots of construction going on.  It may be progress but the little village shops are casualties as they get replaced by supermarkets and the French version of strip malls on the edge of town where the cars can park.  After lunch and a walk we moved on to Ecluse 34 where the Baron d’Ecluse and his wife have a little restaurant. Sadly they are only opening weekends now, but we had supplies.

Believing the forecast for a hot Saturday and rainy Sunday we decided to get to La Bussiere where there is water and Electricity to sit out the weekend.  First we went one lock to the tiny Village of Gissey that we have enjoyed in the past. A walk around reinforced that view and as Terry admired a particularly nice house the owner came out and they started chatting. Christiane was a lovely lady who invited us in and show us her exquisite but cozy house. Terry was in heaven.  We hope to see Christiane as we return.

After lunch in the local restaurant we cruised the next seven locks to La Bussiere in lovely weather and beautiful countryside.  This September is the perfect time. In La Bussiere we encountered Tom and Lisa and their giant barge (house) Rabelo whom Rosie and I hung out with a little last year.

Yesterday we walked over to the little village that was attached to the Cistercian Abbey with its lovely old Church, prefect little square (that has been upgraded but not yet landscaped and old cemetery with the perfectly maintained war graves of an Australian, 2 Kiwis and 3 brits whose bomber was shot down on August 14th 1943.

Then we walked into the perfectly groomed gardens on the Relais Chateau Abbey de La Bussiere. The abbey is now a premier hotel with a Michelin starred restaurant that is reminiscent of a smaller but luxurious Abbey de Fontenay. Terry explored while I chatted with the English owner, Clive, who I met last year.  We will treat ourselves to Lunch on Monday.

It has been very quiet here for a Sunday when the French usually get out and walk or bike.  They must have looked at the forecast and made the same plans we did. We had a short walk this morning,Terry has worked on her needlepoint and I on this blog.
It is now getting a little darker and cooler so it feels as if it really will rain but probably not until tonight when we plan to be sleeping.

A Week in Dijon

Dijon, Port

This post is delayed because the blogging software is acting up.  Apologies.

A week, well maybe a bit more.  Caroline and Annie left, the weather was superb, the port was clean and free, Dijon was looking better than we had ever seen it, so why not stay a while.

Not much to report. We did some walks and some shopping (some more than others), some relaxed lunches, caught up on the museums and had a very nice time. Here are some pictures
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This tour group is admiring the church.  We are in the church. Here is the quirky Dijon church.

The Best of Intentions

Dijon, Port

I had intended to be more active on the blog this year with at least weekly updates and yet here it is a month in.  Lilou and I had a fairly routine trip over only marred by one of the wheels on my suitcase giving it up after one to many stairs.  This made the 1km trek from the station to the boatyard in 34C heat more of a chore than I anticipated.   Armida was tucked up tightly so I peeled back the rear cover, got aboard, made a quick meal (no restaurants open until 7pm) and crashed.  Right on cue at 1am Lilou started barking for a walk and dinner.  This year I was prepared and poked a bowl of food at her and went back to sleep.
The agenda for the first week was working on the bottom of the boat. This involves scraping away any flaking paint, sanding back loose and warn areas treating any rust pockets, priming,, sanding and coating with antifouling, most of which involves lying on your back on the gravelly ground. In addition I sanded and repainted the waterline marker and patched some cracks in the filler.   Not my favorite job and I did find myself wondering a couple of times why I was doing it - the answer was “because I can”,  for now. Marine products are expensive and take a lot longer to dry.  With recoat times of 6-7 hours there was a lot of watching paint dry. The weather was lovely with nice sunny days and warm nights and our position in the far corner of the yard was great except for the long walk to the bathroom. Lilou loved sitting high up on the back deck and barking at passing dogs from a great height. 

The port was pretty lively with many boaters returning to prepare for the end of the season, as we were just beginning.  I declined the invitation from the Kiwi contingent to go to the local bar to watch the rugby between NZ and Australia because I don’t follow the sport. It was probably a good move as Australia thrashed them in the first game and were thrashed themselves a  couple of days later. Neither is a good situation to be a lone Aussie in a bar full of Kiwis. Lilou was popular as always and there were always eager pet sitters if I had to go on a longer errand.  On several social gatherings she was the object of the “pass the puppy” routine.

After a week I was pleased with my accomplishments but they were covered up as Armida was craned into the water.  We then motored around into the marina. You could see the nice new waterline if you looked closely. Then it was on to above board stuff like cleaning, waxing, a new windshield wiper motor, battery monitoring system, a time delay relay for the shower pump so you don’t have to hold the drain button and a myriad of other projects that all take longer than expected.
The weather warmed backed up a bit and the late afternoons were quite hot down in the marina out of the breeze.  The hottest day of course was the day Terry and Rosie arrived as the “Canicule” (heatwave) made a short reappearance. Their trip was not as uneventful as ours with LA traffic making for a rush through LAX and Air Tahiti Nui’s new 787 aircraft reducing the under seat space so that Rosie’s well used carrier no longer fit which made an long trip more uncomfortable without floor space.  Then it was an hour bus ride to Paris and hot steamy walk to the train station.  But they made it and I met them in a rental car at Dijon.
The dogs were happy to see each other and quickly settled back into the boating routine.  We kept the car for a few days to do some shopping trips for food, wine, parts and a new chair for the wheel.  It was fortunate we had it for our day of excitement.  See the post Part 2 for the story.

The Best of Intentions Part 2

Dijon Port
After Terry had been settled for a couple of days it was time to do then engine chores.  This involves opening up the big hatch in the floor of the salon to get to the 6.2L diesel monster below.  Terry surfaced earlier than expected an I shuffled around the open hatch to make coffee as she went halfway up the stairs to put Rosie up and then came down backwards and slipped in to the open engine bay.  i heard the thump and the call and came around to see her sprawled on her back with a large deep gash above her right eye, about 2cm wide and  pooled with blood. She was talking but it looked bad.  I went up the steps and called for help and for someone to call an ambulance.  Jennifer, an Aussie nurse from three boats down was on board immediately, talking to Terry and quickly establishing that she was mentally OK and that it looked like it was not too severe. This was an immeasurable help to me as I was able to calm down and deal with the events that had been set in motion.
Within about 5 minutes the sirens arrived with the ambulance and paramedics and we had about 8 people crowded into our, now very warm, salon.  They checked the vital signs and got her on a drip.  Then wrapped her up like a mummy because of the risk of neck or back damage. This presented another problem as we were parked nose in and getting the mummified Terry up the narrow stairs and along side the narrow passage to the bow of the boat was a problem they didn’t like so I started the boat up and moved it to the long pontoon so they would be able to get her over the side.  They all seemed to enjoy the ride.  By this time I knew Terry would be fine because she was telling me and the French what we should be doing.
At this point French efficiency gave way to bureaucracy: the paramedics aren’t allowed to lift anyone off a boat unless the plungers' (divers) are present in case they drop her in the water.  And the divers had to come from Dijon a half an hour away. I don’t know if they could have overridden that if her condition was a lot worse.   The divers finally arrived, bringing the total to 15 people and Terry was ceremoniously lifted off the boat onto a gurney, wheeled along the pontoon, loaded into the Ambulance and whisked off to the University Hospital in Dijon where she was stitched up by a plastic surgeon, X-Rayed and checked out thoroughly and back on the boat sore and bruised by 8pm.   She has recovered remarkably well and the stitches came out two days ago.  It was a scary event and we afterwards found talking to other boaters it’s not that unusual to fall into the engine hole.  Carol, two boats down did it two years and had to have two knee surgeries.  Were were also extremely lucky that it happened in a marina with others around to help and I had a car to be able to go in and get her later that day.

Five days later with all systems in order we set off up the long straight stretch of the Canal de Bourgogne to the port of Dijon. The weather was cooler and travelling pleasant but when we caught up with the slow moving hotel barge, Jeanine, it was time to stop for the night.  We gave  them the next morning to get away from us and cruised into Dijon the next afternoon. The port has been improved since last year with free water and electricity and very little traffic. We found a dog groomers next to a laundromat, (how good is that?) and got the dogs looking French and the clothes looking clean.

We came to Dijon to meet up with Caroline (see last years blog) and her lovely daughter Annie who had come over from the UK for the weekend.  We loved seeing them and had a great time. Inner Dijon is now looking the best we have ever seen it.  The tram system is modern, the buildings are all spotless and the museum in the Palais du Ducs has been completely updated - a lovely, interesting city - and it was great to share it with visitors.

"Plans” are to potter up the Canal to the top (it is closed on the other side) and back down, but we might be staying a few days more so Terry can visit a Vide-Grenier, a group yard sale, on Sunday.