Still Floating Around France

 Destination Dijon

With no firm sense of direction Apartment Armida finally left Besançon.  With Sharon on board, we did the familiar but always lovely cruise to Dole and showed her the delights of that small town. 

After 3 weeks we had noticed a substantial increase in the weed and feel justified for our change in plans.  After Sharon left we went back to Saint Jean de Losne for the annual fete and ceremony for the blessing of the mariners.  Being a Catholic ceremony it might be the “forgiving” of the mariners.  We probably need both.  The port had the weed clearer hard at work.

It happened on the hottest day so far with blustery southerly wind blowing.  We left after lunch and went 6 locks up the Canal de Bourgogne to a favourite wild mooring in the shade, which was delightful.

After few weedy locks the next day we set up house in the port of Dijon, which was also clogged with weed.  It didn’t matter as we ploughed through to the pontoons, which we had to ourselves.  The port in Dijon is in a park that had a reputation for being a bit seedy but it has tidied up its act and is quite pleasant.  A secret, it seems, from other boaters. We were entertained by kids in the playground and people out for a stroll, often with their dogs that we came to recognize.

Apartment Armida was just outside the old city but only a 15 minute walk or 5 minute tram ride to the center of it all.  Dijon is still a charming city that we like even more every time we come here.  It is full of history and wonderful buildings that  make a slow stroll a feast for the eyes.  We had a great time exploring (rediscovering) all the little squares and streets as well as some very nice meals. We had specifically come for the Festival of Music on June 21^st and it did not disappoint.  The threatened thunderstorms stayed away, and we strolled through the town sampling different musical groups at every turn.  I’m sorry but I don’t count DJs as a musical group, but I guess they do.  We finally settled at a café in the Place de la Cordeliers where there was a stage featuring Big Band Jazz.  We sipped wine and snacked, and people watched while the dogs in their stroller got their unfair share of attention.   For us, it now ranks second only to Paris for the best Fête de la Musique.

The wind shifted to the north and cooled off.   We had a couple of rainy days which we loved.  It’s hard to think of a more cozy place than in a comfortable boat in the rain. 9 days in Dijon was lovely but we had to move on to meet Caroline in Phil in Santenay. 

So we fought the weed out of Dijon and had another lovely night at our secret mooring before stopping a couple of nights in St. Jean de Losne.  Armida needed her stern gland repacked before we set out down river.  It is not as painful as it sounds but I preferred to have Blanquarts do it.

  They have "Simpsons" clouds in France.

Between two worlds - Chalon-sur-Saone

Then it was off down the big river with to Chalon-sur-Saone with a stopover in Gergy for dinner at the restaurant overlooking the mooring.

Chalon-sur-Saone is another charming small city and river port.  The big river cruise ships come up this far.  The marina where we made our apartment is tucked behind an island across the river from the old town.  It was like being between two worlds.  The Island has is charming with a street full of restaurants.  However if you turn the other way there is nothing but box stores in a huge shopping park.  It is all very convenient (more so with a car) and we were able to stock up.  But we preferred to walk across the bridge an pretend there was only the romantic France.

Well, maybe a Waterfront Cottage

The river seemed very busy after the canals – we saw many more boats: Dutch, Germans, Belgians. It seems they have returned in numbers, but once we left the river it was quiet again.  Even the lovely mooring at Fragnes didn’t have many boats.  This is not a city apartment type spot but a lovely park like mooring right next to the grass.  It is splendidly managed by the lovely and always helpful Celine.  We spent a couple of days here scraping and painting and cleaning, with some time left over for sitting on the grass. 

Up 8 locks to Santenay overlooking some of the better vineyards on the Cote d’Or. We will meet our guests tomorrow and make our way back down the canal for the Bastille Day celebrations.