Back in St Jean de Losne

Started the day with an atmospheric sunrise on the Saone (roughly translated as "too foggy to move the boat yet").

Arrived back in St Jean de Losne to a fabulous welcome. Friends and neighbours waved to us from the riverbank and from other boats. The sun was shining and Lobelia slipped back into her old mooring as if she had never been away.
Nipped into town so that we could forewarn the school that the boys would be back in class. It was lovely to see Dan and Callum receive a big welcome from their school friends and teachers.
Paul and Mal arrived for coffee and a chat in the early evening. Coffee soon became wine and the early evening became early morning.
The boys went into school on Friday and we spent the day recovering!

Callum pays homage to Vincent Van Gogh

This is Callum's version of "Starry Night". A fabulous swirl of tissue and PVA glue which proved to be very effective.

Chalons sur Saone

Like Macon, Chalons used to be a barge town but has now lost the bulk of its moorings to the cruise ships and smaller holiday boats. We ended up on the disused and derelict high-sided industrial quays to the north of town. Apparently this is where they used to build submarines for the French Navy (so far from the coast!)
There was one other barge there, which seemed to be French registered, but was actually owned and lived on by an Englishman. We were soon joined by "Floan", who had been turned away from the Canal du Centre which was closed due to a lack of water.

We transformed our derelict quayside into little England and there was a roaring trade done in sections of the previous Saturday's copy of The Guardian.
Took the kids for a swim in the local pool and then, as the sun set, we contemplated our return to "moored up for winter" status.

Mistral chases us into Tournus

Still sunny and still on the River Saone and heading for Tournus. All was quiet until we reached the outer limits of the town and then the Mistral was upon us...

She caught up with us just as we were going under a bridge. That was fine. But I really did not envy the little hired holiday boat which was coming downstream and had to look up at a cruise ship and Lobelia and then search for a suitable gap.

We liked Tournus. Brilliant free mooring. Interesting shops. And fresh milk... (much rarer in France than in UK). The boys thought it was very exciting!

Saw our new friends on the commercial "Floan"- who were now heading north but unladen. Had a quick chat on the radio and they told us how they had been watching ospreys nearby. I think we had seen them too but had been unsure what they were.

We had taken a photo of another large bird of prey a week or two previously but had been unable to agree on its identification. The photo is below and all suggestions as to its identity would be gratefully received...

Cake shop found open on a Sunday

We had a friendly send-off from Saint Laurent in our "15metre" barge. Locals, whom we had met briefly, came down to wave us off and wish us well. And a man returning from his Sunday morning trip to the boulangerie complimented Lobelia by shouting - "joli bateau!" She is such a flirt.
After a couple of hours we reached Fleurville and moored up in a beautiful spot. Cycled to nearby Pont de Vaux which was a delightful little town - even on a Sunday. After helping an elderly gentleman who had fallen out of bed, we were rewarded with finding a patisserie that was open. Indulged en famille. Happiness.

Macon

After Lyon we motored north in glorious sunshine and revisited moorings which we had used on our way south. Unfortunately, due to the size and draught of Lobelia, these moorings are rare and quite often at the locks where there is very little sign of life.
We were very keen to stop off in Macon - which has a long history as a barge town. However, nowadays the long stone quays are either reserved for hotel boats only, have pontoons for boats less than 20metres long or have so little water or so much rubbish around them that it is impossible to moor. But we did spy a long, lonely pontoon on the opposite bank from Macon. Andy manoeuvred Lobelia carefully alongside and we received nods of welcome and approval from the locals of St Laurent. We moored up.

A few hours later we noticed the small sign that said the pontoon was for boats less than 15metres. But nobody was complaining, so we stayed put.
Enjoyed a walk around Macon, saw some unusual sights...

and partied onboard with splendid views of the floodlit bridge.

Flying the flag in Lyon

Motored through Lyon in sunshine with flags flying and video camera recording. There are tight bends and plenty of bridges and you must announce yourself (name, rank, length and direction) on the VHF radio as you approach each one. It can get quite exciting if you hear other boats announcing themselves and a little bit daunting when you hear them call “110 metres”.

We made it through and managed to enjoy the sights and sounds at the same time.

It's the end of the Rhone as we know it

Our final day on the Rhone. And our final Rhone lock with the rather marvellous floating bollards. The bollards sensed our sadness and gave ever greater mournful moans and groans as they lifted us up within sight of Lyon.

This time we decided to moor in Lyon on one of the old commercial quays. These quays are being transformed into trendy venues for bars, clubs, galleries and apartment blocks. But we still managed to moor for free in the midst of it all.

Took the bikes off and cycled back to the confluence where the Rhone meets the Saone – just for one last longing look. The Rhone has truly been Lobelia’s summer romance.

Treated ourselves to a meal out in one of the upmarket and rather overpriced restaurants on the waterfront and must have amused (or alarmed) fellow diners when we paid our bill, walked out and disappeared over the edge of the quayside and out of sight.

Vienne and more Romans!

Comfortably slipped back onto our previous mooring at St Romaine en Gal near the Roman Museum. However, this time we decided to take a walk across the bridge into Vienne. Climbed the steep, winding lanes to the top of the hill and enjoyed far-reaching, sun-soaked views of the Rhone and looked down on toytown Vienne with its model boat “Lobelia”.

Gazed at an abundance of Roman sights : the amphitheatre, arena, temple and forum and then revived Andy (who really has had enough of the Romans now) with a beer.

Chavanay

Underway in choppy conditions we spotted a laden commercial vessel (“Floan”) heading south and were surprised when they called us on the radio. They could see our Ensign flying merrily and wanted to know who we were. They introduced themselves as the last English couple working a commercial vessel on the French waterways and we soon realised that we had barging friends in common. Floan promised to call in on us at our winter mooring for a beer and a chat. In the meantime they were racing south to Viviers with a consignment of cement and were hoping to pick up another job to bring them back north again.

We had just finished waving farewell to them when we received a host of welcoming waves from the commercial vessels moored on the port above Sablons lock. Lobelia is getting known on the Rhone and is greeted by everyone with a wave and a smile. Even the massive cruise ships flash a friendly light as they pass us in the dark.

Moored at Chavanay where we had moored on our way south. Another peaceful mooring with views up into the vineyards which seem to hang for dear life onto the steep slopes. Today there were people clinging to the cliffside vines too, intent on harvesting the grapes.

The boys were eager to see if the Ragondin were still living happily in the stream nearby and raced down to take a look. They were rewarded with the sight of a dozen assorted size creatures who frolicked in the water amongst the ducks.

Enjoyed a cycle ride along the riverbank to nearby Condrieu and returned via a wine tasting where, getting a little ahead of ourselves, we purchased a rather nice white wine to enjoy on Christmas Eve.

St Vallier

We are making steady progress north on the Rhone. Stopped off in St Vallier which had absolutely everything going for it : sunshine, good moorings for boats our size, cycle paths, swimming pools, shops and an interesting looking waterfront. Appearances are not everything. The mooring was good, but the pool was closed for repairs, the shops were lacking, the waterfront overpowered by a busy road crammed with kamikaze heavy goods lorries and poor Callum needed a doctor.

The wind picked up overnight and St Vallier kept us in its grip for another day.

Study break

Boys are back at work in the Floating School and cracking on with their studies. But occasionally we let them out so that they can scrub the decks, coil the ropes and top up their tans.

On the move through the Donzere Gorge

A stunning gorge and a brilliant way to start a day of boating...

Gladiator School - the movie

Just released. The latest Gladiator movie starring Daniel (in blue) and Callum (in red).

Bollene Lock

On our trip down the Rhone earlier this summer we tried to describe the size and scale of the biggest and deepest lock in Europe. Today we had it to ourselves and it took a whopping 50,255,000 litres of water just to lift little old us 23metres up to the next level of the Rhone in no more than 10 minutes! (yes - that is 50 million)
Well, now that we have worked out how to put video clips on the blog we can now show you what it feels like at the bottom of the hole...

On the Rhone again

On our return trip north and the waterways seem noticeably quieter. The Petit Rhone from St Gilles Lock towards Arles is a stretch of river which is only accessible by boat. The riverbanks are thick with gnarled trees and dense shrubbery which spills down into the river and provides excellent fishing platforms for all kinds of birdlife.

Moored at Roquemaure once again and enjoyed spectacular views of the Rhone.

How to draw a flamingo

Everyone can draw a seagull. It is just a loopy "v" shape which can be the right way up or upside down. Well flamingoes are the next level. Just add a dash. They look ridiculous in the sky...

Kiss and Tell

They say Lobelia is quite a girl and that she gets around a bit... well, today she kissed the Mediterranean and then ran away again.

One of Lobelia's chaperones