Where did you get that hat?

Sadly the Franklins have to leave us. But, just for Narelle, we posed in the berets for a few photos…

Darren, Sue, Alex and Scott : thank you so much for coming to see us. Great to see you and come back again soon!

Franklins en France

Today has been a day that we have all been looking forward to. The Franklin family are due to visit and are making a spectacular detour on their return journey from La Rochelle to Calais. 

However, our permanent blue skies and sunshine have disappeared and been replaced with solid grey and heavy rain. We can’t believe it. We are moored in a beautiful spot which is perfect for young boys with footballs and boundless energy.

Luckily the skies clear by the early afternoon and just in time for the big arrival. Dan and Callum are overjoyed to be reunited with their great friends Alex and Scott. And Andy and I are equally pleased to see Sue and Darren.

The boys head off into the park to play football and soon join forces with a French family for a fast paced kick about. We relax with a glass of wine on deck and take a stroll in the gardens. Fantastic.

Tourists from hell R Us

This morning, somewhat uncharacteristically, we made a snap decision. Without so much as a discussion we raced up to the Tourist Information Office and signed up for a tour of Chalons. Made it with moments to spare and not enough time to reconsider.

We met our guide. She was elegant, of mature years and did not speak any English. She saw us and two fidgety young boys and had a mild panic. Within moments she had enlisted the help of an English-speaking assistant and explained to us that she would be our translator.

We set off on our tour. First stop : St Alpin’s Church. I’m sure it is a very interesting church, but our translator steadfastly ignored us and our guide was besotted with the stained glass windows. They weren’t the only things glazed : the boys had a thousand yard stare. Andy decided to make up his own stories about the windows and their imagery. The stories became more and more irreverent. I tried my best to listen to the guide, but Andy’s stories soon became much more interesting. Then the boys joined in and soon shoulders shook as giggles were suppressed. I think we might have been a bit badly behaved.

At last. Left the church and trotted down to the Town Hall. Not much better here. Andy walked in and started to comment on how it would make a good film location. Meanwhile I got a fit of the giggles when looking at the chandeliers because I reverted to Only Fools and Horses humour. The kids slumped on a bench with their DS game, which proved a little embarrassing because the bench became a focal point of the tour!

Escaped the Town Hall and realised that we were now the main element of the tour group. Our translator (who never spoke) disappeared, and so did the rest of the tourists. We were left with our guide and a journalist who had just arrived. We descended into the town’s medieval cellars and nodded at everything the guide said. The journalist took photos of us looking interested. Finally it was all over and we could go. We bade farewell and our guide looked relieved. But then Dan stole the show. He walked up to our guide. He shook her hand, and said in perfect French “Merci Madame. Enchante.” Our guide melted and beamed at us. We were redeemed.

Cruising to Chalons en Champagne

Sunshine returns and we get away from the mooring just after 9am. That’s pretty good for us! Turn onto a new canal – the canal Lateral a la Marne. Today’s chunk is 16km dead straight to Chalons en Champagne and punctuated by three locks. The canal is quiet this morning. Fishermen line the banks and nod to us as we pass. We see a few other boats, four of which fly the Ensign. One of them, a cruiser called Il Largo, has been cruising the same waterways as us since the end of June. We always wave and shout hello but have not yet met to chat.

“Celine” passes us en route to Conde. Andy chats with them on the VHF and we arrange to meet later.

Dan and Cal enjoy the trip down the canal and get involved with catching the perche to trigger the lock. Cal loves being in the locks and scoots around the decks, checking on us and our ropes before taking on the responsibility of activating the gates. He hangs off the bow, watching the anchors as they lurch nearer to the gates, his deep voice providing an amusing commentary. For those of you who know Callum, you will know that this commentary is animated with his trademark “happy hands and feet”.

Moored in a peaceful, picturesque spot along the banks of the ornamental gardens in Chalons. The moorings fill up around us and the resident swans flap their wings in excitement, knowing that an abundance of bread will shower down on them.

In the afternoon we cycle the 16km back to Conde to collect the car. The boys are brilliant. No complaints. Just good hard pedalling and lots of banter.

Our new friends on “Celine” are moored in Conde and kindly invite us onboard for a cup of tea. They have been cruising since April and we share useful snippets of information about life onboard a barge in France.

Chalons Market

The weather forecast had been right. A grey rainy day. Not an ideal day for travelling with the wheelhouse down. Decided to take the car to nearby Chalons sur Champagne and recce the canal for moorings.

Chalons boasts a large market and we enjoyed shopping for fresh fruit.

During our search for moorings we met an English couple on a Dutch barge called Celine and shared a chat about boat meanderings. We promised to try and meet up again sometime.

Returned to Conde with thoughts of moving the boat down to Chalons. However the rains came instead and we decided to stay put. Andy donned a boiler suit and got suitably grubby in the engine room which now contains more engines than room.

Where is everybody?

It is August and everyone is on holiday…somewhere else. Every village seems deserted. Conde sur Marne is no exception. The boulangerie is shut; the bar barricaded; the charcuterie a building site without builders. We wandered the empty streets to the soundtrack of barking dogs and a tolling church bell. Perhaps the bell pull was attached to a dog’s wagging tail because we never saw anyone near the church.

Cycled along the towpath to the next village – Tours sur Marne. The towpath is sandwiched between the stillness of the silvery green canal and swirling deep waters of the River Marne. The village was beautiful and resonating to the sound of dogs and very little else.

In the afternoon we traded football time for champagne cellar visits. Both parties seemed happy with the results. The boys ran rings around us, defeated us and gloated lots. We did not care. 

Drove to Epernay which is a large town and actually had people in it and visited the cellars of Achille Prince. For 8 euros we could walk, without a guide, in the 18^th century chalk cellars and view the sleeping treasure.

The tunnels and niches had been carved by hand. Carvings in the chalk revealed names from long ago. We returned to the surface and, as part of the price, enjoyed two glasses of champagne each. Epernay took on a rosy glow.

Gastronomy

France. A country known for its gastronomic delights. Great pride taken in the choice of ingredients, the quality of the produce, the combination of delicate flavours and the presentation of a taste sensation. We are in France. In fact, at this very moment, as I type, I am in Epernay - capital of the Champagne region and home to some fantastic restaurants. Yet, on a terrifyingly regular basis we find ourselves in McDonalds. (I am in one now.) We are actively seeking them at the moment. Fear not, it's not for the food. We are chasing free Wi-fi and McDonalds provides it in abundance. At least the coffee isn't too bad!