33,000 feet up!

One way to kill some time on a long haul flight is to write another blog entry, listening to some beautiful opera choruses. Strong temptation to sing along! Indeed, this will be the last entry before we arrive home. And thanks to a disastrous start to this leg of the journey, we have an extra two hours on board. We had taxied out almost to the runway only to be told that one passenger felt too sick to continue and had to be returned to the terminal. Of course this meant getting her cases from the hold and the crew flinging open all the hand luggage compartments so that all passengers could identify their own. A delay of two hours will probably mean we will miss our Jetstar flight to Sunshine Coast from Sydney. Never mind.

Preferred form of boating

Leaving Norfolk we headed south to Cambridgeshire, staying just a 15 minute bus ride from the centre of Cambridge. Good thinking as both traffic and parking in the centre of the city would have been a nightmare. Cambridge was really enjoyable, in large part due to sunshine and blue sky. It was open day for all the colleges and so we were able to see into some of the areas that may otherwise have been inaccessible. We relaxed on a chauffeured punt trip on the River Cam with not a lock to be seen! We were lucky enough to get a punter/poler who was incredibly enthusiastic about its history and its famous former students. He was a real character and kept up his entertaining banter for the full 45 minutes. Apparently St Johns College has a bell tower without any bell, due to its sponsor's untimely death in a train crash which caused a shortfall of cash. To compound the college's embarassment, it also has a clock tower without a clock! Why? Because the architect forgot to factor in the weight of a clock in the design of the tower.

Punting at Cambridge

We were also very fortunate to be at Cambridge on a day when the Kings College Choir was singing in the chapel for evensong. The chapel itself is an amazing masterpiece of architectural design and construction and great to visit. The choral singing provided by 20 boys and 14 men was brilliant, with the harmony and blend of voices as near to perfect as we've ever heard.

The onward trip from Cambridge was supposed to be to Oxford, about a two hour drive away. Due to a dearth of available accommodation at reasonable rates, we changed both our minds and our direction. We headed back to some of Adrian's family towns in Suffolk and then on to Braintree in Essex before heading towards Hertford. Hmmm.....got there around 4.30 and no accommodation anywhere. Rather than sleep in a single bed at one of the pubs or in the car, we chose, in desperation, a 5 star place called Hanbury Manor, near the small town of Ware. A beautiful setting with a great golf course but the rooms were in a grand old building (a former convent) with grand old creaking floorboards and heavy internal swing doors in the corridors that banged every time someone passed through them. Not a good ratio of money spent to quality of sleep. Ah hindsight...should have stuck to the original plan.

On our last day in England we headed to Windsor to visit the castle. We had been warned about the major motorway that circumnavigates London and in some places traffic slowed to a crawl so the drive took us longer than anticipated. On arrival, the town of Windsor was absolutely packed with tourists and there were long queues into the castle.

Eton College

It was also the hottest day this year in England with temps around 30 degrees celsius and we would have been queueing in the sun for at least 45 minutes. Unfortunately, therefore, the Windsor Castle plan was jettisoned and will have to wait to another time. Instead we enjoyed lunch, a walk around some of the town, a stroll down to the nearby Thames, a visit to nearby Eton College and watching the remainder of the Wimbledon final in comfort at our airport hotel.

 

 

 

We were happy to once again return our rental car in one piece. Indeed Adrian was particularly relieved. Does it show?

 

Sheer relief !

We stopped over in Dubai and despite not getting to our hotel until almost 9 pm, we took a taxi in to have a look at Dubai Mall, complete with water fountain and light show choreographed to music and held every 30 minutes, its aquarium and ice-skating rink. On arrival, the temperature was 41 and that was at night. Horribly hot. Fran had read that Dubai was promoting respectful dress for all, including tourists so she did cover her shoulders. However she couldn't understand Adrian's apathy each time she reached for his hand going through the Mall. He kept saying "you'll get run in". He was right....the sign below says it all!

 

Don't say you haven't been warned!

Swimming not a good idea

We have had a great holiday and consider ourselves very fortunate. We saw and stayed in some wonderful places, met some great people and shared travel stories and ate and drank well. We were also blessed with good weather for the seven weeks. Hope you have enjoyed our blog as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.

Tallest building in Dubai

 

Last word...As predicted, we missed our Jetstar flight to Maroochydore due to delay in Dubai and are now cooling our heels for the next 4 hours at Sydney airport and had to fork out $150 for the privilege. As for Karen, she behaved so badly that she will be retired and will not be accompanying us on any more trips.

 

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In Cherry Hinton, Cambridgeshire

It's been a while since we have posted a blog entry. Have you noticed? When we left our digs in Mevagissey, we visited the Lost Gardens of Heligan. Heligan Manor was built in 1200, but the gardens were not developed until 1766 and continued their development and maintenance until 1914 , interrupted by the First World War, when all the gardeners left. The gardens became overgrown and were not rediscovered until 1990. An interesting few hours spent there. The vegetable garden was fabulous and obviously well tended. There were also some unusual artworks created using plants.

From there we headed to Port Isaac of Doc Martin fame, only to discover that they were filming the next day. Fran was rather starstruck and introduced herself to "Bert" , "Al" and of course, "Doc Martin". She was joined in her quest for photos by several other "paparazzi". The cast are obviously used to groupies and were very gracious, posing for photos. Port Isaac is a very picturesque fishing village. The tides are amazing. The difference between high and low tides is substantial (about 12 feet) and the guide books warn against parking on the beach next to these boats!!

 

From there we travelled to Chepstow in Wales, over the mighty Severn River for a two night stay to further explore family roots.

Found a couple of houses still standing where Fran's forebears lived. One was a customs officer and it was interesting to see that a smugglers hole in the cliff, accessible only at high tide was directly across the river from where the Customs House would have been sited if still in existence.

Then on to Nantmawr, near Oswestry , Shropshire to visit and indeed meet Fran's cousin John and his wife, Mary. Had a great stay with them, but too short. A really interesting part of England near the border with Wales and close to Snowdonia National Park. The next day loaded up with a substantial picnic lunch packed by Mary, we set off again towards the Midlands, destination - Cottesmore. There we met with several other relatives from the Dixon family whom we'd never met, descendants from four brothers born in the 1800s, one of them Fran's grandfather.

We continued east to Norfolk, staying in the small village of Gayton, this time on the trail of Adrian's family. Alas, our luck in the graveyards dried up here as the headstones were mostly illegible, the stone being too soft. We took a trip up the coast to Hunstanton located on "the Wash".

Coast at Hunstanton

 

We had been warned not to expect much by our hosts, but nothing could prepare us for the family entertainment parlour on the "pier". It was an awful melange of flashing lights, cloned soft toys and jangly music. A combination of side show alley and poker machines. The coast was interesting, but the water not very appealing.

Castle Rising

We also visited Castle Rising, an ancient keep built in 1140 and still owned by the same family who originally built it. Today we left for Cambridgeshire visiting the towns of Weston Colville and West Wratting, where Adrian's family worked in the fields before migrating to Australia. We have made contact with a local historian who may hopefully yield some useful information.

 

 

 

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In Mevagissey, Cornwall

Annecy

After leaving Chamonix, we headed to Annecy in the Haute Savoie region of France on the day that France celebrates the Festival of Music. Annecy is a very picturesque town, but everyone was in the old town for the free concerts and, as the night wore on, it became like a mosh pit. One of the best concerts of the evening was a young group called the Quebecois, comprising four talented singers and seven musicians. It was performed in the courtyard of the castle built between the 12th and 16th centuries which was at one time the residence the Dukes of Geneva.

Our last night in France was spent at Lyon airport as we were leaving for Gatwick at 7.10 the next day flying with EasyJet. Despite getting to the airport (a one minute walk from the hotel) 1.5 hours before the flight departure time, it was bedlam and the queues were incredibly long. Cheap airlines often necessitates an increased level of stress and being herded like cattle...but we made it.

Ardingly College

Day 1 in England started with a trip down to Ardingly to visit Fran's father's old boarding school, Ardingly College. We managed to have a good look around and took several photos. One of the teachers trying to enjoy a peaceful lunch in the otherwise empty dining room was surprised to look up at the window and see an inquisitive little face peering through at her. She invited us in when Fran explained her interest. The dining room is apparently pretty much as it was in the 1920s. Unfortunately the interior of the magnificent looking chapel remained inaccessible despite Fran loitering around the headmaster's gate.

Leper's window

Our first stop for the night was at Yeovil in Somerset pronounced by the locals as Somurrrrsettt, where we stayed at the Globe and Crown pub. We visited the church in Mudford where Fran's great great and great great great grandparents were married. The Church is over 700 years old. One of its quaintest features is the leper's window or squint, a small window in the side of the church, the only way that the "unclean" could witness a service.

Then on to Chideock in Dorset along some of the most amazingly narrow English roads bordered by hedges 10 feet in height. If you come upon a car moving the opposite way one driver has to reverse backwards to a place where the other can get past. We think that our GPS, Karen was having some fun with us.

Our b & b had a nest of swallows above their door and accommodation looked tight! We walked down to the beach and enjoyed an ale on the cliff top whilst being entertained by the stupid antics of the local sheep, before heading round to the George Inn and some good pub grub.

Tight fit!

Last night we arrived in the very quaint and picturesque port village of Mevagissey in Cornwall. We're lucky to be here during their Feast Week. At 7 pm, the brass band from the nearby village of Bugle led a crowd of villagers and interested hangers-on through the streets and around the harbour singing hymns, some in harmony. Then at 9 pm the same brass band led groups of people through the same streets doing the Floral Dance. We joined in and had a good laugh.

Pick the Aussie

There was lots of step step step hop, with, for us, lots of stepping and hopping at the wrong time as the dance got faster and faster. A wonderful festive mood which will continue tonight with a crab catching contest on the jetty of the inner harbour, a water polo match in the outer harbour between two villages (they're a hardy lot down this way) and a band at 8 pm billed to play "high energy folk and Celtic rock". Better have a quiet day!!!

 

Lyme Regis...not the Sunshine Coast!

 

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In Chamonix in the shadow of Mont Blanc

We arrived this afternoon at Chamonix in the French Alps. Spectacular scenery although a little cloudy so its hard to see the top of the highest peaks.

French Alps

 

Since collecting our car we motored through more of Burgundy. Karen, our GPS (whom some of you may remember from our previous trips) was happy to be let loose and start navigating. Unfortunately her French accent has not improved and with this she continues to provide us with much amusement. However, true to form she let us down at a critical point entering one of the towns and stopped working completely. Was it something we said or was she jealous of the iPhone ? Anyway she remained in a catatonic state for a few days but finally decided to work again.

The first day after leaving Joigny, we drove to Vezelay to see the Basilique de Marie Madeleine which dates back to the 9th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was a renowned stopover for pilgrims on the route of La Compostela de Santiago. In 1945 towards the end of the war, a procession of several thousand people from Belgium and France converged on the church carrying 14 crosses. Some German prisoners of war asked to be involved in the procession. So they were released and a 15th cross was hastily made. The cross is in the church as a lasting symbol of world peace.

Semur en Auxois

That night we stayed in the picture postcard village of Semur en Auxois, a fortified town, with remparts still standing, although there are big cracks appearing in the towers. From there we moved on to the historic town of Beaune in the heart of wine country where we stayed two nights. At both of these places we stayed in chambres d'hotes or bed and breakfasts, where the hosts spoke scant English, so we communicated in French as best we could!

 

 

Our hosts Pascal and Marianne with Siruse

 

 

In Beaune one of the major draw cards is the well preserved and maintained Hotel de Dieu built in the 15th century by Nicolas Rolin, a wealthy philanthropist - a man well ahead of his time. It served as a hospital for the poor and needy, run by nuns, and it was still being used as a hospital until 1984 - more than 500 years. It was bequeathed a vineyard and its annual wine auction pays for maintenance and upgrade. Whilst in Beaune we took a side trip out among the vineyards to the Chateau de la Rochpot, a 13th century medieval relic.

Hotel Dieu

 

Hotel Dieu

Chateau de la Rochepot

 

After leaving Burgundy we headed southeast into the Jura Departement of France, quite different to other regions. Our first port of call was at Baume-les-Messieurs, an interesting little town built in a box canyon called a reculee. Sheer cliffs surround it.

 

 

 

We have enjoyed some wonderful food on our travels so far. Fran has been particularly impressed with the desserts on offer.

Pannacotta enough for three!

 

Yet another delicious dessert!

 

Waterfall at Baume -les-Messieurs

 

Parts of the Jura are heavily forested, very green with many lakes and waterfalls. We spent an enjoyable few hours walking to the top of the Cascades de Herisson, a series of 5 waterfalls. It was very tranquil. And at the very top was....a brasserie, serving lunch, coffee and cold drinks. It was a welcome sight. Then on to the town of Sainte Claude for one night before hitting top gear and merging onto the autoroute where the speed limit is 130 kph!!

Sainte Claude from our hotel

 

 

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Sur le Canal de Bourgogne... Part 2

One of the most challenging things on the canal for Fran has been the journeys by bike to the villages. The routes to and from the port are often along busy routes used by big tractors with massive wheels, semi trailers and buses. At Tanlay she found herself in a traffic island of sorts at the intersection of two roads. She was off her bike at this stage and standing beside it whilst a bus approached on one side and a semi on the other.

Mostly we managed the locks remarkably well. It was also easier that we were "locking down". We do not have the luxury of taking any time off as there are jobs for the both of us, unlike boats that have 4 or 6 people on board. However at one memorable lock, we encountered a slight hiccup. Adrian thought he had La Pipee in neutral, as is the norm, but alas she was still in gear...Fran was bending down on the edge of the boat doing all the fancy rope tricks required in the lock, when the boat nudged the lock wall and Fran nearly plunged head first into the canal. Some swearing ensued from both the Willies. Adrian reckons that the success of our lock endeavours is in inverse proportion to the amount of swear words used. Did we mention rope skills? Oh yes...getting the ropes off the bollards when the boat has sunk to the bottom of the lock really tests one's wrist flicking ability.

When we arrived at St Florentin at our penultimate stop, we noticed that all the other boats had docked rear end in. We paled. Manoeuvring the boat forwards is one thing, but steering it backwards is quite another. It really is quite a feat. So we berthed side on to quay and proceeded to the port office. The quay master confirmed that we had to back in like all the other boats, but when he saw our little boat, he conceded. This could have been due to the apprehensive glances we were throwing each other or maybe he had seen our not so elegant arrival !!

Madame, 14 euros not 4 !

 

Lock-keepers also moonlight as wine merchants and Fran fancied a drop of red. The camaraderie along the canal has been really good.You tend to see the same people at each port and as berths with power and water are limited there is often a race to get going in the morning for the next port. At one stage we were led out of port by the Germans with the Americans a close third. Or as we liked to put it, Fritz, Bruce and Chuck (and yes, that was his real name). We arrived safely at our final destination, the port of Joigny, today at 4.30 (Thursday) in time to hand the boat over tomorrow before 9.00. To do this we had to negotiate the last several kilometres and two locks on the river Yonne.

 

Adrian being far more proficient a bike rider than Fran rode to the boulangerie before departure one morning at Tonnerre for a baguette and came back with that, plus not one, but two pains au chocolat. You cannot really compare the two in this photo can you. Who in their right mind would opt for the rice cracker?

 

 

The weather up until our entry into the river had been really good, but then the rain and the wind started and we realised how different our canal experience could have been. At the first lock we found ourselves sideways in the lock, due to the wind, which was a tad hair raising, but fortunately we were helped by the trusty lock keeper. The wet weather gear was unpacked and we were thankful for it. The temperature as we arrived was a mere 12 degrees Celsius.

We made it

We are relieved to be here in one piece as is La Pipee. We have passed through some interesting though not always very attractive French villages. We have seen some amazing churches, many of them in dire need of maintenance and witnessed a much slower pace of life through the lush countryside of Burgundy. The French birds have serenaded us along the way and we have been Bonjoured by everyone we passed. We have seen cats, dogs, swans, ducks, cows, horses, a donkey, a deer and one very nasty swan whose temperament only mellowed when Fran fed it some gluten free bread which it seemed to relish.

 

The canal tour has been an interesting and mostly positive experience and we still have our relationship intact. Today we start the next part of the adventure, collecting our car and driving through Burgundy, and heading towards the French Alps.

 

 

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Sur le Canal de Bourgogne...Part 1

Travelled to Montbard by train from Dijon. Taxi to the port. Not many boats there and we guessed that the smallest of all was ours. Met by Christophe, our man in Montbard, and after dumping luggage in storage there, we walked to the town. After coffee and lunch we bought some supplies and headed back to port. Weather very warm and sunny.

On board La Pipee

At 2.00 we boarded our little Penichette called La Pipee and settled in before our handover from Christophe. He spoke excellent English which was a blessing. We loaded our bikes on and then Christophe took us for a test drive before handing the wheel to Adrian and explained the crew's role (that was Fran at that time). As we near a mooring, the crew-person moves to the bow of the boat and assists the capitaine to get as close as possible before leaping ashore with rope between teeth (...non! poetic license), hopefully without misjudging the distance and landing in the canal or breaking a leg!

Then it was our turn. We had two choices. Stay in Montbard at the dock for the week or motor out. Fortified with some water and some chocolat, we opted for the latter. Sure enough there just a few hundred metres downstream was our first lock. Our approach was made a little more difficult by the fact that two boats coming the other way were locking up so we had to idle, staying to the right and trying to keep La Pipee from getting too close to the canal edge.

Fortunately all the boats come with bumpers, but we noticed that previous sailors had left their mark/s on ours. The locks are easy and the lock keepers very helpful and friendly. Fran informed the first one that this was our first day and our first lock. She muttered something that was possibly the French equivalent of "yeah that'd be right". We travelled through 4 locks on our first day having left Montbard at 4.30 and moored just past the little village of Buffon at around 6.30.

Morning on the canal

 

Rode our bikes back 1 km to Buffon and enjoyed a pleasant meal, finishing it off with 4 different cheeses, 3 of them local. Fran did question the wisdom of two glasses of wine considering her lack of aptitude on two wheels, but we made it home along the towpath without her riding into the canal or the river on the other side (fortunately with a buffer of trees and bush in between). So quiet and peaceful at our moorings in the middle of nowhere. Woke to the sound of birds at 6.30 ready for the new day.

 

The shower, toilet and wash basin are all in the same room the size of a closet. Definitely only enough room for one person at a time. There's not enough room to swing a cat's tail let alone a cat!

On day 2 we visited a 17th century forge, Forges de Buffon that used a water wheel to power the crushers and bellows etc to create the iron and steel objects like plough shears, iron bars, and castings. Spurred on by our successful debut in the locks the day before, we managed 7 more. That meant we only had 40 to go. Mon Dieu!

Day 3 we decided to stay the night at Ancy le Franc. We're doing quite well with our mooring until some guy (nationality unknown) tried to assist . Think he was concerned that La Pipee may do some damage to his rather glamorous and expensive looking barge. He urged Adrian to "hurry hurry" which was like a red rag to a bull. The knots and the method that l'assistante used to attach us to the quay were so convoluted, it's a wonder that the pompiers or SAPU were not called to the port to untangle us.

That night we again dined out and opted for the magnificent chariot de fromages instead of dessert.

Le Chariot

Our deepest lock

La Capitaine

 

 

 

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In Dijon...and heading for the canal!

We arrived in Dijon in Burgundy at lunchtime Wednesday from Paris, travelling in comfort and at speed on the TGV. Getting to the Gare du Lyon from our apartment in Paris was interesting! We opted to travel by metro and despite sorting out which station to catch the train from on the previous day, we were persuaded by the agency representative who collected our apartment keys to go from Chatelet, which meant we only had to travel one station.

BUT... Chatelet-/les Halles is a very busy station, a crossroad of many different Metro and RER lines and an underground maze of tunnels. Getting through one turnstile gate with a grand valise (suitcase) is difficult enough. We had to negotiate at least 4 of them. This required heaving the suitcase as close to the gate as possible before leaning back to stick ticket in, then grabbing same ticket and kicking case whilst barging through. By the 4th we had the action down pat. Degree of difficulty at least a 9!!! Made a mental note to downsize our cases next time and travel with even fewer clothes...or catch a taxi!

In Dijon

Dijon is a very attractive and laid back city with a small central area easy to navigate on foot. Interesting architecture and some buildings with the colourful and distinctive patterned roof tiles found in Burgundy. The Merry go Round in this picture was built by Gustav Eiffel's company.

 

We discovered a small restaurant called La Theatre de Sens on our first night thanks to Trip Advisor. Menu was in French with no translation (often the best ones). Easy enough to pick out the type of meat, but what it comes with can be a lucky dip. Fish is another matter altogether as we have no idea what the types of fish are in French eg what is sandre? Fran has boned up on the key French phrases and words to use to explain her GF diet. Opted for the cheese platter to finish our meal. Did wonder before it arrived whether the platter was on its way or whether someone had just removed their shoes! Wonderful shopping here with lots of nice looking footwear and clothes, not to mention delicatessens selling all sorts of goodies and mustard of course.

Port du Canal

 

We walked down to the Port du Canal yesterday to check out the Burgundy canal which will be our route of travel for the next seven days starting on Friday from Montbard a town 30 minutes from Dijon. There were lots of big barges, none as small as ours. Saw one of the locks, but no one was coming or going. The weather is sunny and warm here and like most of these old towns with stone buildings, the days are often at their warmest late in the afternoon as the stone absorbs the heat and then generously shares it with the pedestrians.

Haute fashion

An amusing incident today at Galleries Lafayette, a big and rather expensive department store. We were wandering through looking for some small socks to wear with sneakers when a woman working there on the information desk stopped Fran to admire her red shoes that zip up at the front with grand enthusiasm. She had to hold up her foot so that she could read the shoe brand. She even unzipped one of them at which stage Fran thought she might ask to try them on. A conversation ensued in French and, in answer to one of her many questions about said shoes, Fran told her that she bought them in Montville, Australia. Madame wrote down all the details.

Not sure when we will get the chance to post another blog as we will be cruising along the Canal de Bourgogne at 8 kph!

 

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