Unexcused Absences

This week, nothing happened. At least that’s what I had figured I would write, looking ahead from one week ago. We planned very little travel, and only two main multi-day stops. Life on the canals tends to exceed expectations, though, and it ended up being a fantastic week.

St-Jean-de-Losne waterfront

Sunday morning we continued up the Saône River, through one more commercial lock, and arrived at the boating crossroads of central France, St-Jean-de-Losne. The town is home to multiple boatyards, a couple charter operations, repair facilities, and a convenient laverie automatique (laundromat) right on the main quai. From here one can travel east to the upper Rhine River, north-east to Nancy and Toul in the Lorraine region, north to Reims and Verdun in the Ardennes, or north-west (where we’re headed) on the Canal de Bourgogne.

Definitely a waterways town; inside the church in Seurre

Arriving in St-J-de-L we saw a big American flag attached to a river cruiser, which meant that John and Karen (who we had exchanged a brief passing wave with a week ago) were in town, as expected. You may remember from the Week 4 Recap that we met John and Karen while we were searching for a boat to buy in the fall of 2010. Back then they invited us over to their boat; this year, Heather cooked a nice meal and we hosted them on our boat, and got a chance to catch up. They were very pleased we had found a nice boat to purchase.

Acres of boats in St-Jean-de-Losne

We made arrangements for a haul-out for winter 13/14, this past winter was quite harsh and a number of boats left in the water had problems, so we figured it’s never too early to make a reservation for a spot on dry land to spend the winter. Expect to see the good ship Après Ski headed back towards St-Jean-de-Losne during 2013. Tuesday afternoon we locked up into the Canal de Bourgogne, the first of 189 locks (!) that we’ll need to traverse over the coming weeks. We camped out near the Dijon aérodrome at the Breteniere lock.

Wednesday morning it was up early to finish the cruise into Dijon. There are 22 locks in the 26 kilometers between Dijon and St-Jean-de-Losne! Dijon began life as a Roman town about halfway between Lyon and Paris. It rose to become a big player in western Europe in the 11th century, when the Dukes of Burgundy transformed Dijon into a major center of wealth and power. For the next four centuries, the city was key to the transformation from medieval times to what would become modern Europe.

One of the numerous churches in Dijon

At one time the population must have been seriously pious, because practically every city block hosts a church, some blocks multiple churches. Many have now been sold and are enjoying an afterlife (?) as art galleries, theaters, or museums. The city center is split by a grand avenue lined with shops, offices and restaurants, and the Place de la Libération, a big square (actually a semi-circle) opposite the Dukes of Burgundy’s Palace (now city hall) is beautifully lit at night. There are numerous very old buildings and houses, many dating back over 800 years; the city was largely spared during WWII, even though it was occupied by German forces. And of all things, Dijon is the sister city to Dallas, Texas!

Canal port in Dijon

The port is tucked behind a little island, and is located a bit of a bike ride from the city center, but is well appointed with electricity, water, and showers included for our 10 euros per day. Every afternoon during happy hour we enjoyed “Swan TV”, in which the local swan mafia vigorously patrols the harbor, shaking down boats for bread and keeping the bread-seeking proclivities of all the other waterfowl in check.

Thursday we spent sightseeing around Dijon, and stopped in to a very popular vegetarian restaurant (les Pieds Bleus) for an inexpensive buffet lunch. The place was packed, so we shared a table with a local woman and her grown daughter, Marianne and Charline. They were very kind to simplify their French for us, and we ended up spending close to two hours chatting (slowly) about all kinds of things. More on them in a bit.

Picnic lunch at Lac Kir with Ron and Lynn

Friday our new friends Lynn and Ron drove up from their home in southern Burgundy for a boat ride and picnic lunch at Lac Kir, a medium-sized lake just a couple kilometers north of Dijon. In Lynn’s previous life she was the regional editor of Better Homes & Gardens, and for almost a decade now has lived much of the year in France with Ron, writing books and keeping up her website, Southern Fried French. We “met” on the internet last year; Heather found her blog and sent Lynn an email, and as fellow “semi-ex-pats” we’ve kept in occasional touch ever since. Ron is a sailor from way back, so I think he had a fun time working the lines in the locks, and Lynn was a good sport to tolerate the three of us talking about boats almost the entire lunch. Heather cooked a delicious smoked-salmon-and-goat-cheese pasta, and Lynn shared her “now I see why they’re famous” cookies with us, much to Ron’s dismay; I think he was hoping to keep them all to himself!

Place de la Libération

It was a delightful afternoon, and was really interesting to meet fellow Americans who seem to have embraced the good life in France as much as (in truth, quite a bit more than) we have. Later that evening we walked into the city center to sit at the main square (semi-circle) for some people-watching. Along the way we smelled some seriously good kebab scents wafting from a storefront, so had to buy and split one for a late dinner (we were still pretty full from the big picnic lunch). This one was unique in our vast experience of kebabs; we identified the secret ingredient in the sauce blanche (white sauce) as menthe (mint)! We’ve definitely never tasted that before, but it made a smashingly good addition to the overall kebab enjoyment program.

The main drag in Dijon

Practically next door to the kebab stand we saw (actually Heather saw, I didn’t notice at all) some very well dressed young women, all clingy black dresses and décolletage, setting up cocktails and snacks on the sidewalk in front of a beauty salon. We stopped to investigate, and in a flurry of French were welcomed to the grand opening of the very first “Bumble and Bumble” beauty salon in France! They took one look at my haircut and decided I was a lost cause (my hairstyle is definitely pas de chi-chi), but they proceeded to give my favorite wife the grand tour.

Enjoying the evening in Dijon

After a few glasses of Champagne and some hors d’oeuvres we sat in the square for a bit, then walked back towards the boat. On the way we passed an Irish pub (of all things) with the England-Sweden Europa Cup match on a big projection TV. We couldn’t pass up the chance to watch some soccer on the big screen with a room full of English fans, so settled in with some Guinness to enjoy the game. The winning goal for England was an amazing backwards shot off the heel of the English player.

Saturday morning we left Dijon for Plombières-lès-Dijon, only five kilometers up the canal. Our lunch companions from Thursday live in Plombières, and they had invited us up for a picnic lunch. Charline was out of town, and Marianne’s son, Antoine, had to stay home and study, so we met Marianne’s husband, Jean-Pierre, and the four of us drove up into the hills to a stunning plateau overlooking the hills and valleys of southern Burgundy. After the picnic they gave us a fantastic tour of some beautiful villages west of Dijon, including one (Châteauneuf) that we should be able to visit by bike later next week. It was a really really nice afternoon, and the generosity of our new friends was simply amazing. Hopefully we can host them for a meal next week; the canal makes a couple big loops, so even after four or five days of travel we’ll only be 20 minutes by car from their house.

Saturday picnic with Jean-Pierre and Marianne

The countryside for the past few weeks has been low and flat, lots of fields of wheat and other grains, very similar to the topology of eastern North Carolina. Saturday night in Plombières marked the transition to a more Appalachian landscape, with rolling hills, deep green forests, and little villages tucked into the hollows. The views during our Saturday driving tour with Marianne and Jean-Pierre were remarkably similar to those around the foothills east of Shenandoah National Park, in Virginia.

Tomorrow we are moving into a very rural stretch of canal, with very few roads, no trains, and only microscopic villages. It will definitely be “field conditions” in the cooking department!

Spring 2012 Week 5 Numbers:

• Kilometers: 55
• Locks: 28
• Engine Hours: 12
• Cost of Moorings: 31.20 euros

Spring 2012 Total Numbers:

• Kilometers: 502
• Locks: 152
• Engine Hours: 93
• Cost of Moorings: 156.80 euros

Spring 2012 – Week 5 Route

The “gargoyle facade” at Notre Dame, Dijon

A small square in Dijon

Evening near yet another pair of churches

Inside the cathedral

Yet another church, this one now a theater

A chateau up in the hills

One of many restaurant sections in Dijon

Ron works off the picnic lunch

Marianne and Antoine hang the American flag

Port de plaisance, Plombieres

Little pig chocolates

Late afternoon in Plombieres