Last week was spent on board this little vessel.
Yes, I'm aware it isn't one of those lovely old, low, wooden traditional canal boats, which the romantic side of me would have liked to have travelled aboard. Unfortunately, we had a significant practicality to keep in mind when choosing a boat.... our height!
We are tall & even in this boat, which had the highest ceiling on offer, we had to bend double in the bathroom & to get dry after having a shower, I had to open doors and flash the universe!! We did, however, have long enough beds, which were comfortable & in which I actually slept more than I had the whole time we've been away!!
Regardless of the numerous bruises, mosquito bites & stressful moments, we had a good week & I'd happily contemplate doing it again.
Jeff was 'Capitaine' & although he did brilliantly, he had a few struggles with letting the boat know who was the boss!! Rose was 'First Mate' & was great at knowing where we were at any given moment, how soon a lock was coming up (they were much too numerous) & made suggestions where each day's journey should end.
I was deck hand & galley slave, which meant that every time we came into a lock (& there were approximately 60 over the week), I had to hold the boat secure with ropes, which meant jumping off & then back on & using my arm muscles!! I have biceps now!! Galley duties meant cooking!!
We saw so much beauty, from ancient bridges...
...to planted nature.
Even the locks were beautiful in their own way. Some were painted & the grounds around them well looked after.
Watching the water spilling over into the lower level was always a buzz.
Jeff got to help the lock keeper at a few stops....so his biceps had a workout too!
The Lock Keeper's Houses varied. It was always a treat to see a well cared for house with planted garden areas.
Some Lock Keepers House's even had their own resident wildlife!!!
I got excited when I saw white cattle & lavoirs...although there weren't many of them. Jeff got excited when he saw red poppies & jumping fish. Rose got excited when she saw cats & dead fish! What can I say...it takes all sorts to make a family!
We were deeply privileged to see small towns that the usual tourist doesn't get to. Consequently we did have the opportunity to eat at some very special places. One was a renovated Chateau which had a piano, on which Rose immediately gravitated too. The owner was so delighted to have the piano played that he was reluctant to bring us our food! The meal was sublime & the tragedy was that we were the only guests there!
We also had some pretty awesome meals on board too, in the most tranquil of settings.
We hired bicycles, but sadly, cruising took up so much time we only used them once. Let's just say that the foray back into cycling wasn't on a nice FLAT cycling path alongside a canal. It was up an enormous 2 km long hill! I survived. No more need be said on that subject!!
Everywhere we went, Joan had been before us & in every church we visited, her visit was remembered. It blew our minds that we were following in the footsteps of Joan of Arc!
All in all, the good aspects of the week, made up for the not so good aspects of the week, which made it an impressive adventure!!
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