Barge Date:  08-24-2021

Where Have We Been

You might think that we had some terrible thing happen to us.  But for you that view Marianne's FB postings of pictures and comments you must know that one of us is alive.  I will need the last blog to know where to begin here.

 We are on our way to Auxerre where we will spend about a week doing work on the barge. But we are in no hurry to get there so a few stops along the way.

We have been watching for canal weeds as we move forward.  Had a lot of this stuff after leaving Dijon but it suddenly stopped at one point.  Been told to expect more but it really has not been bad.  One section between 2 locks was heavy with the stuff but we found this weed harvester tied up to the bank (it was a Sunday) and some weeds dumped on the bank.

In the city of Saint Florentin we were joined by family from Belgium.  They did not want to stay on the barge or have a run down the canal so we spent a good bit of time just relaxing on the boat, exploring the town, eating well and making some runs to stores for boat supplies. This last part was much appreciated. Here are some pictures around town.

The church in Saint Florentin was having some work done on it but we were able to go inside after first requesting the key from the tourist office. If I have it right, the stained  glass windows are somewhat unique in that the small panes tell stories and those with a Catholic background probably could follow along.

The next town was Brienon sur Armancon.  The moment you find one round wash house you find another. Each has its own character so each stands alone just fine. The ladies had to descend a good number of steps to get to work then a walk back up with their load.

We were hoping to have lunch in town but it looked like a dim chance.  The one restaurant we found said it was open for lunch but it was empty and when we called out the owner said sorry. Where could we go?  Didn't seem to want to help but said maybe, just maybe, the place down the street and a right turn is open.

This did not look good either. Not a soul but we did round up the chef/owner and he said he would serve us. So picture this:  we are the only customers. We had no idea what to do so we said surprise us.  And he did. Now here is where you need to get over to Marianne's picture page because she takes pictures of food, not me. But the chef did a wonderful job from beginning to end. The name of the place is El Toreador (because of an earlier girlfriend from Spain when the restaurant was more tapas).  Now it is  more French food. Try telling your next chef to just go for it and surprise you. We did.

 We asked about the empty restaurant.  He said that when the French COVID rules changed that require diners to show their health pass his patrons just stopped coming. Perhaps the noon crowd more than evenings, but none the less he was hoping he was past the grim days of no income. We helped him out.

Stayed a couple of days in Migennes which is at the very north end of the Burgundy Canal.  Nice large basin and easy tie-up. Here is the one picture I took.

Now it is out on the Yonne River and heading south.  With the river the speed limit changes to 15kph and I opened it up.  This was suggested as a way to loosen the engine and turbocharge up.  Even up stream we could make good speed, but not 15. We are headed to Auxerre but we made a half way stop for the evening in Gurgy then on to Auxerre.

A busy port so we elected to moor opposite the marina but we found it much more convenient for shopping and eating.  I spent a good deal of time on board so I don't have a lot to say about the city; we will be back in five weeks and again next Spring.  But here are some pics around town.

So I did some grinding and painting on the deck of the boat. Actually not too bad.  What does not look good is the peeling paint job on the deck. It has been some time since proper boat paint has been used on Lionel. Talked to some Kiwis off of Petronella who were  in M igennes about to take their barge in to a yard to have deck and cabin steel stripped with a high pressure system.  Not your garden version of a pressure washer; this baby will knock you off your feet if treated poorly. John said it did the trick and was fast.  Made a big mess too.  Next it will be painted and when he is done they will be coming our way and I want to inspect.  May have the same done next year.