We were all up by 7:30 on this beautiful day. For breakfast, both Adele and I had some of the leftover smoked salmon from our lunch yesterday - yum! While we have shore power, we made sure to charge up all of our electronics, (which incidentally includes 3 phones, one tablet, one kindle, 2 smart watches, a portable charger and a laptop!)
 |
| Our last view of Auxerre |
 |
This pink boat in Auxerre is actually a "food boat".
|
By 8:45 we were in the first lock, but it didn't open till 9:15, so we waited. Shortly after the first lock, within 5-10 minutes we were in the second lock, but were waiting for another boat to arrive. By 10am, we'd been "traveling" for an hour, and could still see the town of Auxerre where we'd spent the last two nights. But, traveling by boat is a slow moving, relaxed activity. We passed through two or three more locks on our way to Moneteau.
 |
| In the first lock of the day. |
When we arrived in the small town of Moneteau, we tied up and walked around a bit. There wasn't anything there besides houses, except we found a small bar, where we had some seltzer and beer. The guy behind the bar was very nice. David really liked his beer glass and offered to buy it but the guy gave it to him! We mentioned where we were staying tonight and he recommended a restaurant. (As it turned out, it was the only restaurant!). In any event, the guy from the bar said he was coming to that restaurant tonight too.
 |
| Our drinks (that's David's new beer glass in back!) |
When we got back to the boat after the drinks, we were eating our lunch when the New York folks we met yesterday pulled up. They had stopped at another mooring that we had just passed, and got stuck on the sandy bottom! We had almost stopped there also, but luckily we did not. After we finished eating and chatting with them, their captain, Peter, helped us to untie and we took off.
 |
| Our lunch! |
 |
| Peter helping out |
 |
| Some of the NY crew we met in Auxerre |
 |
| Bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel in Moneteau |
After leaving Moneteau, we continued on to the small town of Gurgy, where we plan to spend the night. We arrived there in about 45 minutes and tied up at a small dock. We were pleasantly surprised by the nice dock, the fact that electric here is free, there's a clean public toilet, and best of all, there are three little stands, which, according to the signs, open from 5-8 and sell food, drinks and ice cream!
Then we took a long walk through the town. We found a pharmacy, a liquor/grocery store, and a few other stores, but all were closed till about 4pm. We've noticed in France that lots of places close for an extended lunch hour. We walked to find the restaurant, and made a reservation for tonight - just in case! Then back to the boat to play Uno some more. Winner of the most games gets treated to ice cream (it was Adele, who only learned to play last night!)
 |
| Covid vaccines here in small town France. |
 |
| Scenery in Gurgy (and next picture) |
After our Uno game, David and I took a walk back to the stores that had been closed earlier. We bought a few items, including a bottle of wine. Then back to the boat to sit in the sun and drink some wine. Two of the three small stands by our boats were open serving some food and drinks. It was an absolutely lovely atmosphere!
 |
| Hard to take a selfie when there's so much glare you can't see the picture. |
 |
| Our evening wine |
 |
| Our view - note the three small stands (and next photo) |
 |
| My view, after I lay down on the boat |
 |
| Our boat! |
 |
| Next to the marina is also a campsite |
At 6:40 we walked to the restaurant and sat outside and had dinner. (One of the only real negatives here is that everyone smokes and you sit and smell smoke while you're eating!) While we were waiting for our check, the guy from the bar this afternoon showed up. He was surprised to see us, but we all said hello. Then we walked back home. There was a couple sitting on the boat in front of us having dinner at a small table for two on their boat, which was decorated with twinkly lights all around. I knew they spoke English cause I'd heard them talking before so Adele and I stopped to chat. They were from Ireland and we talked with them for quite a long time about different countries, boating, this area, and of course, they wondered how the US could possibly have ever elected trump! Then we finally said good night and headed back to our boat (where David was already asleep!)
No comments:
Post a Comment