Is May 1 a holiday where you are???

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit! (For me!) (And if you need a further explanation, please do not hesitate to inquire...as the Brucatos have long played silly games...)

So, it’s now May, and here we are in the Dordogne! Yesterday was a lovely day (as how could it not be when you’re in France, says R...) As it was Brenda and Chris’ last day, we asked them what they wanted to see/do. The decision was to see prehistoric caves in the morning, and then shop in Sarlat in the afternoon. So, we headed out early for the best caves still open to the public in the area; Font du Gaume and Combarelles, two caves situated about 1.5 km apart just outside of Les-Ezyies. We arrived about 10 minutes before opening time, without reservations. We are told that reservations are required and taken a month in advance in high season; however, of the 180 people they allow in each cave per day, they keep back 50 tickets for each cave to go on sale each morning without reservation. So, as we were about 10th in line, I was hopeful...until the bus with the school children pulled up...However!! We got tickets to both! Yea! 10:45 a.m. for Combarelles and 2:10 p.m. for Font du Gaume. So, having a little time to kill, we drove into Les-Ezyies for a brief look around and to pick up some much-needed water. There’s not much to Les-Ezyies; even less when you visit in November, which was when we first stayed there. But at least this time most of the shops were open, which was a pleasant change! From there, it was back to the cave for our prehistory lesson! Combarelles has no paintings per se; rather, everything there is engraving on the walls – lots of horses, but we saw some human representations, as well as an amazing bear, reindeer and what looked to me like a mountain lion; definitely some kind of cat! These engravings were from the Magdalenian period; about 14,000 years ago; truly astounding! We were WAY deep into the cave, and there were just 6 of us and the guide, who did his best to answer questions in English. On the way out, Chris led, and we were walking mainly without lights – and there were bats everywhere! Obviously they were there first, so it was only fair! We then headed back to Les-Ezyies for lunch. Went to the Chateaubriant restaurant, where we had eaten that cold, cold Thanksgiving time, and R had lots of soup – and went on to develop his own vegetable soup recipe. Again we both had soup (I like R’s better, actually!) and I had salad with roquefort cheese, walnuts (from the region) and tomatoes; R had sole (the whole thing, which he then got to bone on his plate...); Chris and Brenda had the entree du jour – a small ramekin with potatoes, creme fraiche, lardon and cheese (was great, as I tried some of Brenda’s!) followed by a cheese omelet for Chris and my salad for Brenda; very, very good! Walked down to the Vezere river which runs through Les-Ezyies; lovely day, sunny and warm; beautiful flowers; lots of iris.

We arrived back at La Font du Gaume for our next tour. This was much larger; think there were 15 of us in all, including guides, and a VERY steep schlep up the side of the mountain to get to the cave entrance (much prefer Les Combarelles, which you enter from ground level)! Saw some amazing cave paintings – mostly bison, but there were also some reindeer (one of which R insists was an oryx) in black and red; truly incredible! It is so difficult to imagine how our very ancient ancestors managed to put motion and perspective into their drawings – and to wonder how (and why!) they got so far into these caves to paint! (Can you see moms saying: No dear, you may NOT paint on the cave walls at home, you’ll have to find another cave to paint in!...) And with those philosophical wonderings, we headed back to Sarlat. R and I decided to nap, while Brenda and Chris did the shops. Brenda bought some wonderful prints of places we have seen!

Dinner was at a restaurant R and I had visited during our last visit; very good! Brenda had calzone, and Chris had the “spicy” pizza. R and I had salads of tomatoes with balsamic vinegar followed by bouef bourguignonne for R and I had spaghetti bolonaise; all great! Glace of various flavors (mostly chocolate) for dessert. However! By mid-dinner, the rain started coming down – (it was, I thought, fairly clear when we’d left the hotel, and the service was MUCH quicker!) in torrents!! Just amazing; especially because it was raining directly on the table next to us! Obviously a roof in need of repair! We waited as long as we could, but it kept raining – so, a fairly quick and damp run home! Brrrrr.....but fun! This is the first real weather we’ve seen this trip!

Up at 6 this morning to get Brenda and Chris to the train station to catch the 7:29 a.m. train (which was scheduled to leave 2 minutes ago). And the train station was locked and dark! Quelle surprise! After going over the time tables several times, it occurred to me that today is May 1 – could this be a holiday in France? R agreed that it probably was, which meant the train station didn’t open until 6:55 (we were early, as usual)...and sure enough, just about 6:55 up ambles someone, and the lights go on! HOPE THAT THE SUPERMARKETS ARE OPEN TODAY AS WE WANT TO DO SOME COOKING!!! Enough of these restaurant meals!!!

So, now back in the flat. Besides grocery shopping, we are also thinking of another cave in the area, Rouffillac, as well as La Roque and Beynac – although want to do that when it’s at least a bit dryer. (Dry for now, but forecast is for rain today.) So, needing to hop into the tub!

Ta for now, and love to all!
m

Talking about Lazy Rivers...

Bonjour from Sarlat!

Boy is it nice being able to shower “regular” rather than “nautical” style! (That is, wet down; shut off water; soap; rinse off...)...also nice not having to pump the toilet 10 times every time ... although it does tend to produce a strong left arm, I’m sure!!! We had a lovely day in the Dordogne yesterday, even though the weather was the most interesting we’ve had this trip. As it was a Sunday, we had breakfast at the Villa; the usual pain au chocolat and croissants, but this time with good orange juice, coffee and hot chocolate! (If you haven’t noticed, chocolate, in whatever form, is definitely the way to go here!) Also yoghurt, but you can keep that, as far as I’m concerned! We all did some laundry (the pleasures of having 1) 3 new Siemens washers; 2) 3 new Siemens dryers; 3) ironing board and iron all set up in the FREE laundry room were a little too hard to resist...

Then, we were on the road. Drove first to Domme, which is a wonderful village perched high on a hill top (ie. Dome...) The usual parking muddles, but eventually got through the village and into a parking space near the town center. Loved Domme! The panorama of the countryside is incredible from there! There is a beautiful park overlooking the Dordogne, with lovely trees and many vista points – many pictures shot from there. We walked through the shops – great soap, and picked up a terrific wooden spoon – and had lunch at the small café with great view next to the park. I had salad – lettuce, tomatoes, lardons and croutons; wonderful; GREAT bacon!! R and Chris both had the steak hache (chopped) with frites (fries) and Brenda had a ham and cheese crepe. It did start to sprinkle while we were eating; rather like a California “June gloom” phenomena; not enough to really get you wet.

Back to the car, then, and drove through La Rocque and Beynac and across the Dordogne to Castelnaud. Parked fairly close to the castle, but boy, what a schlep both up and down hill to get to the entrance! Talk about 10,000 steps! To be honest, my knee is getting WAY better, as I wouldn’t have been able to do that walk two days previous! The castle is great. If you’re unfamiliar with Castelnaud, the movie Timeline based on the Michael Creighton book of the same name, is based VERY loosely on its history. (VERY, VERY loosely, as R would say...) At any rate, an incredible castle complete with armory of ancient weapons. Lots of climbing and incredible views everywhere you looked – especially as we could see people kayaking and canoeing on the Dordogne, as well as some larger tourist-type boats of an old design. This was the point (top of the hill; shorts in the trunk of the car...) when it decided to clear up and get sunny and HOT! Oh well!! There was a variety of really interesting videos produced that told in French (with English subtitles!) about the history of the castle, the history of various armaments, castle design, etc. Really interesting. There was also, for some reason, a video game set up (in English or French!) where you had 6 minutes to rescue your friend from the dungeon of the castle – and you were given three lives! Well...I needed 5, actually ... lost the first life immediately as the approach I took to the castle resulted in boulders crashing down on my head – little angel floating off telling me I was a goner...Took care of the first three lives, then started over ... I know, I know, that’s cheating...My favorite part was when you had two choices near the end – go forward or go back. I chose (with the help of my friends) to go back – and the narrator said “Show a bit of Courage, Please!” So, obviously back the other way – and voila, I saved my friend! Whew! But as a prize for working my way to the secret message, we got a small poster that features the castle and Robert’s favorite death-dealing device (a Trebuchet; see Timeline or Google) and he says we’re going to have it framed! Stopped for some ice cream and water before the slog back to the car .. and my shorts; boy, where is my pedometer when I need it! From there we took the leisurely way back to Sarlat, via Les Ezyies and the French countryside. An absolutely glorious Sunday afternoon on the Dordogne!

Rested a bit, and started out for dinner about 8 p.m. Fortunately a variety of places open, but boy, while the food at our place was good, we really chose poorly! Took us over an HOUR to get our food (Robert ordered grilled fish; Chris had duck, and Brenda and I each had roast chicken (with orange sauce) with fries.) By this time, it had started to rain hard, and while we were eating outside, got really very nippy! Then, after all this time, we wanted to order dessert. Waiter took our order, and we waited...and waited...it was now 10 p.m....at which point he came back to our table to recap what we had ordered for dessert! At that point we just gave it up and asked for the check...they comped us my glass of champagne and R’s glass of wine, but whew, what an ordeal! Oh! When R and I got our drinks, they served with them, a pimento stuffed with goat cheese, which was GREAT! If only it had continued as they started!!! Oh well!! Back to the room, and what we’d hoped to be an early night turned out to be late after all!!

Up now on Monday, and we’re going to see if/what caves we may be able to visit this morning, then Brenda has requested an afternoon here in Sarlat, as there are many things to see and many stores to look at ... just waiting now on R to return from wherever he went with some breakfast, as I’m starving!!!

More later!
Love,
m

Castles aplenty!

They’re back!!! And SO happy to be on dry (and much less dirty) land!!

Now let’s see...where did I leave this? I believe we were heading for a taxi to take us UP to La Cite at Carcassonne. Well, it was lovely (note picture to the left). The last time we were there (many years ago!) I was driving into La Cite, and having trouble navigating between tourists and postcard racks, and getting a trifle frayed around the edges ... (it was the dead of winter, though, as apparently they allow no cars in during the summer months). This time was MUCH better, and I was in a better frame of mind to appreciate how beautiful it is! We took a long walk through the city and toured the chateau; wonderful reconstruction during the 1800's. Had a good lunch, then headed back to the boat for naps and rest. R had the great idea of jumping in the first bus that came along, and le voila, it brought us (finally) right back to the port! What a great idea! Unfortunately, the buses cease operation as of 7 p.m., which left us with another cab ride up to La Cite for dinner. Mostly deserted town, but a few restaurants open. Found one and had a good dinner – Brenda, Chris and I had daube de boef, which was incredible, and R had entrecote with green peppercorn sauce; also very good. Deserts centered mostly around chocolate, except for R who once again opted for the ever-present (and ever good!) tarte de pomme. Had the restaurant call us a cab, which whisked us home in minutes – stopping first on the bridge for Brenda to take a picture of the wonderfully lit Cite.

Next morning, (Friday) after the usual terrific breakfast of pain au chocolat and croissants with raspberry jam, before being the first boat out of the harbor and into our first lock of the day. Chris was pilot-du-jour, and to be honest, I think we were all counting down the locks we still had to go! Only six to get to Trebes, our “home” base. This section of the trip wasn’t the most attractive, as much of the time we were paralleling a major highway. It is so easy to forget the rest of the world when there are no sounds (other than the putt-putting of the boat) but birds and frogs! We actually had no problems at all with any of the locks, and arrived in Trebes right around lunch time. However! Problem! No place to park! The place was packed! (I think it was because this was the start of the season, and most of the boats hadn’t been taken out yet, and were probably fairly new to the water after the winter.) We cruised through town (fortunately, the town is built around the canal itself, which is in stark contrast to Bram and Castelnaudary); restaurants and boulangeries within sight! And about 200 feet from the boat base, finally tied up to some trees (other boats doing likewise); as Robert says: Watch out for nettles! Ouch! As the base was closed for lunch until 2 (very French!) R and I walked over the bridge to a little Italian restaurant and had wonderful salads of avocado/mozzarella/tomato (why, oh why, can’t American tomatoes taste like this???) I went back to the boat, but R decided to hang around the boat base to see if we could find a place to moor. (Also, we were running on battery power-only without a shore hook-up...) R’s patience was rewarded, as three boats eventually moved out of the basin and we were able to get a prime spot in the harbor – and, yeah! electricity!! By this time it was almost dinner, so we headed back over to the Italian restaurant for some wonderful pizzas. Early night, as we were all tired, but there was some rowdy carryings-on across the canal! I had earplugs, and R closed the hatch; no problem!

Up and cleaning the boat by 8, ready for our turn-over inspection at 9. Inspected and out the door (they had called a taxi, which somehow managed to fit all of us AND all of the luggage quite comfortably!) by 9:20 a.m. Very efficient, but to be honest, I was glad that we were moving on, as in the close confines of the boat, my bumps, cuts and bruises just seemed to multiply! The cab dropped us off at the Carcassonne airport, where we had reserved a car ... and what a car!! Oh my! It’s like driving a Tour-de-France tour car; a walking advertisement! It’s an extremely comfortable Ford, but not like any I’ve ever seen! It has incredible room in the back (it’s wagon-like) for all of our luggage to store, and then be covered by the drape. Lots of room for passengers – even little fold out tables with places for cup like on airplanes! And more gadgets than you can shake a stick at! We’ve got some sort of radar system that beeps when you’re getting too close to something – and beeps faster the closer you get – it’s like a truck backing up! To be honest, it is a tad annoying when you’re trying to get into or around a tight space! But it has UEFA Barcelona Cup logo on the hood, and FORD and other writing (including something that looks like multi-colored bubbles) on each side! So...our vehicle throughout France! Oh my...A truly lovely drive from Carcassonne to Albi, where we had lunch. All back roads, and lovely scenery. After Brenda had her first Croque Monsieur (grilled ham and cheese with a fried egg on top...) and we had salads, we were off to the Peage (pay motorway) and Sarlat. Arrived around 4 – on a Saturday – and it was truly a mid-market nightmare! The map we had didn’t have directional indications on it, so it was difficult to follow. Looped around the city a couple of times, and finally got good instructions from the third person R asked! Problem was, when the big market is up (on Saturdays, naturally...) the main street to take luggage up is closed off! So, we parked where we could and schlepped the world’s largest supply of luggage to the hotel, Villa des Consuls. Thank you, Jay and Tommy!! It’s a BEAUTIFUL place! And as Brenda says – you can’t even touch the ceiling!! The apartment we have rented for the week is Montesquieu. It has two big bedrooms, one bath (incredible bathroom!), a large covered private balcony with chaise lounges and table and chairs, big living/dining room, and a kitchen! Wonderful! Settled in – SO nice to be able to have a place to actually put things!! There are also 3 FREE washers and dryers for guest usage! How great is THAT! Then went out for a walk – the market was just being packed up, and things were finally beginning to settle down. Had a good look around town – lovely to be back! Sarlat is a beautiful place, and we’re right in the middle of it! Had dinner at the Moulin de Roy; okay; R and I had entrecote, Brenda had quiche and salad, and Chris had coq au vin; again, lots of chocolate for dessert! Back to the apartment; to bed around 10:30.

So, now I’m just about caught up! Brenda and I both have loads of laundry going, we’re all bathed and ready to go down to breakfast (having it here this morning, as patisseries closed on Sunday...). Think we’ll tour Castelnaud, Domme & Beynac today ... more later!!

Much love,
m

A la canal du Midi

Allo! Allo!

Well, another interesting boat day yesterday...woke to cloudy skies; wondering if it would rain. Fortunately for us, it didn’t. The little restaurant (which is, for some inexplicable reason, closed for dinner every night except Friday-Sunday) was actually baking their own croissants and bread! Yum! Great smells! We got four croissants and two baguettes as well as a healthy supply of strawberry jam. R even had TWO cups of sludge! ... excuse me, café. We pushed off a bit after 9 (locks aren’t open until then), with R driving this time. And today, we only had SIX locks to go to reach Carcassonne! After our first day and goodness knows how many locks...this was indeed a pleasure! As it turns out, Chris is the only jumper we’ve got on board (other than R, who was driving). My knee was really problematic; capable of giving out at any moment, and when Brenda jumped for the first lock, over she went! So, our system became - R would get the front of the boat as close as possible to the side of the lock. Chris would jump off and I would throw him the bow rope, and Brenda would throw him the stern rope. Then, Chris would start tying them off, and either Brenda or I (or both) would get to shore (without any jumping dramatics) and would help to secure the boat. Then, as the boat started to fall in the lock, we would all get back on shore, and wait to release the ropes until the boat was ready to move on ... and then move on and do it all over again! We did talk to some people who said we were very lucky to be going downstream, the way we were – that doing locks upstream is even more difficult! Then, apparently, you have to let your jumper off first, before you enter the lock; then, that person follows the boat and when it enters the lock, they are there to catch the ropes being thrown up from below! Then, as the boat rises up in the lock, the jumper gets back on ... only to repeat when you hit the next lock. So, I consider ourselves VERY lucky (certainly didn’t have anything to do with us, as we’d never considered the issue!) to be going the direction we are...

At any rate, some very long, peaceful stretches with lovely trees lining the canal, and not another sound except for the birds chirping and the frogs (which are huge!) croaking! Only down side was after we’d stopped for our lunch-lock-break (locks close from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. for lunch)...I’m still not sure what happened, but we were pushing off, and I don’t know if my knee gave out or what, but suddenly I found myself sprawled on the ground with the boat heading away! Lovely scrape down my shin from the pebbles on shore ... haven’t had a scrape like that since I fell walking Indy a few years ago! OUCH! Fortunately, the captain of the boat decided to come back for me ... which was good, because I’m not sure what I would have done out in the middle of no where...and I say no where, because even though there was a sign indicating a restaurant/bar a 500 m, it wasn’t...Chris even walked to the nearest village, (total journey of about 5 km) and nothing! Pas de toute! So, back on the boat and four more locks and we were sailing into Carcassone Port. Very interesting, though, as you go from peaceful and quiet to beginning to see a few houses, to suddenly being in a very populated area! Bridges, cars, people, noise...We moored in Carcassone Port, which is fairly large and certainly well equipped; directly across the canal from the train station. Walked through the town to look for a place for dinner; nice look around, (stopping at a pharmacy for bigger bandages...) and doing some grocery shopping; drinks, some snacks, and laundry detergent, as there is a washer and dryer available for use at the port! Did two loads of wash – Brenda/Chris first, then us. We weren’t desperate for clothes, but my laundry issues were kicking in, and why pass up a perfectly good washing machine? Finished about 8 and headed into town for pizza! Yum! Wood-fired; great toppings; nice place. Had a nice evening. Brenda tried Iles Flotante (sp?); floating islands, which is a desert that Anne Vaughan really likes; Brenda loved it! Walked back (slowly) to the boat; lovely evening! To bed around 10.

Up about 7. R went to the nearest patisserie for pain au chocolat and croissants; we bought our own framboise jam yesteray; delicious! Now we are just cleaning up; it’s about 9 a.m. and we will be heading up into the old Cite soon – by taxi, though, as no way I could walk it up hill at the moment!!
So; more later!!

Love,
m

Buses...Trains...Boats...

Bonjour yet again!

At this moment, we are sitting quietly in our boat at the Porte de Bram. How we got here is quite the story!

Monday morning we were up very early (which was difficult as we were late to bed Sunday night, having had a great dinner at the Sargent Recruiter, on the Ile St. Louis) to get things cleaned up and ready to go on the next phase of our great adventure! Not too much cleaning, fortunately, as we had cleaned for Alain and Graciela’s visit on Friday night. But there was vacuuming and bathroom, and still we were out of the door by 6:30 a.m. for the bus – unfortunately, the 82 doesn’t start running until 7! Oh well!! Made it to Gare Montparnasse in about 15 minutes, and schlepped the incredible load (remember those Fedex-ed books?? 24 lbs. of them? Well, they had to go somewhere...) Met Brenda and Chris and only had a short wait for our TGV track to post. Took a little over 5 hours to get to Toulouse, where we were scheduled for a train change ... however... turns out, that even though I had asked, the train really wasn’t a train, it was, instead, a bus – which left from the bus depot right next to the train station! Mad scramble over there to the big luxury bus – and they accepted our train ticket, so no idea what was going on! So, big bus to the train station at Castelnaudary. We had been told that the boat basin was “very close”...right...especially if you’re schlepping suitcases, including a library! Chris and Brenda stayed with the luggage, and R and I went to look for Crown Blue Line. Found it; about ½ mile away. R started checking us in, and one of the employees, Pierre, took me back to the train station in his little van for Chris, Brenda and the loads of luggage. Our boat is lovely, but even though we had been upgraded to a larger (and much more posh) boat, there still wasn’t room for luggage! Are managing just, but not sure if we will ever find everything again! Pierre took us out on a familiarization cruise around the basin, and taught R and Chris how to run the boat. Incredibly warm and beautiful evening; loved floating around the boat basin. As it was now after 6, (and the locks close at 6) we decided to stay in the boat basin for the night. Pierre (my new best-friend!) drove us into town, which was wonderful, as we were able to catch the grocery store while it was still open! Bought water, cheese and cookies – most of the life’s essentials. It being Monday night not too much was open, but we did find the Maison du Cassoulet in Castelnaudary and ate there. Brenda and R had entrecote with wonderful home-made french friends, Chris had Cassoulet (which he says tastes like pork and beans...) and I had a great salad with feta and blue cheeses, tomatoes and radishes; just great! Brenda had chocolat fondant, Chris had creme brulee, R had the tarte au pomme, and I had glace au chocolat for dessert. We had the restaurant call a cab for us to take us back to the boat, which worked out well. We all pretty much hit the hay upon our return; early night, but we were all tired – mostly from schlepping luggage across the French landscape! The boat had finally begun to cool off (I think it was just being taken out for the first time of the new season, and had been closed up awhile...) but we slept with all doors and windows (or whatever you call them in nautical terms!) open. Very cool to wake up to, but we had great duvets to keep us warm if/when needed.

As part of my 10,000 steps, I took it upon myself to go in search of bread. Not wanting to find the obvious, for some reason I headed out of town rather than in to town ... more steps, perhaps? Finally turned back and headed to town...accosted a nice elderly (older than R, that is!) gentleman who had a baguette in his bag ... asked him where to find...he was very sweet; actually walked me back into town to the local boulangerie where I bought 2 pain au chocolat, 4 croissants and 2 baguettes. Lovely walk back; lots of steps. We had a nice breakfast, cheese, bread of various sorts and water; lovely!

About a quarter to 9, Pierre returned to take us through the first lock ... which actually turned out to be a set of FOUR locks all in a row! R drove, and Chris and I were crew – me in the front and Chris in the back. Got a good rhythm going, got through all the locks, and left Pierre to make his way back to the boat basin ... really will miss him! (Note: Okay ... here we were with the lovely little umbrella up keeping the top deck shaded – and now we start going under a bridge...well, at least we found out why the umbrella stand had a really large bend in it!! Just couldn’t get it out of its stand fast enough to save it from bending over!! Worried about it a bit (actually saw another boat do it after we did...) but R was able to pound the stand back into more-or-less the right shape, so now it works again! YEA!) After a few more locks, Chris took over the wheel, and actually ended up handling the boat the rest of the day. In total, we did 18 locks – and let me tell you, it wasn’t nearly as easy as one is led to believe (if one is easily led...). There really needs to be a minimum of three people on board – one to drive, one for the front of the boat and one for the rear. I did a REALLY stupid thing, which was jump off the boat onto the shore, and really wrenched my right knee...That was all I needed! Am not sure when I can even remember 1) physically working this hard, 2) being this dirty, and 3) having this many bandaids and bruises! (As a side note, when I tried to take the top of boat off with my head this morning, I bet with Brenda that by the end of the trip, that I will have more bruises that she will...I am positive I’m ahead; I’ve even somehow got a bruised ankle, which is very rare indeed!) My knee really limited my mobility, and Brenda was a terrific sport and jumped in (without wrenching either knee!) for me. I took many, many Advil (thanks, Nicole!) and rested a bit, and went back out on the lines for more...We hadn’t planned any too well as far as groceries were concerned...when we did the barge trip down the Loing Canal with Angus several years ago, it seemed that there were many little towns right on the canal! Here, however, they are mostly much farther back from the road. So, pushed on through our locks until we hit Bram – Chris even had to do the last four locks with another boat in the lock as well! He did a GREAT job, as steering a 40 foot boat is NOT easy...despite what the brochures tell you! One thing that we hadn’t really thought about or expected – the Pyrenees! We could see the mountains, still snow covered, in the distance – made for a beautiful frame for photographs! Once at Bram, R and I both tried out our shower – and it works amazing well; lots of fun, although we were really dirty! Changed clothes and decided to go in for supplies – and here is a quandry – if you go in early enough to catch an open grocery store, NONE of the restaurants are yet open for dinner! Bram, as it turns out, is a mile from the port, and the walking (especially with my knee...) was difficult, and done on the side of the road – with cars zipping past us at high speed! (No path other than the road, either.) We found the grocery and stocked up again with more cheese, tangerines, and cold cuts, as well as garbage bags and dish detergent, which we needed (and now I’ll have lovelier hands, as it has aloe vera in it!). Found that it would be at least an hour until the restaurant opened, and opted to take the one-cab-in-town back to the boat basin, and eat in...lovely picnic supper of all sorts of goodies. Nice and cool evening now, and we are all (finally) at rest. My right shoulder feels like it has been pulled out of its socket (from hanging on the boat rope in the locks) but my knee isn’t too bad, so there is hope for tomorrow! I predict that it will be an early night for all (it’s SO nice going places with readers...) – I KNOW it will be for me! Not sure how I’ve managed to do all this typing, but I wanted to get things down before I started to forget!

More later!!
Love,
m