Italy and Switzerland

We took a leave of absence from Oldtimer this past week and drove (in our car) to Italy and Switzerland. What a treat.


We spent our first night in Annecy France which is a most beautiful place. We were lucky enough to have gone there in June to visit our friends from Vail, Jane and Joel Gros. We were anxious to return again- the swimming is great. Our second night was on Lago di Garda in Italy. Another beautiful lake and also great swimming. Our destination the next day was to stay in the Dolomites for 3 days and hike.


The Dolomites are extraordinary. The hiking and views are fabulous - it often seems like a Hollywood movie back drop. The people in the Dolomites , although Italian, mostly speak German. This portion of Italy was once in Germany. It is bounded on the North by Austria and on the west by Switzerland and Liechtenstein. We arrived in the Dolomites to a small valley called the Val di Funes. It is a little off the beaten path and as a result as Americans we were definitely odd man out. The majority - perhaps even all - the guests at the hotel where we stayed were German. It was one of the first times we did Half Board with a Hotel and this turned into a nice experience as we did not have to think about breakfast or dinner just hiking. Lunch each day was available in one of the many Refugios in the mountains. As you will see in the photos lunch one day came with music by the "Blues Brothers." We would really recommend if you have the chance to go to the Dolomites - do so!


We went onto Switzerland after 3 days. We have apologized to our children for spending their entire inheritance in Switzerland. A wonderful country and so beautiful but also so expensive. We drove over at least 6 passes to get there as we were determined to SEE the mountains. We stayed for 2 nights in a small town outside of Interlaken - Winderswill. Our intention was to ride the train and cog railway to Klein Scheidegg just below the Junfrau and hike from there. Unfortunately it was raining so it provided another eating opportunity and a small amount of hiking. While we were there the Switzerland national wrestling championship was taking place in Interlaken. The participants are local farmers and the event is over a weekend. The grand prize for this event is a huge Bull. As outsiders we found this a hoot to watch but realized this is a national sport and great fun for the Swiss.
We are now back in St Leger sur Dheune. A great experience and lovely biking. Yesterday we rode through the vineyards, on a Voie Romaine, visited several tiny villages, saw chateaux, spent the evening with some French friends ( all speaking French - exhausting) and today it is back to painting and cleaning and doing laundry. Lest you think this is all fun and games.
We are planning on leaving for the USA September 28th. We have several buyers "humming " around the boat but no commitments yet. We shall see.
We are back home on Oldtimer and prepping for our return to the USA. We are planning on leaving the 28th of September.

Sancerre Vendage

On the right side of the BLOG is a place labeled "Jalbums". Just click on the space and it will take you to a wonderful site that does justice to the photos. I am still working with it and will have more photos of the vendange. As you click through be sure to see all the photos by clicking on the arrow on the right of the photos at the top.
The vendange is the French word for grape picking and the beginning of the process of making wine. It is a special time. When we arrived in Sancerre this fall it was about a week before the beginning of the vendange. The grape vines were resting and doing the best they could to be the best grapes ever. There were no workers, no trucks/vans - nothing was happening . There was stillness, a serenity in the vineyard that was just magical.
The second week we were there the vendange started on a monday and the energy level changed dramatically. People were working in the fields both by hand and machine. The smell of the crushed grapes perfumed the air in the village. Life was good!
Some of the photos I took were early in the morning before the sun came up. At the base of the village of Sancerre is the Loire Lateral Canal and the River Loire. In the fall the cool nights produce heavy fog over the areas of water. As the sun rises this becomes an unusual sight. Tulah and I were running through the vineyards and as we turned around at the top we were able to see this fabulous vision.
It is our favorite place to be in the fall. So very special.

Drinking coffee in France

Coffee in France is delicious. The French , the Dutch and the Italians have mastered the art of coffee beyond anything in the USA, anything. But once again we ( Eric and I ) had a lot to learn. Our first clue should have been when we realized the 10 year old car we purchased - don't laugh it is a Ford Mondeo station wagon with duct tape on all but one corner of our bumpers- had no cup holders. By the time we bought the car , just last year, we were thoroughly indoctrinated into "coffee" French style.

You really have to search and search to find something such as coffee to go. Unless you are in Paris where there are Starbucks. The coffee to go phenomena of America just does not exist in France. The French go to the local bar, bistro, brasserie to have their coffee when not at home. It is a quick cup of coffee. Lingering does not often happen with coffee in France but in the bars there will be locals starting on their wine or Pernod in the morning. The coffee is a one shot expresso in a "petite" cup. If you want cream you ask for a "noisette." Adorable but not what American's who drink "big gulps" and "Ventes" expect. So you adjust and once you have made the mistake of drinking more than one of petite cafe at a sitting you start to slow down and enjoy this little slice of life. See there is that "slow down" thingy again.

The hardest thing for us to manage was to find a place where you could have a coffee and a pastry. There are a lot of tea rooms in the bigger cities and they are great, lucious pastry and great coffee. But in the country side it is impossible. So we started to do as the French do - you go to the Boulangerie ,buy your pastry and take it into the local bar to have your coffee. We have to admit one other vice that is going to make you laugh at us. We now have found that McDonalds has McCafes- you can get a great capuccino and a pain au raisin for very little money. But we have to admit that McDonalds, which is unfortunately everywhere in Europe, does not add to the French experience.

Coffee also is priced according to location. If you drink it at the bar standing up it is the lowest price. If you have it at a table it costs a bit more and if you have it outside at a table it maybe a bit more.

The other phenomena in France is coffee is the very last item at the very end of your meal. You may not have it with dessert. We have tried and tried and failed each time. Even if you are not having dessert and there is someone in your group having dessert - you may not have your coffee until they are done. This usually becomes a game at each meal that we eat in a restaurant and to our delight the French have never failed to do what we now expect - coffee after dessert. It is worth the wait.

Off we go..... Cruising 2009!!!!

Well we finally left the Port of Roanne. Not easy - Eric needed to renew his passport and we had to wait for its return. Of course it was more complicated than that but the passport arrived Wednesday the 19th and we left on Thursday the 20th of May. So good to be out of Port. The noise. We stopped in Melay, on the Roanne/Digoin Canal, for 2 nights then on to Coulanges, on the Loire Lateral Canal, for one night and then Beaulon where we have been since the 23rd of May. Beaulon is a small village with a post office , great bakery, a fabulous Traiteur with the best moules we (Simon, May, a great couple from Roanne on the boat Joie de Vivre, Eric and I) have had - yes without a doubt!





The day we arrived in Beaulon there were 7 other boats - all but 2 were from Roanne. Of course there was a "happy hour" at 5:00pm each evening. After about 3 days some of the boats left and we were left to paint along with Simon and May. Work , work , work.......





During our last 2 days in Beaulon a family arrived - Dad, Mom, 3 young children, a dozen or so chickens, a goat, a pony, five dogs as well as one who was only 14 days old, a cage with 2 birds - and a Roulotte ( a customized wooden home/trailer usually drawn, in the old days, by a horse and now by a truck) with a whimsical sign on the side saying this was the Fortuna Major Circus. At first we thought it was gypsies but not so. They were a wonderful family who are living a very simple life. No electricity, the goat provides milk and cheese, the parents juggle and play music, the kids are charming and delightful.



By coming to Beaulon we have gone the opposite direction of where we want to go but only by about 30km. As we left Roanne we noticed that the Roanne/Digoin Canal which is about 55km long was quite low on water. We had been noticing that the Loire River is also quite low. We also found that there was a bit of debris that we were encountering as we went along. So we decided that perhaps going to the Centre, Bourgogne, Nivernais and then Loire Lateral might be a better choice than the other way around. We are aware that the Bourgogne and the Centre struggle during low water years. So with that said we have come to Beaulon to paint because it is quiet and a comfortable place to be. We found out this past Friday the 29th that the Canal Roanne/Digoin has closed due to a break in the canal wall. So an explanation for the low water in the canal as we left the week before. The sad and infuriating part is that there are still boats now stuck in Roanne for the summer as it is likely to take several months to repair the Canal - and this is the 2nd time in 3 years this has happened.



The Canal system was mostly built in the 1800s. This particular canal was built between 1830 and 1838. The canals are old but they also have problems with burrowing animals, tree roots and just saturated soil. So understandable that there will be problems. We sometimes encounter problems with the old locks ( "ecluse" in French) as they mechanically fail and occasionally we have awakened on a canal to find that a significant amount of water has drained out of that particular pound between 2 locks. But a complete break in the wall of a Canal is unusual and difficult to repair because of the remoteness of the location as well as the remainder of the Canal wall that must be refitted as well.



So we are now, after leaving Beaulon, going in the direction of the Centre Canal which is the southern Bourgogne region of France - lots of great wine.

Shopping in France

Shopping in France is both a delight and puzzlement. There is a wide variety of shopping from Bricorama(Home Depot), to Carrefour (similar to a huge Safeway), to open air markets, to vide greniers(community garage sales), to Emaus ( a catholic charity)to all the other things you might need or want. The puzzlement though is often when and where do you go for what?

The usual decision you make about milk or socks or a nail or Ibiprofen or a tool in the USA is not the usual decision you make in France. Not all stores are created equal and not all stores carry the same thing from one day to the next.

The French are very adaptable to this style of shopping and shopping for the French is really a social process and community experience. They have used the markets as a social gathering places for centuries. Americans are much more goal oriented and often we have such a specific goal in mind that we (read "I") become easily frustrated. The idea in France is to see what is there then make a decision - do not go with a list!

As an example, when you go to the supermarket in France you need to know to bring a 1 Euro piece and shopping bags. I have been in Europe for 4 years and I can still only remember this maybe 2 out of 3 times. The 1 Euro piece is to get a shopping cart - the store wants to be sure you are going to bring it back and the bags are so that you can pack your own groceries and recyle the shopping bag , all really brilliant ideas. I have to tell you about my first week in France when we went to the market. We put in our 1 Euro piece and got a cart. The French shopping cart navigates sideways and this is without your help. It has taken several years for me to learn how to drive one of the French shopping carts. Anyway we entered the store and the first thing I did was go sideways into a shelf of red wine at the end of one of the aisles. So much for fitting in - several gallons of red wine were all over the floor. Eric now often goes a different way than I do in the store.

At any rate once you enter a market - Carrefour, Geant, Auchun, Lidyl,Simply- you are in for a life changing experience. Slow down your heart rate and your pace because you are going to come unglued otherwise. The French "meander" to do their shopping. It is a process, they meet friends, they want to look at the labels, the shopping cart is just an old friend hanging out with them often in the middle of the aisle, not unusual to find 6 friends chatting in the middle of somewhere and totally unaware that no one can go around them, the French have no radar so they are often unaware of your presence behind them, the space you are occupying is free space - they have a very different sense of personal space , if you are looking at the kiwis you will suddenly realize that you have a crowd of French looking with you. Children do not run amok in the stores nor do they yell and scream, Saturday afternoon ( after 3:00pm) is really the wrong time to try to shop as it is family shopping time and very crowded . Stores are mostly closed on Sunday.

Meat cuts are very different than the USA and the meat is very lean. The French love meat, variety meats, horse meat, body part meats(brains, stomach,head). They also love grenouille (frog's legs), eel, rabbit and ofcourse escargot. Butter (which the French do not eat with their bread) and baquettes are plentiful and delicious (hence the extra 10 lbs). There is a Boulanger/Patisserie on almost every corner and you can be overwhelemed by the variety of baguettes. I sometimes just ask the owner to tell me what baquette to buy. Almost all the markets have wonderful fish and the cheese department is to die for - there must be at least 100 different varieties of cheese just to start with (hence the other 10 pounds).

The fruits and vegetables that are available in the markets and open air markets are fabulous!!!!!!! Buying wine is extraordinary - a good bottle of wine can be bought for 4 Euro ($5.25) a great bottle of wine for 8 Euro ($10.50)and a truly fabulous bottle for 15 Euro($20.00).

So there you are in the supermarche - you have finally found that American peanut butter you have been craving , the baguette, toilet paper and all the other things you just cannot live without - now it is time to go to the check out stand. Patience! Sense of humor! Deep breathing! You can see a short line - don't get fooled as this is often the place where trouble lies. Sometimes there is someone at the front of the line who is buying for 3 different people so there are really 3 transactions that are going to take place. You will also find out that the French do not make a final decision about anything until it is packed and paid for or they will have just remembered something and believe me when I tell you everyone waits patiently while they go in search of the missing item.

At the check out stand the clerk greets the person " Bonjour Madame" and starts to scan the items. But you will have noticed prior to this that the customer has spent a great deal of time arranging the items on the conveyer belt often changing them around several times so that they are color matched or .......The customer then walks around to the other end of the conveyer belt to collect their items. There is protocol to all this. The next customer does not cross the line that takes them past a vertical scanner. You need to stay a descrete distance back from the person doing the current transaction -I know it flies in the face of their usual crowding of personal space. They have brought their own bags ( they didn't forget) and start to pack the items away - very carefully - one thing at a time - answering the cell phone - talking to the clerk - just having a nice time. Then when all is packed away often long minutes after everything has been scanned they then start looking for their payment method of choice; cash, debit card, check. In America you would not be caught dead without your choice of payment ready to go as the people behind you would be sighing and tapping their feet. In France you take your time, look through the whole purse, rearrange the furniture in the purse then you find it and start carefully writing the check. Finally the transaction is done - but now they must say goodbye and wish the clerk a nice day and she them and then finally pick up their bags. Only now the clerk is able to turn her attention to the next customer and will do so only when the other customer has completely left the check out stand with all bags in hand. So the process begins again - " Bonjour".

One day while I was standing in line a small older ( this is completely relative and a little like the pot calling the kettle black) woman was behind me with 2 items. I asked her if she would like to go ahead in my best French "Allez y , Madame"- I am a guest in this country and feel I should behave myself - at any rate on she went ahead of me. Then a nun (this is not a joke) came up with 2 bananas in her hand - well what would you do? so the nun went ahead. Then a young man came up with 2 beers and of all the people so far he was the only one that actually asked if he could go ahead - I couldn't say no, I am a guest in this country - so he went ahead. I then turned around wondering what or who was next and realized that the line behind me was becoming really really long by this time. I had totally failed to engratiate myself with this long line of French people.

Yes you can buy Foie Gras , crunchy baguettes, creme fraiche, petite haricot verte, fresh baby artichokes, luscious lettuce, fabulous chocolate and other assorted delights in the supermarkets. As you can see from the pictures above the outdoor markets are a visual delight and something the French do so very well. They are filled , year around, with wonderful produce and our personal favorite roast chicken. In our town there are 2 outdoor markets a week on Tuesday and Friday morning. In the surrounding area - no more that 15 minutes drive/bike ride - there are more outdoor markets than you can count. As we go along during the summer we are always checking to see when the outdoor markets are in each of the towns/villages were we moor.

As a practical matter if you come to France you will find - Ibiprofen at the Pharmacist, Lense cleaner at the Eye Glass store, vitamins at the Pharmacist, dog food at the nursery/garden store. There are no Targets and Walmarts. Just enjoy the way of life; no hurry, polite, traditional, warm, helpful !

Second installment of moving to Europe and finding a barge.

Well there we were in Paris with 2 dogs and 6 bags and exhausted and cranky and I think stunned that we had actually done it. A little like Chinese cooking - a lot of prep work. We rented a car and drove for another 5 hours- not sure why we made that decision -to get to St Jean de Losne where we had arranged to live in a Gite while we searched for our new home(barge). St Jean de Losne is the French barging capital. There are several barge brokers and it was a good place to start our search. We looked at a number of barges and it was not to be - they were all months long to life long projects(read money pits). Our preference was something that would not consume us with all work and no fun. We know this was a ridiculous expectation when you start with a barge that was most likely built in the late 1800s to early 1900s. But there is always hope and naivete. You need to know that neither Eric nor I had ever owned,lived on, or had any experience with a boat and we were from a ski area 8500 feet in the Rocky Mountains. Now in Eric's favor was a short and unlikely stint in the Coast Guard. He was a navigator but swears that the most he did was scrape and paint in Bermuda. So we had no luck in finding a barge in St. Jean de Losne and neighboring St Symphorien. We departed after about 10 days to go and look at 3 other boats in Paris . They were just as disappointing but would be great for someone who needed a project. We then went on to The Netherlands. The Netherlands is the "home" of barges. Most barges were originally built in The Netherlands. Now please understand we are still in "stunned" mode and we have just switched countries and cultures and language. We were staying in Hotels with 2 dogs, 6 bags and assorted stuff that needed to be hauled out and in with each stop along the way. To say nothing of finding a laundromat - a challenge beyond belief. One day we spent an entire afternoon looking for a laundromat that was all of 10 minutes from where we started. The Dutch could not give us directions because they always go there on their bicycles(the principle means of transportation) not by car. The Dutch geography is such that there are canals and water everywhere so driving directly is not an option. When we finally arrived the owner of the laundromat was so delighted to see us ( he had just opened this laundromat) and he could obviously tell we were at the end of our endurance. He immediately gave Eric a beer and me a cup of coffee and welcomed us warmly to his new store. Again we were saved from a meltdown by the generosity and kindness of the people we met.

We met with a number of barge brokers and again saw many, many barges that were life long projects. We were in Enkhuizen(looking at the last barge on our list of barges) a lovely ,lovely port village on the Iljsemeer, when we were thinking we might as well just go to Spain for the winter and then decide what to do next. No boats on our horizon and we were getting really tired after 4 weeks of traveling and looking.


We connected to the internet just one more time and found a boat broker we should have found before we left the USA. He was in England(Bowcrest Marine) but had a Dutch connection. So off we went to Elburg to meet Peter Dejong at De Elburgscheepsbemiddleing (no kidding this is the name of his business - the Dutch like to run words together) and his fabulous and wonderful assistant Mandy. They had the barge and long story short we bought "Oldtimer." We loved Elburg so much that we asked that the owner of "Oldtimer" with Eric bring the boat from Mepple to Elburg so that we could spend the winter there - this is now November. There are a million more stories that go along with this time period but too many to tell; we came for one night to a lovely bed a breakfast called the "Rose Garden" (Martha Stewart eat your heart out)in Elburg and they let us stay for a month(with 2 dogs) breakfast included each morning and all for 50 euros a night, Mandy drove us all over Holland, Sudi had a shoulder infection that required an emergency operation, the central heating boiler on our barge was from the early 1800s and nothing is colder than a cold barge, making a telephone call to our bank in the USA was a challenge, opening a bank account in Holland was nothing short of a miracle and very funny, Peter and Mandy helped us beyond the call of duty, food in Holland is ham, kaas and brood(ham and cheese and brown bread)and the world famous Stomperpot(mashed potatoes and kale) as well as Erwtensoep(delicious Pea Soup), you bike into the wind no matter which direction you go, the Dutch are extraordinary people in so many ways and we just loved being there, the tulips and flowers are fabulous, yes you can pass your boat licensing exam in Dutch, we provided entertainment for the locals with our lack of boat handling skills, our favorite Dutch word is "winkelwagentje" meaning shopping cart, we thought "Alle Richtingen " was someone famous when it really means "all directions."

Our mooring in Elburg - we were lucky enough to be moored next to two of the most beautiful three masted ships both of which had been built in the 1800s. The entrance to the town of Elburg.(picture below). The entrance is over the moat/canal which runs around the town , then you walk through the main gate of a fortified wall. The town was only about 4 square blocks and just charming.

Molly and Tulah, our two dogs, were our ticket to meeting some wonderful friends, as we ran around the dike that surrounds Elburg, each morning. We met Gra and her wonderful family with"Dior" - we had Christmas with in their home and Gerda and "Kiria"- we spent New Years in their home. We were so lucky and so out of our element. It makes for wonderful stories and some very funny experiences. At the time, though, we certainly had moments of "what are we doing here?"

So enough for now - next chapter is our , not the boats, maiden voyage from Elburg on April 17, 2006. It felt very much like we were leaving home.

Sancerre, France

Welcome to the first posting of our adventures with "Oldtimer" blog. Although we have 3 years of history with the ship and many adventures , we will begin with where we are now. The picture above is on the grounds of Fountainbleau which we were lucky enough to see in September. We moored "Oldtimer" in Moret sur Loing on the Loing Canal. From there it was a quick 40minute bike ride to Fountainbleau. A spectacular place to visit. This summer we began our travels on June 4th when we left our winter port of Roanne. We traveled up the Roanne/Digoin Canal , turned left onto the Loire Lateral Canal , right onto the Loire River to the Nivernais Canal, onto the Yonne River, the Seine River, then left to the Loing Canal, the Briare Canal and back onto the Loire Lateral Canal as we head back to Roanne for the winter. We are now in Sancerre the most beautiful and lovely wine country . The 2008 Vendage (grapes,leaves photo) has begun and the energy and smell of the harvesting of the grapes is quite wonderful. Today we rode about 30km - not far - to a wonderful valley filled with grape vines We went to St. Gemme and Sury en Vaux - quaint, charming and glorious villages right out of a picture book.

Life on "Oldtimer" is pretty calm this year. Our first couple of years on the canals and rivers certainly had moments of panic and anxiety as we learned to manage the barge. This year we even completed several rivers with ease -knock on wood. Rivers can often be more difficult as we have to contend with commercial barges, current, wind, barages(dams) and the few and far between mooring places. The upside of the rivers , particularly the Yonne River, is being able to visit such beautiful places as Auxerre, Joigny, Villeneuve and Sens. All of these places are old, old villages with some great architecture and beautiful churches. For two non religious types we have visited more churches than we can count.

A LITTLE HISTORY

Rather than recount our past 3 years all at once - we thought we would do a piece with each blog . Sometime in 2002 - we think - the mid life crisis hit - "What are you going to do with the rest of your life." Our next door neighbors sold their home and bought a huge mobile home. I said " Eric lets do that , think of the freedom." Eric said " I am not driving on the highways of America with a huge box for a home." About that time there was an article in a magazine about people who live on their boats in the USA. So we spent the next two years going to different harbors and boat shows - Miami, Salomens Island, Puget Sound to look at boats. We were looking for a trawler type of boat , particularly a Defever. In the meantime Eric was working to get the house in order to put on the market. He remodeled bathrooms and other assorted fixes. Then along came my 60th birthday. My kids - bless them- threw a huge suprise birthday party.The following week Eric, Thom(our oldest son) and I left for 10 days on a rental boat on the Canal du Midi in southern France. Well that and another magazine article about people living on boats on the canals of Europe and we were sold. We put the house on the market in June 2004 , it sold in March 2005 and closed in June 2005. We sold all our accumulated junk, put a few things in storage,then traveled to see friends and family by car(Montana, Michigan, Nova Scotia, Maine) and spent the month of September in Charlottesville ,Virginia where Eric's 92 year old (at the time)Mother lives. September 24th we flew to Paris with 6 bags and 2 dogs. We must have been nuts. Do you know that customs did not even look at us? To be continued.........