28 May to 2 June
2017
28 May 2017:
Charmes to Thaon-les-Vosges. 5 hours 10 minutes (including 30 minutes stuck in
lock 21), 15.5 kilometers, 9 locks.
A pleasant
and almost uneventful cruise
 |
| This lock needs a haircut. |
past Vincey and Portieux where I had hoped to stop
and visit Vincey’s museum of military art but the two jetties shown in the
Fluviacarte did not materialize, past a very pretty mooring at Nomexy
but one
strewn with rubbish, evidence of the weekend’s youth gatherings, and finally
into lock 21 where the doors refused to open and let us out. Lynn contacted the
VNF via the intercom attached to the operator’s hut and half an hour later a
most cheerful lockie arrived and sorted out the problem – this on a Sunday at
lunchtime! Our place in the lock was taken by a Danish ex-hireboat and Hyperion, not to my eye one of the prettiest boats around.
 |
| Each to their own. |
The long
quay just after the lock (not the town’s port which is after lock 20) was
partially occupied by the sand-carrier Mica
and a lovely Isle of Man flagged replica barge Bella Fortuna – somewhat different in that it had an outside
steering position aft of the wheelhouse;
they departed soon thereafter and we
were left with Mica to contemplate
the large, grassy field laid out for a forgotten urban development with a huge
super U supermarket at its edge.
 |
| It was well hidden. |
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| Boulangerie in brown building on left, Super U on right and Aldi in between. |
The town looks like a typical post-war, urban
corridor so we decided to relax on board rather than going exploring.
29 May 2017:
Thaon-les-Vosges to Epinal. 3 hours 30 minutes, 10.3 kilometers, 6 locks.
Another
‘made to order’ day greeted us for the trip to Epinal but first it was a trip
to the Super U to try and change our one gas bottle, refused because it had an
Antargas label but Butagas markings and was not the right colour. But we did
come away with wine from both the Super-U and the next door Aldi as well as a
baguette and two pain chocolat from
the big, new boulangerie next to the Aldi.
The going to
Epinal was slow as we had to wait first for Mica
to very slowly lock through in front of us and then for her sister ship to come
through the other way. Finally we passed Mica
offloading her cargo
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| Mica being unloaded. |
before passing through two more locks and turning into the branch canal which leads to Epinal. A pretty enough thirty minute cruise
 |
| Embranchment d'Epinal |
 |
| A small airfield. |
gets you to the Port de Plaisance which is just under two kilometres from the
center of the town;
 |
| Arjan and Elle |
 |
| A live aboard opposite us. |
 |
| A view from the south. Elle is on the left near the back. |
 |
| Paul and Pam |
At €6.50 a
day for a 12 meter boat, including water and electricity, the port is great value especially being set in a lovely park which is far enough away from the residential areas not to attract loiterers and rowdy youngsters. There is a public
toilet attached to the bicycle hire shop at the end of the quay but there are
no showers.
 |
| Unfortunate - youngsters using a long-stayer as a dive platform. Soon chased away though. |
 |
| A pick-up game of touch rugby! |
 |
| The Port Captain's home. |
We both
enjoyed Epinal a lot! From the old town center, clustered against the right
bank of the fast flowing Moselle, with its imposing old church with its Gothic
arches and lovely stained glass windows,
a large and well supported covered
market,
the square surrounded by restaurants,
and the many boulangeries,
traiteurs, charcuteries,
boutiques and imposing old buildings and landmarks
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| A memorial to both World Wars |
 |
| 1892 meteorological station |
 |
| Joan of Arc |
to the post-war rehabilitated Left Bank, scruffier and with more department store-like shops, pizzerias and artisan businesses but with a definite vibe of its own.
 |
| Across the Moselle |
 |
| A boaters nightmare |
 |
| A canoe course through the middle of the city! |
 |
| The Moselle |
And the
one hundred and eighty two square meter stained glass window of the Notre-Dame
au Cierge is not to be missed
and neither is the Roman Villa (Maison Romaine)
with its rose garden housing some 500 varieties – it was lovely at the end of
May but in a month’s time it will be spectacular.
The trip up to the ruined 13th
Century chateau is well worth it, not only for the views but also just to enjoy the large
park.
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| Waterfall from old city wall. |
 |
| Ruin with a view |
We also tried the plat at the Captainerie restaurant at the end of the quay and they must have been having an off day as the packed daily restaurant served a fairly unmemorable meal.
 |
| Poission blanc and Jambon 'tandoori' |
Sometimes we prefer our own!
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| The biggest cuisses de poulet ever! |
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| Ciusse de canard done on the Weber. |
We (I)
decided to stay an extra day in Epinal so that we could take the 6 kilometre
ride to the restored fortifications at Uxegney despite it not being a Sunday,
the only day on which guided tours are conducted. Before setting off sometime mid-morning
I remembered that the back wheel of my eBike needed pumping – and then the
bursting sidewall, held together by bits of (strong) cotton, made itself known.
So fortification plans were deferred, the offending tyre was cable-tied to the
rim and, under Lynn's Waze directed instructions, we rode into the commercial area north of Epinal only to be told at the
first ‘velo’ shop that they did not have our size tyres. At the next big bike
shop we found two tyres of the required size but they were only available in
WHITE!!! – Beggars can’t be choosers. And back at Elle Lynn’s bike fell over of its own accord - well almost. Her
back tyre was punctured and had flattened causing the bike to overbalance so I
changed two tyres and one tube and the fortifications will have to be on
someone else’s agenda.
While I was
busy another couple came and borrowed tools to fix one of their bikes.
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| Cullen Cycle Works |
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| Now a real girly bike... |
We head
south tomorrow.
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