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Thursday 4th August.
We all had a bit of a sleep in this morning as we didn't have to be ready by 9 am to achieve pole position at the first lock. Jan and I had bought a few slices of bacon and some eggs to have as a meal one night, but we decided to have a cook up for breakfast. Not a particularly easy task, but Kevin managed admirably. While cooking we decided to move the boat a bit closer to the power and water services, so Kevin kept cooking while we retied it. However, the power lead was about a metre too short, so we kept a watch out for someone to move out. Once the boat moved out in front of us Kevin did quite a complicated manoeuvre just as two more boats appeared in the pool and all tried to get into our space. Of course we yelled at them and stood our ground. It is quite competitive to get a good spot and most people are quite obliging to help, but some of the bigger boats seem to think they have priority.
Once hooked up again we settled down to breakfast. The bacon was really weird and Jan and I think it may have been horse!!! Tasted okay though.
Once we had cleaned up and done the washing - in a bucket sitting on the front of the boat, we headed into the town for a coffee and a stroll around. We are really almost in the centre of town, so it is just a short stroll. The town is absolutely beautiful with many half timbered houses, Gothic church built between 12th and 16th century and medieval statues. There are flower boxes everywhere there seems to be a real pride in the town.
The Nervernais canal which we have been negotiating for the last week off and on was build between 1784 and 1843 and was used primarily to transport wood to Paris due to the lack of fuel and over exploitation of the woods around Paris. Gradually the wood trains disappeared and left room for boats carrying stone and ore. Pleasure boating is now the canals main tourist activity and is considered as one of the most beautiful canals in Europe. We can bear witness to that. There are also miles and miles of canal paths that have been reconstructed to serve as bike trails and one can travel on relatively flat ground for hundreds of miles - my kind of biking. Mind you, I am going off biking quite quickly after recent events.
We have found that almost the whole of France closes down for lunch time, varying in length from 1.30 to 2 hrs. So back to the boat for our lunchtime beer (it is quite hot again today) and baguette and salad.
We went back into town about 2.45 and browsed around the shops, took loads of photos and tried to follow the complicated walking tour route but gave up. We did find a lovely wine cave (shop) and bought a couple of bottles of bubbly.
Just along the quay from where we are tied up there is a toilet and shower block which is set up for the boaties. There is only one toilet and shower each for Male and Female, but perfectly adequate and a pleasure to use and be able to stand up properly and spread out a bit. It is locked up at 6 pm and opens about 7 am, so we have all been for a shower before we go out to dinner tonight in the town. We found a charming little restaurant up in the old town which looks quite good. Will let you know.
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