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| Gruissan Beach |
Tuesday 8th September 2009
We stayed another night in Narbonne so we could see a Mediterranean Beach. Images of Cannes with sexy boats and beautiful people prompted this idea. Tourist Info gave us the local bus timetables and we thought we had it all worked out. We missed the bit, in French, on the timetable where we had to change to another bus. We did get to see a beach but not the one we had in mind. It was nothing like we had hoped for. Flat, deserted, no cool beach bars or eateries nearby. We were stranded for a good few hours with not a lot to do. Not many busses come and go this way. Not surprising either.
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| Gruissan Beach |
We ended up flagging down an out-of service bus back to another stop where we settled for the
next ride back to Narbonne. We gave up on the idea of going to Port de Plaisance. Thank God for the surprised bus driver who let us on his bus and our good that fortune he spoke some English. He kindly dropped us opposite a bus stop. Who knows how we would have got home?
Feeling a little disappointed we headed back to our boat to collect our laptop and then back to Tourist Info to avail ourselves of 2 hours free Wi-Fi. (pronounced Wiffy by the French, like we say Jiffy bags)
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| Narbonne |
The French have a slightly different keyboard to the English one. I struggled to find the correct letters. After our ‘Wiffy’ session we did a last shop up and settled back on our boat for the night. Since we had infinite water at the mooring we shampooed, shaved and got ourselves squeaky clean. We made a lentil bolognaise with the usual fresh green salad, yummy fruit, bread and selection of cheeses. With all the food we ate it’s no wonder we slept so well on the trip.
Wednesday 9th September 2009
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| Narbonne |
We read that the markets or Les Halles in French were worth visiting in Narbonne. and since they opened early and the locks only opened from 09.00, we popped in for a quick visit. We bought more dried figs, vine tomatoes, dried prunes and some salad greens. We would have visited every market in every town if we could. The array and presentation of food was always a treat.
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| A party of boats locking upward |
We had a busy day with 11 locks to get under our belts so we got going swiftly after that. Luckily these particular locks were automatic, which meant we didn't have to wait for slow and occasionally tardy lock keepers. It also meant the locks would be open though-out lunchtime. Meals in France are already a lengthy affair. Occasionally one finds oneself at the mercy of a lock keeper who takes extra long lunches which can hinder progress on the canals.
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| A staircase lock - multiple locks together |
The canals had been fairly quiet but this day there was plenty traffic. People fly their national flags on their boats whether hired or owner-driver. A surprising assortment of nationalities passed by. We had a brief lunch stop at Salleles d’Aude and headed back up to where we first collected our boat at Argen-Minervois. We moored with a little difficulty, as it was slightly windy. At this spot we had access to showers and water but not a lot went on in this tiny place. Most people stayed on their boats.
Click here for Barging in France Day 9 and 10.
Go to - My Holidays and Trips - at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on - this link.Labels: barging in France, blog, blogsherpa, boat holiday, Canal du Midi, France, ideas, information, Lonely Planet, Narbonne, news, tips, travel, what to do
