Living on the French canals

So what is life like for us living on the French canals? In a word, it’s wonderful. There’s so much to see when we’re underway, like wildlife and different scenery and there’s so much to do once we arrive at our destination. Ivan and I are loving our break from work in France.

Choisey – a cute little village on the French canals

We had a great little mooring spot in Choisey and exploring the town was a delight. When we came into town on the boat we saw a chateau so we went to find it the next day on our bikes. It doesn’t look very big in the photo below but the building and the grounds are impressive. Near the chateau was the Mairie which is kind of like the town’s council chambers. The stone architecture of France is stunning.

The Osselle Caves

One night we stayed in a town called Osselle which is famous for its caves which were discovered in the 1200s. The caves stretch for over 8km but the part open to tourists is just over 1km long. Throughout the French Revolution they were used as a hiding place and you can see black marks on the walls of the caves from the resin from ancient torches. Definitely worth a visit.

More discoveries on the French canals

Living on the French canals gives you the opportunity to discover areas most tourists never go to. Everywhere you go in France, there’s history to discover. And many interesting finds are not marked on any map. We just love riding around and looking at old stone buildings and trying to work out what they would have been used for. Ivan noticed this old stone archway in a tiny village called Rochefort-sur-Nenon and guessed its use.

The natural beauty of France is extraordinary. Everywhere you go there’s something stunning to see. And we’re getting plenty of exercise!

Traveling on the French canals is enjoyable

We love stopping and exploring but we also love being underway. For some reason, I prefer to steer with my feet (otherwise I tend to oversteer). Who knew my feet could be so dextrous? Canal boats generally go at the pace of a fast walk. Our boat could go faster, but why would we? We’ll get there when we get there. Also, it’s better to go a bit slower to protect the canal banks. So we putt along at a leisurely pace and joggers and speed walkers along the canal paths overtake us.

When you’re living on the French canals, there’s always something interesting to see coming into a new place. Here’s a video coming into the town of Dole. I mispronounced the name of the Doubs river – oops! The S on the end is silent.

And of course the locks add an extra interesting element as they are all different and keep us on our toes.

The weather plays a big part

But it’s not always smooth sailing and the weather can interrupt our plans.

The blooper reel for the video above is quite funny (I’ll add it at the end) although Ivan did almost get struck by lightning! Oops.

When we are out in the countryside we always try to tie up somewhere nice and quiet for the night away from a main road so that we can get a good sleep. Waking up to mist rising from the canals is a pure joy.

Shopping for food is easy when there are so many towns that have fresh produce, boulangeries (bakeries) and little supermarkets. A few days ago we rode into a little village in the morning and passed by a field of sunflowers.

Washing day on the canal boat

There’s always little chores to do on the boat, like cleaning and minor repairs. Washing day is interesting. Coin operated washing machines are not hard to find but because we’re too tight to pay for a drier our boat always ends up looking cluttered.

The blooper reel

As promised, here’s Ivan out in the electrical storm. Yes, we are idiots.