After our trip to Scotland to see the Edinburgh Tattoo and Denmark to sail the Dragonfly boat, Ivan and I were keen to head back to France. It was time to return to a slower pace on our French canal boat, Laura. She was waiting for us in Saint-Jean-de-Losne and we were very happy to see her. Home sweet home! It was wonderful to be back in our own comfy bed.
Learning the language
Ivan and I are trying hard to learn French. It’s not easy but we’re definitely improving. One of the things we love is the way French people have an expression to wish you well for just about every activity. They will say bon voyage before a trip, or bon navigation to us as we’re about to head off in our boat. There’s bon journee (have a nice day), bon appetite (enjoy your meal), bon vacance (enjoy your holiday) and so many others. There’s also bon route, which you say to cyclists or motorists. It’s an expression with a completely different meaning in Australia, but in France it is no problem.
Our first visitors
My mum Lorna and her twin Margaret (Aunty Beany) who had joined us for the Tattoo were our very first guests on our French canal boat. We had a wonderful five nights with them on Laura and we visited some beautiful spots such as Pontailler-sur-Saone, Auxonne and Gray.
Look how gorgeous these two sisters are together. They are 79 years old and despite one of them living in Perth and the other in Brisbane, they speak to each other every day. What a joy it was to have some quality time with them just cruising around regional France.
Gray is worth a visit
Our last stop with mum and Aunty Beany was the village of Gray. It has a population of only around 6,000 people but has the most incredible art gallery in an old chateau perched high on the hill in the middle of town. Called the Musee Baron Martin, the art gallery has a huge collection of historic and modern art. At the time we visited, there was a Salvador Dali exhibition with about 100 of his paintings, sculptures and sketches. How special to be able to see his works in a regional art gallery. The bottom floor of the chateau has an underground cellar (nice and cool on a hot day) which houses a museum featuring archaeology relics found in the region including some from the 4th and 5th century BC. Definitely a must see if you are in the region.
We dropped mum and Aunty Beany off to the bus stop in Gray for them to continue their adventures in Dijon, Paris and then London. I was so sad to see them both go as we’d had an excellent time and we love them dearly. So to get over our blues Ivan and I explored Gray.
Marketing 101
Wandering around Gray we met a sweet older lady who had a cute dog. We patted her dog and she spoke to us in French about a fantastic crepe restaurant that was just around the corner. She gave it her top recommendation. We decided to come back for lunch after exploring the town. Imagine our surprise when we walked into the restaurant to find the older lady with the dog was the owner and chef! We had a bit of a chuckle at her excellent marketing skills and settled down for the best crepes we had eaten in France. Simply delicious!
The owner was incredibly friendly and reminded me a bit of mum and Aunty Beany – caring, eccentric, sweet and with a cheeky sense of humour. And she is a dog lover, so to us, she’s perfect. The atmosphere in the restaurant was so friendly and fun that we got chatting to the other guests. It was one of those special experiences we will never forget. We noticed a few down-on-their-luck older locals visited the restaurant while we were there and the owner fed them and chatted to them without taking payment. She obviously supports a lot of people with her generosity. She’s like a big hearted grandma that won’t let anyone go hungry.
So if you visit Gray (and we highly recommend it), you must do two things. Firstly, visit the Musee Baron Martin. And finally of course, go and have a crepe and be spoiled by a beautiful, big-hearted grandma at the Bar – Creperie Le Gambetta. The photo below shows the owner of Le Gambetta (next to Ivan) as well as one of the other guests in the restaurant.
A spectacular sunset in Gray
While we were in Gray we managed to catch the most spectacular sunset! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such rich purples and pinks. Here’s Ivan with his thoughts on Gray.
A big lock and then a tunnel
After Gray we continued to head north (ish) on the Saone river going through plenty of locks, including this big one prior to the Tunnel de Savoyeux.
The Tunnel de Savoyeux is 640 metres long. It was the second tunnel we’d been through. For anyone about to head to France on a canal boat, the tunnels are easy to navigate and there’s plenty of information on the rules about when and how to enter etc. We were a bit nervous about tunnels but there is no need to be.
What do we do all day on our French canal boat?
Good question! Many people ask us this and I suppose the answer is, it depends. We normally spend a few hours travelling at a fast walking pace on Laura the French canal boat to new locations. Some days we explore an area on foot or by bike, some days we relax, most days we do a bit of both. There’s also food shopping, cooking and cleaning to do. It’s a very social life, so there’s a lot of sharing drinks with other people on boats. If we really like a place we’ll stay for a few days or if the weather is going to be hot or rainy we’ll change plans to suit. We’ll always try to meet the locals and have a chat in French.
One day we were walking around the tiny village of Soing when we saw a lady tending her magnificent garden. We asked her what she was growing and she insisted we try her raspberries, straight off the tree. Oh, okay then, if we have to! They were delicious. She then gave us a tray of vegetables including a green capsicum and some tomatoes. She said she liked Australians because her granddaughter had spent time there and loved it. Most French people seem to love Aussies so we tell them early in every conversation where we are from. French people are generous and lovely, especially if you at least try to speak French.
Cooling off
One of the things we do when it’s hot is swim in the rivers, or have a nap on the waters edge as per Ivan in the below photo. We love the fact that there are no crocs, sharks, stingers or any other type of nasty creature in the water.
It’s easy to get into the water from the boat – you just jump straight in. But it’s another story for me to try to get out. Laura doesn’t have proper steps at the back so Ivan knotted some ropes for me to use my arms to haul myself out. It didn’t work.
For the record, I had to swim to the bank and get out of the water that way. We’ll need to devise a new system!
Scenes from the boat
There’s always lots to see travelling via the canals and rivers through regional France. Look at this dear little face that popped over to say hello as we were in a lock.
And then there’s the eccentricities of regional France that are so delightful. Here’s an old farmer who came down to the canal for a spot of fishing in his tractor. Why not!
Ray-sur-Saone is our favourite village so far
One of the best things about this life and our break from work is having time to really explore regional France. Having a French canal boat means we visit places tourists would not normally go to. We have guide books that tell all about the canals, rivers, locks, bridges, mooring spots, places of interest etc but they can’t convey what a place is really like. So it’s a real joy discovering a gem that you weren’t expecting.
Ray-sur-Saone is one such place. Nothing in the guide book told us that this would turn out to be our favourite little village and we nearly passed it by. Here’s what it looks like from the water.
The village of Ray-sur-Saone is tiny, with a population of around 200 people. It is a town proud of it’s history and the village homes are cute and well-kept. The house in the photo on the right was built in 1341!
The only shop in the town is the bar/restaurant which is called Chez Yvette run by a husband a wife. There is no menu and the meals on offer are whatever Yvette and her husband want to cook. The food is amazing and the atmosphere is fun and relaxed.
Ray-sur-Saone has an ancient lavoir which is a covered wash house where the women of the village would to go to wash clothes. The lavoirs were also a great opportunity to share all the news of the village. It’s in excellent condition and well looked after.
Ray-sur-Saone chateau
The Ray-sur-Saone chateau overlooks the whole region and is a must-see. It was originally built in the 10th century and has been in the same family for 900 years. The last family member died a few years ago and donated the chateau to the region. It is now undergoing a huge renovation which is going to cost €3.7 million!
Ivan and I went on a tour of the chateau which was all done in French. We were the only two non-French people on the tour and I would love to say that we understood every word, but far from it. At one point in the tour we realised that everyone apart from us were facing in the opposite direction looking at something the guide had pointed out. Turns out we have a long way to go in learning the language! Despite the language challenges, it was enough to just see inside the chateau and look at the treasures such as old swords and armour, family portraits, giant pots and pans in the kitchen as well as the four poster beds in the bedrooms. It was stunning.
So as you can see, we loved Ray-sur-Saone. It’s one of those little gems that are easy to miss and there’s so many of them in regional France. So our advice is to get out of the cities and head to the regional areas. This is where you will discover extraordinary beauty in both the people and the villages as well as a rich history.
Our social life
One final thing – we met plenty of lovely people in Ray-sur-Saone. We met a lovely couple called Albert and Kathrin from Switzerland and had drinks on their boat KADA. They wanted us to help them drink some of their excess alcohol that they couldn’t take back to Switzerland, so we of course went out of our way to help. We’re very kind like that. We also met a lovely UK couple Bob and Ann from Moonshadow. Unfortunately we didn’t get a photo of them but we’ll see them again next season.
And rounding out our time in Ray-sur-Saone we met a lovely group of eight friends from Austria who regularly go on holiday together. They invited us to their hire boat to try their many different types of schnapps. We had a lovely night and we made them all try vegemite. We’re doing our bit for international relations. I told you this was a very social life!
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