Leaving Lake Como

We are leaving Lake Como and heading to the Italian Alps. Cheryl and Carlo have a home in the Dolomites.

We're taking Jason to a doctor to follow up on Friday's appointment to check his scrape from the boating trip. Should be no problem.

We're renting a car to drive to the Alps. I drove around the Lake Como area yesterday. It's a different driving experience.

Sunday Afternoon

We had a long Italian lunch on Comacina Island in Lake Como.

Night on Como

The kids ate out together, and Lisa and I joined Cheryl and Carlo at a restaurant right on the lake.

Another View from Lake Como

We're just a 1-2 miles from the Swiss border. Here's a view later in the day of Lake Como.

Filling a Lock

This will give you some idea of what it looks like on the deck of the boat when the lock is filled with water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMcQxXyxnjw

Been There, Done That

The canal boating experience was a good one, but, I'm glad it's over. It turned out to be a lot of work and we didn't have the greatest boat, but the experience we had is probably not duplicatable in any other manner.

The high points:

The discovery experience of coming up to small towns along the canal, walking about, and having a meal is fabulous.

The beautiful landscapes of France slowly reveal themselves as you wind your way through the canal. Look at the earlier pictures. It's gorgeous.

You can stop almost any place along the canal and spend the night. You just tie up alongside the canal. You don't have to find a marina or suitable mooring spot. Just stop where and when you want.

The canal itself is beautiful. There is a colonnade of large trees, planted about every 25 feet, along almost the entirety of the canal.

It was a delight to me to see my two sons rise to the occasion and work us through the many locks. It wasn't easy. They did a wonderful job.

There were some low points but I imagine they will fade with time.

Lake Como

We're spending a few days with Lisa's cousin. They have a wonderful house in Lake Como.







On Saturday morning Lisa and I walked with Carlo down to Como; took a boat back to Cernobbio, and walked back. Here's the view from Cheryl and Carlo's home; toward Como:

Leaving France

These are the things I liked most about France:

France is beautiful. Paris is beautiful and the French countryside is beautiful. There is a subtle beauty everywhere in the countryside. I can say that God made us so we could appreciate the beauty in France.

The Orsay. If you come to Paris, you must go to the Orsay. Van Gogh, Cezzanne....... It's fantastic.

The food is very good. We tried a lot of things, they were almost all good. We have made a commitment to avoid mediocre food when we get home. We'll either make it ourselves, or find the very best restaurants at home.

The people we met along the way were very friendly and helpful. There were a few goofballs, but by far the majority of those we met were fantastic.

Homps, France - The Beginning and the End

[Thursday] Rough day. Jason took one for the team. On the second to last lock of the trip, Jason got up front and personal with a set of 330 year old wood lock structures, suffered some mild contusions (deep gash) on legs. Heading to Italy tomorrow.



Unequivicating warning sign:

Nice Thursday Morning

[Thursday] The rest of my crew is just waking up. It should be another nice day on the canal. We spent the night at Ventenac-en-Minervois. This what it looks like in the morning:









From last evening:

The Best Day on the Canal

[Wednesday] No locks, no wind, lots of sunshine. This is the type of day I envisioned when I was planning this trip. We are winding down the boating portion of our trip. Tomorrow is the last day on the water.

The Day of Locks

[Tuesday] Today we went up the locks. Going up is much more of an undertaking than going down. It takes more planning and is much more exciting, as the lock you're in rapidly fills with water. The boats move around quite a bit in the lock as the water rushes in from the front. There is one set of locks where there are six steps; one after another. It's an ordeal. Made it in good style.

The lock set is referred to the Fonserannes Staircase, and is close to Beziers.

Beautiful Day on the Canal

[Monday] This was the first day of our boat trip without strong winds. It was much nicer than the two previous days.
























It's a 2 kilometer walk from our furthest cruise point (Port Cassafieres), to the Mediterranean. The water is cold!

M. O. B. - Eau du Canal

[Sunday] It has been very windy almost all day and all night, since we arrived in the south of France. This has made operating the boat very challenging. This morning a boat ahead of us was having significant navigation problems. We were forced to sit aside another boat while the situation ahead of us improved. The trick then is to hang on to the other boat but at the same time keep it at a safe distance. In a very good attempt to do this, John ended up going into the canal unexpectedly. Not the freshest of water. He was able to jump into a hot shower right away.

This is where we had lunch today, and will spend our second night on the canal. We are at Capestang. Capestang is a very nice stop. There is a huge, ancient church, and a lively market (we visited on our return trip).

First Day Cruising

[Saturday] This has been a completely new experience. We learned a lot. This a pretty nice place:











We spent our first night on the canal at Le Somail:

On The Canal

[Friday] We made it to the Homps, France with no problem. It is beautiful; a nice surprise. I hadn't realized how close we would be to the Mediterranean. Originally I had thought we would cruise in a northerly direction. But after five days in rainy Paris, we are headed South, to the Mediterranean.

Here's the view from the front of our boat:

Leaving Paris

Heading to Narbonne this morning via train, where we'll be heading to Homps to pick up our Charter boat for a week on the Canal du Midi.

The countryside south of Paris reminds me a lot of northern Minnesota, and also of the Central Valley in California.

The train really scoots along; hardly any stops.

The first stop was in Nime; about 2/3 of the way. Things change after Nime. The houses look different; more like southern California. Probably Spanish influence.

Second stop at Montpellier. Really looks like southern California.

Next stop, Sete; on the Mediterranean.

Next stop, Agde.

Next stop, Beziers, and then Narbonne, and we're off.

Ending Our Last Full Day in Paris

Visited the Musee d'Orsay; getting very up close and personal with Van Gogh, Monet, and Gaughan. This is a great museum. I enjoyed it more than the Louvre. To stand two feet away from original Van Goghs is incredible.

Had a great lunch at this place:

The Big Tower Thingy

Things I've Observed About Paris

About 30% of the personal vehicles in Paris are motor cycles or scooters. There are almost no American name plate cars here; less than 1%. The same for Japanese name plate cars. Mostly Citreon and Renault. With a few Mercedes and BMW.

There is an odor that permeates the place. I just figured today that it is all the limestone. It is all over the place. The city sits on huge limestone deposits, and it is a major building material. it's not a horrible smell; it's just everywhere.

It rains a lot in Paris. It has rained everyday we've been here.

Paris is a very fun city to visit. We've found the local citizenry to be very helpful and nice. There are a lot of foreign visitors, from all over.

Nice Place, Napoleon

Napoleon moved into the Louvre after the French decided that doing it themselves wasn't that much fun, and he became the "people's" emperor.

The Catacombs of Paris

This is a little creepy. Several hundred feet under Paris; the human remains of several hundred thousand.