Travels with Forty Roses: January Days

Today our good friends left for Nevada and home so we were up bright and early to go over all they would like checked on their boat while away. They have a little dog and he was looking rather apprehensive about the whole thing. That carry-cage sitting out for several days did not look too inviting. We used to travel with cats so we know the drill. They don’t have an easy day ahead, especially with a train trip ahead of the plane.

We have had a lot of rain and we suspect you have heard of the flooding in Paris. When we flood here the water crests and eventually recedes and flows onward to the Seine and Paris. Other rivers, flooding due to heavy rains, also join the Seine, the result being high water in the city of light. They have had a difficult time with the water reaching a maximum height of 5.84 meters according to Vigicrues the national flood monitoring agency. Waters should recede in Paris Tuesday but towns all along the Seine to Normandy and the English Channel will feel the crest. In the paper, today we see where 242 towns have been affected.

Walking along the tow path today, upstream from Auxerre by about 10 KM, the river is still fast and full of much debris, filling the locks and caught in the river weirs. The VNF, who manage the French waterways, are out in full force removing debris and repairing damage. We expect more flooding to come as rain is forecast this week. Temperatures are mild the ground waterlogged and rain in the forecast. It may be a good time to catch up on reading a good book!

Despite the rain and floods, I was walking home on Sunday from my daily trek and the Cathedral bells were tolling for mass, forsythia was in golden bloom high on a stone wall in a little winding street I was traversing, and the tiny little robins were singing of spring. I hear those bells every morning and the sound is always somewhat stirring to me. The twisting streets never fail to interest me as there always seems to be something I see that I’ve missed before. I love this place and we both feel at home here. We could be in a warmer more southern town but we prefer Auxerre with its mighty Cathedral and Abbey and multiple churches and towers, our wonderful view from the boat, its bridges and walking trails, the pool where John swims and the picturesque, historic city centre. We enjoy the people we have met and those who have befriended us, our language lessons and all those friends who helpfully and patiently correct us. There are many little slices of joy here each day. Too many to list.