Travels with Forty Roses: 2019

It's been a long time readers! What a delay in my blog posting; seven months is indecent. Now the reasons;

• a broken wrist before departing France last spring
• a busy summer at home in Canada
• concentration on physiotherapy on a wrist that healed but a hand that did not and has not fully
• returning to France and low water conditions on our return route to Paris
• a 1500 km detour with much happening along the way
• a dead MacBook Air that has finally been returned to me in working condition this week
• John making 2 trips to Budapest to complete his dental work
• Organizing for hopefully our last court date in Netherlands Dec 6
• Planning around the huge general strike called for Dec 5 until ?
• Arranging to go home for over a month and finding a trustworthy care giver for Oscar and the boat.

There are my excuses. So this blog will be as few words as possible and instead is a series of pictures depicting our last 2 months and 12 days. Arriving at the boat September 18 from Frankfurt Germany until today December 3, 2019.
We are looking forward to Christmas this year at home, first in Toronto with family and friends, then to Delaware for Christmas and New Year with Michelle, Tyler and Ollie. We will stay until mid-January to give them some Ollie care help, then on to Ottawa to see Margie & Dick. We will be spending a few days at our beloved Skootamatta to enjoy home and maybe some cross country skiing, and finally back to Paris January 20.

So here are the pictures, but not all the stories. We will be happy to share some of them over a glass of wine some day

Early morning Departure September 17, Lake Skootamatta

Oscar Re-discovering The Boat

Beautiful Metz on the Mosel

Fountains Were Beneficial this Long Hot Summer in France

Still Dog Days

Cool Spray

Rowers at the Club Where Thierry & Corrine Took Care of Forty Roses III

A Reader

Traveling Down the Mosel toward Koblenz

Lush Vineyards

Well Groomed and Steep

Our Route from Metz to Koblenz

Soft Autumn Colours

We have Enjoyed This River

Every Bend Another Great View Lies Ahead

Many Little Hotels

Larger Hotel and Stunning Restaurant

Best Schnitzel ever with a lovely German trocken riesling

Note the steep vineyards

Signs Delineate the Grower/Producer

So Many Picturesque Buildings

Red Geraniums Along the Wall

Many Rowers & Rowing Clubs on the Mosel

Strange Building

The workers and grapes are pulled up these incredibly steep slopes in baskets and when the work is done grapes and workers are lowered in the same way. See the track on the left

Now on the Rhin. What a trip! As we are over 15m we must have a licensed Rhin captain for this section. Our good friend Ramone's cousin holds such papers so he and his wife joined us in Koblenz for the trip along the German section to the Dutch border, about 350km of extremely busy river traffic. Above is the magnificent cathedral of Köln.

Jerome & John consult the chart route

Jerome's wife at the wheel

Poured Rain the Entire 350 km Trip

Constant Barge Traffic. Many 300 metres long and some as wide as 30metres. We were thankful for the experienced Captain. Blue boarding is prolific because of the current so alert watch is necessary!

The Happy Crew after arriving in Cuijk, Netherlands

Celebrating

Jerome Introduced us to Clever's Ice Cream, Gelato & Frozen Yoghurt. . What a Treat!

Iconic Netherlands.

Rain Has Stopped after first night on the Maas

Oscar Meets Ramone's Lapdog!

Tree Loaded with ripe Quince

OK Say It

Walking the Dike

Magnificent Wall of Berries

Forty Roses III in the Background at Maasbommel

Hortensia the size of Dinner Plates

In a Window

Celebrating the 75th year of the Allies..Canadians. . returning Netherlands to Dutch hands.

Oscar No Longer a Kitten

A Local Beer . . .last bottle

Large Sluis

Joke & Hans with us from Maasbommel to Maastricht

Sculptures such as this are everywhere in Maastricht

Basiliek van Onze Lieve Vrouw Sterre der Zee

Patron of the Market and the Carnival

Entering Belgium on the Meuse accompanied by Pelting Rain. Near Liège October 8

Dutch Style carries over into Belgium

Early October Colour

Stunning Sculpture called Searching for Utopia

Atop the Citadel in Namur October 10

Beautiful City of Namur, Wallonia, Belgium

Roman Bridge

Rested Here Several Days to Enjoy the Surroundings

Our Excellent Tie Up

Annevoie Castle Gardens

Great Day for a Fall Hike

Portions of the Citadel High Above

Water View

When Do We Reach Paris?

Portion of Our Route Through Belgium. The municipality of Charleroi straddles both banks of the river Sambre

No Problems with Low Water Here

Oscar Enjoys a Snooze

The Strépy-Thieu boat lift (French: L'ascenseur funiculaire de Strépy-Thieu) lies on a branch of the Canal du Centre in the municipality of Le Rœulx, Hainaut, Belgium. With a height difference of 73.15 metres (240.0 ft) between the upstream and downstream reaches, it was the tallest boat lift in the world upon its completion, and remained so until the Three Gorges Dam ship lift in China was completed in January 2016.

We are the only Boat Going Down

Look This Lift Up ; it is Spectacular Engineering

Coming Out at the Bottom. We came Down 10 Stories

Oscar Entering Home Territory: France, near Denain on the L'Escaut

Canal du Nord October 17; one month from our Canadian Departure


		La Somme near Péronne is a commune of the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.	It is close to where the 1916, first 1918 and second 1918 Battles of the Somme took place during the First World War.