The air is warm and
delightful today. We took a drive to Saverne to see some good people we met
here who have moved on to begin their summer travels. They have lived aboard their
boat for many years, travelled the Med and Europe far and wide and have not yet
heard the call of home. Everyone has a different plan, and this is our
fifth year between our home in Canada and our life in France. So today we
simply enjoyed the beauty of the Alsace countryside, and soaked it in for
future memories. The greens are greener and the yellow more golden than I have
ever seen. The patchwork of fields unfurled as multicoloured carpets before us intersected
by villages of timbered houses, and steepled churches. Wisteria hung lushly lavender
over fences and arbors and the deep violet of lilacs gave punches of drama
against the blue of the sky. After our visit with Bobby and David we
drove to St-Louis d'Arzvillier to look at that marvel. It is an inclined plane
boat lift which is part of the Marne-Rhine canal and allows the crossing of the
Vosges. It lifts boats over 44 meters. We will miss not traversing it.
On Friday we enjoyed our
last coffee and cake with Hansrudei and Matz who departed Saturday for their
summer adventure. We waved them goodbye with bittersweet feelings. We are
looking forward to home and especially family and dear friends but are torn by
those adventures we will not encounter again on the canals. But there is always
another plan!
We are heading for a
little road trip on Wednesday before we fly home to hotel and home quarantines.
Travel restrictions between regions have been lifted here and we are heading to
a department with the fewest infections, to see Madame Luciano about a possible
Chartreux kitten, sometime again in our future. After our experience with
little Oscar, we want to meet her personally and talk about all our concerns.
From our conversations and correspondence, we are feeling particularly good
about our trip.
It is going to be
difficult to lock the door and depart our ship. We plan to focus firmly on the
future and our home projects that lie ahead and all the happy family reuniting
after this difficult year. We are so happy with all the rich friendships and
connections we have made during our sojourn. The experiences we have enjoyed
will never leave us and have changed us forever.
The pictures this week
relate to life in Strasbourg, our affection for Alsace, this beautiful area,
and the joys of spring. We look forward with anticipation to seeing spring at
home and count our blessing that we have two to enjoy!
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Our Visiting Cat Lou Watching Formula One With John |
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Some Great Graffiti |
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A Spring Treat |
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What To do With a Tree Trunk |
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Egyptian Goose |
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Golden Goose |
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John's Favourite Rhubarb Tart |
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Community Gardening: From Flowers to Veg |
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Lilac Lane |
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An Exceptional Treat-White Asparagus (Spargel)
With Real Hollandaise. A Very Different Flavour |
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Tranquil Canal |
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Such a Design! |
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Decorative Fanlight at le Vieux Hôpital |
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St Paul's Protestant Church Strasbourg- The Only One Locked in the City! |
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The Shadow Knows She Need A Haircut! |
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Never Tire of the Doors |
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Strasbourg Spring Plantings |
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Storks Nesting in Their Favourite Locations |
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Another Blooming Tree! |
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On Every Canal Bridge of the City 12 to 15 Hanging Baskets |
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Bird of Prey: Looking for Ducklings |
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Vines Still Dormant |
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Lou Enjoys Comfort |
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Always Check for Great Graffiti |
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Wisteria Everywhere |
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Along the Canal |
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A Front Door |
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Saturday Shopping |
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On the Mighty Rhin to Germany |
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Rhin Cruise Boats At Rest |
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Second Mate |
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Captain |
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Egyptian Goslings |
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Epitome of Spring |
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Vines Finally in Leaf! |
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Grass Trimmers at Work |
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A Great Trail |
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Happy Chickens-Tasty Eggs |
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Friends on Mizar Departing |
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Poppies |
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Bluets |
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More Community Gardens-These are Real Urban Retreats |
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Escapee |
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The Scent Amazing and the Sound of Bees & Insects Encouraging.
France Has a Real Program to Save the Bees |
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Every Field a Delight |
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Heading toward Saverne |
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The Saint Louis Arzvillier Incline Plane |
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Portions of the Canal de la Marne au Rhin |
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Third Week of April |
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Two Days Ago...Take Many Willow Sticks...plant in a circle place a few ties, nurture and wait |
and watch kids enjoy.
Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your exploration and adventures with us all. I just want you to know that Forty Roses II is the most stunning beautiful Dutch barges of all the barges I have ever seen, The quality of finish and the general interior decor is light, bright open and truly magnificent. Treasure this beautiful Dutch Barge because what you have created is very rare. Enjoy safe travels always. - John MacKenzie
ReplyDeleteThank you John for your kind and generous comment. She is a beautiful boat and we love her dearly. Her creation was never easy but our journeys aboard have been spectacular. It has been worth her eventful birth!
DeleteForty Roses III has been the inspiration behind a traditional future Dutch Barge in the making. A lot of care thought has gone into the design and creation of Forty Roses III which has resulted in your building of a truly beautiful Dutch Barge. Was it designed and built by Euroship in the Netherlands or some other ship yard. Treasure her and enjoy her in all your travels.
ReplyDeleteThankyou for reading this blog and your comment. We appreciate you sending us a note. Yes, it was built by Euroship in NL. It was a difficult process but we learned so much about building a barge. If you wish to talk to us about it just let us know. We can help you with advice about any new build after our experience.
DeleteOutstanding barge, she's huge! Must have a high consumption of diesel when cruising ?
ReplyDeleteShe is outstanding. Really nothing else like her that we have seen.
ReplyDeleteHer cruising fuel usage was around 4.5 litres per hour. We considered that pretty reasonable.
Thank you for your comment and interest.