L'Avenir - cruising Europe's inland waterways

We are back in Toulouse for the second time this year. No great hardship as it is one of our favourite ports in this part of France. We arrived here a couple of weeks ago to pick up Libby and Brian who join us each year for a week's relaxing holiday. At least that's what they thought they were coming for. The reality turned out to be a little different but that's for a separate instalment. We were here for a few days before they arrived so I took the opportunity in my time off from the usual washing and preparing cabins etc to take a look around Toulouse at a few of the sights I'd missed previously. One of those was viewing the city from the rooftop cafe/restaurant at Gallerie Lafayette (big department store). The last time we were here the rooftop was closed. Incidentally the rooftop of the shop's Paris store shouldn't be missed for a fantastic view of that city. Access to the roof and the view(in both cities) is free although do check the...

We have managed to go a little further afield than in previous years with the aid of our new velo but as we only have one between us we either go separately or someone has to use one of the trusty old steeds - or not so trusty as the case may be. Our bikes have served us well over the past 10 years but lately we have had a problem with 'punctures'. A bike tour leader I spoke to said they rarely have trouble but I have certainly seen many a cyclist on the tow path, bike upturned. Perhaps the inner tubes we buy from supermarkets are not very good quality and we should be stocking up on the once in a blue moon occasions when we see a specialist cycle shop. As an emergency back up we've been carrying an aerosol foam sealant. As the less enthusiastic rider (and having a chivalrous partner) I usually luck in with choice of bike and so it was we found ourselves recently high in the hills, miles from the boat and surrounded by vineyards. Hills I would have had trouble wa...

Years of encouraging young children to write imaginatively has given me a pretty well-developed 'what if?' mentality. Is that such a good skill to develop, I wonder? It's all very well to enliven a story with dramas and catastrophes for the protagonist to overcome but not, perhaps, entirely useful to imagine similar struggles in our daily lives. Some foresight is necessary for the avoidance of problems but too much makes it harder to be brave and adventurous - qualities you would think are not necessary for inland boating. Generally speaking you would be correct. We were chatting over dinner with a couple from a neighbouring boat. 'Have you been to Bordeaux?' he says. We spent a couple of enjoyable days there en route to Scotland but that wasn't what he meant, of course. He meant by boat. Now this is something that one of us has been trying to persuade the other to do for the past couple of seasons. No prizes for guessing who is the reluctant one. The ...

Back where we started - Moissac. The port already has an end of season feel about it with quite a number of boats double banked and closed up for the winter. There are still a few hire boats passing through - mainly Americans and Australians it seems, Europeans having returned to work and school. Summer is over for many- not quite for us though. We still have another month in France before we follow the sun south. A few survivors (or late bloomers) from the summer crop The change of season is evident all along the canal. We, unfortunately, missed the full glory of the huge sunflower fields. The plants look rather crestfallen now, heads dipped towards the ground with their heavy load of dark seeds. The plane trees, of which there are still many along the canal du Garonne and which provide not only welcome shade but are also very lovely to look at haven't yet lost their leaves just the moisture and colour from them. The hoped for autumnal russets don't look as though t...