'Le Tour' at Toulouse

The day we arrived in Toulouse the Tour de France was hurtling towards the city. In the hour and a half it took us to cruise the last 5 kilometres and negotiate the 3 locks to the port the cyclists were about 60 km closer.
We have seen the Tour before. Some years ago we were lucky enough to be in Paris for the finish which was exciting - the atmosphere that is. Despite positioning ourselves early, where we thought we'd see plenty of the action, by the time the cyclists appeared the crowds were so thick and comprised of apparent giants that we felt lucky to glimpse the top of a helmet or the flash of a leg. I say we but one of us gave up and repaired to a bar to watch all the action on tv. The best thing about the day was that the roads all remained closed for hours after the race finished and it was quite magical strolling around a Paris bereft of traffic.
Having learned from our previous experience, this time we decided not to try and watch from the finishing line. Instead, we walked a few hundred metres along the canal from our boat and joined the spectators lining the route where it crossed the bridge. Great view, people one or two deep, everyone could see. The busiest and rowdiest spot was across the road at the Irish pub (The Danu - although it seems to be calling itself an English pub at the moment). The gendarmes (loads out all over the city + army) kept trying to calm down the over-exuberant and over-refreshed young lads balancing between the outdoor tables and the railings fearing, I suppose they'd cause an international, televised incident by tumbling in front of the riders but they ignored them. Fortunately for everyone they managed to stay upright.
We had, we guessed, about 20 minutes to wait for the riders. During that time there were loads of  team cars and motorcyclists who all seemed pretty excited to be part of the entourage, hooting horns and waving as they sped past. Helicopters clattering overhead signalled the cyclists' imminent arrival and finally motorcyclists with flashing lights. The crowds a few hundred metres up the slight hill began cheering, the riders appeared round the bend and then there they were! A colourful bolt of pure energy swept past just metres away sweeping up the spectators into a Mexican wave of excitement. The lads on the tables opposite could barely contain themselves. Everyone (us included) cheering and clapping and roaring encouragement. In moments they were gone. Even the stragglers were only seconds behind.
The gendarmes opened up the barriers and we were allowed to cross the road. So, we strolled across to the Irish pub for a well earned pint of beer.

The Trek to Toulouse

We have cruised the section of canal from Buzet to Toulouse many times - it's a little hard to find anything new to say about it. We always enjoy the section as far as Montech but after that it's long, straight and frankly a bit tedious.
This time we had stops in  some of our favourite places.

Serignac Eglise - twisted spire

The pretty bastide village of Serignac where it's good to see the restaurant in the square expanding and clearly doing well. So well, we thought, that they could afford to serve foie gras as an 'amuse bouche.' Except it wasn't an 'amuse bouche' it was someone else's starter given to us by mistake. We insisted on paying (as we'd eaten it) but they were more insistent that we shoudn't.

Market Hall Valence d'Agen

Valence d'Agen

The day to visit Valence d'Agen is market day (Tuesday) when there are stalls in the  2 market halls and throughout the streets. During summer there are lots of other activities organised. We missed the giant picnic and karaoke held at the port I'm sorry to say but were there in time to enjoy an 'authentic' meal at the pop up Italian village- although I was a little surprised to bump into a couple of the Italian chefs buying their authentic supplies in the local Intermarche supermarket the following morning.
Valence also has a couple of attractive circular lavoirs - unusual for this area of France.

Lavoir. Valence d'Agen

Then it was a long, hot day (is there any other sort this year?) all the way to Moissac.
We usually make a stop in Agen but this time we decided to push on through and spend an extra day in Moissac. The flight of 4 locks up to Agen is a killer in hot weather. They are all deep which means shimmying up long, slimy, slippery ladders. I don't like to climb up clutching a rope so I always hurl the ropes up first. I'm a dab hand at rope throwing these days - pity there's not much call for the skill elsewhere in my life. The locks all fill slowly so it's a long wait in blazing sunshine. I'll be happy not to do them again.
There is the treat of the magnificent aqueduct at the top of course. The aqueduct over the River Garonne is 539m long and was completed in 1849. It still gives me a bit of a thrill to cross.

Aqueduct Agen

Moissac is another town I'll be a little sad not to see again. The port is friendly and well run with a mixture of long stayers and those passing through. The town and its abbey are on the Santiago de Compostella route so there are many pilgrims visiting and also trudging along the towpath. Not an appealing journey in 40 degree heat.

Doorway in Moissac - not the celebrated abbey doorway!

Then on to Castelsarrasin where we began this year. Again a very friendly port and a great market town (as is Moissac). After that we had a brief stop at Montech (very good restaurant beside the port) and where we bought our trusty e-velo last year.
Next major stop -Toulouse.

Last stop before Toulouse

Bye Bye Buzet

After our visitors left a sudden executive decision was made. 'Enough of this heat. Let's head north.' Of course we can't just 'head north' by boat due to the not so small matter of a mountain range in the way. We first need to go east - all the way to the Mediterranean. Since that decision snapped from idea into action the heat has built up into a wave and swept north - all the way to Scotland. There's no escape. Yesterday Paris suffered in 42 degrees and Edinburgh had its hottest ever day of 31.6.

We have loved our summers on the comparatively (with the Midi) quiet Garonne. The attractive small towns and villages have some really good markets - Castelsarrasin, Moissac and Valence d'Agen in particular and then there are the night markets- food stalls, communal eating and live entertainment- which are less frequent but not to be missed. Add to that various summer events organised by the village social committees which always welcome visitors and then the bigger attractions provided by the towns which we sometimes happened upon and more often just missed. I've just found out, for instance, that Sting is playing a concert here tonight and The Black Eyed Peas tomorrow. Unsurprisingly they are sold out.

And then there is the friendly, welcoming, ever-helpful boating community some of whom live year round on the canal; others, like us, who return year after year and others who operate businesses. The Garonne seems to be one of those places where people drift in and then find it difficult to leave.

So, decision made, we ate our last fish 'n chips, once again failed to win the port quiz, enjoyed a final great couple of nights' music with Sandra and Terry's 'Felixstatic' and said our fond goodbyes to Buzet.

Mini Tornado

The Matthew - Wapping Wharf Bristol

What happened to June's blog posts? Did we expire in the extreme heat? Did we give up and flee to cooler northern climes? Or was it that we were simply just too busy to write?  Onboard we had our own small weather event (metaphorically speaking). A whirlwind, tiny in size but bursting with energy - our 21 month old granddaughter. In the tradition of naming hurricanes etc let's call her Miss A.
 I did spend a few days in the sensibly cool climate of Bristol but as Miss A's parents were tied up with business meetings I was fully occupied- mostly chasing after her. Run Granny Run!

Catch me if you can. Wapping Wharf Bristol

 I like Bristol, particularly around the vibrant, old port area where there are many old boats on display and a couple of ships (including Brunel's SS Great Britain) to visit.There was also plenty to keep a toddler interested. Each day we did the rounds of the statues of local worthies all of whom had to be examined and chatted to.

There were buskers to watch and dance to, an old double decker bus in the museum to clamber upon and the reputedly wonderful 'We the Curious' science and discovery centre to visit. I say reputedly as we never got further than the model Jack Russell dog in the foyer which Miss A loved and wanted to read to every day.

The many cafes are child friendly with babycinnos for 30p - I'm not sure such a thing exists in France. I've asked only once and was met with a look of such bafflement that I'm not game to enquire again.

Then it was back to France. We travelled from Catelsarrassin to Buzet sur Baise before the heat finally drove our visitors ashore and away to the Spanish coast. Tonight we can see lightning strikes from one window, a nuclear power station from another and hear thunder rumbling around us. All that energy but it's not a patch on our tornado toddler. We miss her.

I have a few observations on toddlers onboard which I'll make in a separate post.