L'Avenir - Cruising Europe's Inland Waterways

Marseillian, 2km around the corner from the Canal de Midi, is the first port on the Etang de Thau and a welcome, if expensive, stopover before tackling the 21km to the Canal de Rhone au Sete. Coming in the other direction, particularly if you've made the trek down the Rhone, arriving at the little port is the moment you feel, 'We've made it.' The bustling quays of the pretty port are lined with small restaurants all serving, amongst other delicacies, oysters from the extensive oyster beds in the etang. They could not be more fresh and if you are a fan of oysters you won't be disappointed. The other speciality of the town is Noilly Prat (vermouth) and you can go and see how that has been made here since 1813 at the Maison Noilly Prat, in the rue Noilly. We didn't go but I understand the manufacture is a rather arcane process involving secret recipes and so on. Passing one of the oyster beds - Etang de Thau As well as being a working fishing port the t...

Beziers from the aqueduct over the River Orb After the excitement of Fonserannes locks we initially planned to stop in Beziers for a few days. 'Stay until next week,' we were encouraged repeatedly. 'For the Feria'  (the festival of the bulls). Since bullfighting has been banned in some parts of Spain the event in Beziers has become even more popular with up to a million people crowding into the city for a week each August. The streets are jam packed every night with competing styles of music and dancing, fireworks, light shows and horse riders. All very noisy, spectacular and enjoyable we were assured. The event does centre around bull fighting however, which remains well supported in this area of France.Whilst we have never been to a bull fight (nor would we go) we have seen bull running in small towns. The young bulls weren't injured but they were teased and seemed very confused and frightened. The old city (which we'd explored previously and is certai...

Le Someil - village shop inside the green barge Last year we travelled on the Midi in September which, due to the hire companies offering large end of season discounts, was crazily busy. We expected August this year to be similarly dodgem-like. When we travelled south in 2015 it certainly was; sometimes we'd spend hours queuing for locks. However, whilst there are still many (more than enough) boats, it has been quieter than anticipated. The first big hire base is at Castelnaudary and nearly all the boats leaving from there choose to travel towards Carcassonne. The hirers are given a quick driving lesson around the large basin, shown how to mediterranean moor (back into a space) and sent on their way. The very first obstacle to confront them is a 4 lock staircase just to get out of the basin. The good news is that it is going downhill and in a sheltered spot and so not as daunting as it would be going the other direction. As mentioned previously, despite the fewer numbers ...

La Viande Txoigitxu - an expensive dinner. This plate cost 62 euros Most people who have eaten restaurant or cafe food in a foreign country will have probably experienced the occasional 'surprise' dish. Perhaps the surprise was in the excellence of the food, perhaps disappointment in the standard or, worst of all, it's an 'oh good grief what the **** is this I've ordered?' And do I really want to know? We've experienced all three over the past couple of months including some truly dire pizzas but then a bad pizza is never really that unexpected; I'm of the opinion now that if it takes more than 10 minutes to make and serve it counts as above average on the pizza edibility scale. Nowadays, many people unfamiliar with the language on a menu will use their smart phone and Google translate which is sensible. For us, maybe we don't have a phone with us, or there's no internet connection, or we (I) assume we know what the word means. Sometimes w...

The Canal du Midi begins at Toulouse and ends, 240 km later, at the Etang de Thau close to the Mediterranean. It is, by far, the most popular canal for holidaymakers and there are many, many boat hire bases along its length. At times it can be quite chaotic. Last year we travelled as far as Carcassonne in September and experienced queues at most locks and full ports. According to the capitaine at Carcassonne, September is the busiest month as the hire companies discount their rates and just about every boat is out. That is a lot of boats.To be honest, beautiful as this canal is, we weren't really looking forward to it. The Canal du Midi is over 300 years old and characterised by curves: picturesque arched (low and narrow) bridges, oval locks and the winding waterway itself. The locks ( sometimes doubles, trebles or more) can be tricky to negotiate and during the summer you will usually need to share with one or two other boats. Going downhill is normally much easier than goin...

Place du Capitole Toulouse The port in Toulouse is semi-closed this summer in that its pontoons have (mostly) been removed for upgrading. The capitainerie remains open however, so it is possible to reserve a mooring on the wall on the other side of the canal, if access to electricity and/or water is required. The main problem with that side of the canal is that it is in full sunshine for most of the day and this year that's a major drawback. We decided instead to stop just past the port under the trees. There are quite a few bollards and it is free but no services. Not entirely drawback free either - it's right onto the towpath which, in a major city like Toulouse, could be problematic. We try and take sensible precautions by making sure things are put away, locked up and so forth and we also stop where there are other occupied boats. The canal is slightly shallow at the side there so we had to tie up a bit out from the edge which added one layer of difficulty for anyon...

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, ...

Castelnaudary There are 2 directions to navigate a canal- upstream (uphill) or down. A tip for the prospective hire boater - should your choice of canal be heavily locked (e.g. the Midi) then (in my opinion) think about booking your route in the downhill direction. You probably have only a week and you undoubtedly want that to be as relaxing and enjoyable as possible. Downhill is less physical, less stressful and less likely to result in accident, dispute or divorce. I don't know if hire companies have a price differential according to direction but they certainly do depending on when you hire. I haven't checked for myself but several eclusiers (lock keepers) have told me that prices in September this year were discounted by 50% resulting in almost every boat available being out on the water. One result of this is a lot of waiting around in queues for locks and so, to move everyone through as quickly and with the least use of water as possible, the eclusiers pack as many...

Most people, if asked to name one canal in France, would answer the Canal du Midi. There are about 8500km of navigable canals and rivers in France and the Midi is only 241km so why is it so well known? Perhaps because it has been a setting in many a TV programme or film.We see it in paintings, postcards, posters and calendars. In short it is photogenic. Most canals are straight but the Midi has curves, not only in its course but also in the shapes of its ancient (350 year old) hand-hewn, stone locks and low bridges. As it winds its way through the south of France it flows close to Mediterranean beaches, passing quaint villages, and then the medieval, fairytale-like  citadel of Carcassonne. Fields of sunflowers follow the sun, grapes ripen in the vineyards and a boat drifts through the dappled shade cast by the stands of old plane trees lining the banks. Oval lock Canal du Midi Low bridge - Canal du Midi  Ok I'll stop there. You get the picture. It's the one t...