As the river was in flood the only way to leave in the spring was on the canal de Bourgogne so we did a circle round back to St Jean via the Nivernais before heading up the Doubs in the Summer.
Leaving Auxerre we joined up with 3 couples from near Paris having a long weekend on a hire boat. An invitation for a pre lunch drink turned into a very enjoyable afternoon & we didn't move again that day.
At Tonnere we managed to find some new bar stools to replace the broken ones
As usual we couldn't resist the climb to the top of the cliffs but the view was well worth the effort
On our way round we met Rob & Caterina going the other way. They had also spent the winter at St Jean but had left much later than us. Their home is in the caribbean but for some strange reason they had decided to try a cold winter for a change.
I couldn't resist this lovely fushia plant
We arrived back at St Jean in time for the Franglais Night summer barbeque at Ann & Lawrence's house. We moored on the river near their house so we didn't have to worry about getting home afterwards.
The week after was the Pardon Ceremony where the bishop blesses all the boats. This was originally for the working boats but now includes everyone. All the boats are decorated & trophies are awarded. The biggest boat was about100metres long & nearly reached all the way accross the river
After the Pardon ceremony we had a quick trip to England to see our new grandaughter Evie & brought Alan back with us for a week. The temperatures by now were rising rapidly & we spent most of the week looking for some shade to moor under.
