June, 21st, 2023  When all of France celebrates Music....  ( more videos I am afraid)

June 21st is the longest summer's day and a day for all France to celebrate Music.....Every town and small village puts on music of some sort for loacls on this day.    Now you have to understand- it can be any music- local bands to solo to serious musicans -to parties!!!  Its all in persuit of a fun night out....

Here are a variety of SOME of what we found in Beziers up in the main town squares.

First up a rap band - but we stayed to listen as they had an all girl wind back-up band accompanying him- As you can imagine -  (rap) ( with some swearing and little kids around -- not for us), so one beer was all we could manage.

 Decorated side streets.

The obligitorie town band.

Then through to another square and this group of guys playing Catalonian style.

After that we heard these drummers in a near by street and then onto a wine bar😀😀😀😀

The wine bar - as always and they were up for a long night!!!! 

 

mmm

Finally back through the main square and all the lit up flowers ( there for the whole summer now) and down through the park.

The Local Orchestra.

We can't believe this was only last week- time becomes blurred in this lazy heat and slow boat jouney from place to place...

Missed on last blogs -- we had a great night ( sadly only one) catching up with Grahame Vietch and wife Marie in Beziers- after they has been travelling Spain and on their way through to their boat in Auxerre.

And new boating friends met in Beziers, Paul and Claire ( on Sasika) , from Horsham although Paul has spent a lot of his life boating from Chichester marina.!!  Small small world.😂

SO THA'S ALL FOLKS----- TILL NEXT TIME..

sorry about all the vidoes.

It's a sad sad world!!!

 2023,  June  23rd,  Cycling and cycling.

Finally got our act together after looking continually looking at internet weather sites--at breaks in the the stormy weather, we set off for Girona, just over the border in Spain ( 2 hours drive).  Max's new bike rack bringing a whole new experience for biking from the boat.

Girona is the cycling centre of the region- lycra everywhere- just didn't quite manage to persuade Max

 into a brightly coloured skin- tight suit...😢😢 

An amazing hotel with a view over the old city and full of weekend cyclists( --sort of like oursleves-- not!!.)

Lovely old city - Girona, in the northeastern Catalonia region, and known for its medeival architecture, and still partly walled old quarter .

                                                            

Very bland and sparse inside this church compared with others we have seen.  Tiny allys and streets.

Anyone who has watched the series of GAME OF THRONES  will recognise this place as it was used in the filming ( not that Max and I have a clue - we were told!!)

CYCLING.     The cycling route from Olot to Girona was about 60kms-- part of it following an old train track, other bits just cycle paths through woods, fields and little towns.  We caught the 10am bike-bus up to Olot that took 50 mins and cycled back over 4 hours, as planned .👍👍 

    You pass though lots of old bridges and a few tunnels- it was a narrow gauge railway so paths nice and narrow.

Spied a nice watering hole for some on the way.

Managed to miss most of this black cloud with thunder that chased us for the last 10kms and got us 15 mins from the hotel.   Our clothes got so wet that the planned cycle the next day did not happen- soggy shoes just  aren't our thing.

I have to say Max cycled in front of me as we were continually passed by speeding men and women in lycra and we, well...

Max did comment that I was the only one he saw riding a sit-up-and -beg  electric towny bike ,, with a basket on the front!!!.

In my defence I do have padded cycling shorts on underneath my shirt.  (and did have gloves and a helmet for that ride ( not in that picture.))

Quick stop driving back to Beziers in a Spanish supermarket on the boarder, to buy 2 x 1.5l bottles Grants whiskey for 17 euros.

Here are the recipiants, Alan and Shelia, with the 12 packets of rich tea bisciuts and 2  boxes of PG tips brought over from UK and the whisky.....( Heinz salad cream still in the car)

The following weekend was a car trip to the Lot Valley, about 3.5 hrs inland for my Scottish cousin, Callum Macrae's 70th birthday and house warming in Touzac,

Such a different landscape to the south -- greener, less vines but loads of maize growing. Did a cycle ride alot the river Lot ( 30KMs) on the sat - then back for a sleep and then the party.

This is our booking.com hotel- amazing old renovated building in the middle of Fumel, quirky inside but worked well.

The special event for us was that my brother Billy, who is a professional harmonica player, was asked by Callum to join a group of his friends in a band and play on the sat night.

Some of the band were total strangers to each other and after one night of dubious practice- they emerged victorious on the night-- a few clips follow.

Sound check early in the evening of party..

Party time.

Managed to catch Billy on a high!!!!

Rory Macrae( another cousin) and wife Catherine,  SiL Pippa, and of course Max surrounded by faithful dogs again.....

💙💚💛💜

Lastly but not least --- for those Kwiws out there-- I am onto my last box ( best ever cling wrap)--- 200m to go!!! 

                                                                          Till next time.💓

 2023, June 9th.  Have settled into being in holiday mode now!!!

This is Kiwi Rose looking much better and cleaner after a quick waterblast to get rid of 9 months of dust under the tent, but no real polishing needed👍👍👍👍👍.  Everything lovely and dry inside.

2 days after arriving we were off to Roses in Spain.

Friends Fred and Zoe ( from Portsmouth) have been waiting for a break in the bad windy wet weather to leave from firstly Adge then Roses (just over the border) to cross to Minorca. 

We drove over to stay with them for a night ( 2 hours - Spain is sooo close) - as we had in our car-boot- a large self detonating fire extinguher for his engine room that funnily enough they COULDN'T carry on Ryan-air as luggage!!! They have a very comfortable Grand Banks that with the top removed and extra wt in the bilge, they managed to get through the french canals a few years ago from UK.

Unable to show you the high wind -(but you can see by Zoe's hair) or waves against the jetty but at least it was sunny and warm. 

Needless to say the beaches were empty but penty of resturants with the Spainish Tapas and wines/beers--- cheap and delicious. 

Fred and Zoe had tickets to see the Salvador Dali museum just in Figueres so off we went for a bit of culture--uuummmmm  well,,, everyone to his own... The guy we are sure was quite MAD!!!!

So inside a great big building - huge rooms and a very eclectic range of art displays..

(back view of last picture.)

These bits are confusing until you go up a step ladder and look though a piece of round glass with a hair pice of bunches---and see this......................................... which  was meant to be MAE WEST.

Salvador Dali himself.

This picture below we both missed - when you look at it as a picture high on the wall- it looks like just a block picture with no rhyme or reason.  

BUT when you take a photo you immediatelysee that its Abraham Lincoln.

Lovely and warm- just incredibly windy- but on the way home past Andorra- there was snow up in them hills.

Through Fred and Zoe we have met some new friends called Russell and Julie from Perth, ( we forgive them) and had a few good evenings together.  Saw them up the 9 ecluses and even though they had only bought the boat recently and been on the water for only 2 weeks - they had it all sussed.

Took the car up the canal towards Toulouse to La Somail so we could cycle a new bit of the Midi Canal- and went past the place that is partly responsible for the whole change in our life path-- Agen Minervois where in 2007 we finished our bumper boat holiday.

A quick walking trip around Beziers to do our 10,000 steps and a quick stop on the way home.

Lovely plain walls painted to add character to boring places- Of course statue in the main square of Pierre Paul Riquet who built the Canal Du Midi in begining of 16c.

The Catherdral of  Saint Nazine on top of the hill and in the park, the statue/fountain - Fountaine du Titain- holding the world in his hand. 

Lovely flower market and a quick pit stop.😉😉😉😉😉

Max's only conscesion to me was allowing parsley and chives ( no flower staining on the new paint job)😞😞

Love that anything/anybody can enjoy these canals- don't need posh boats - just a hut on a pontoon, and of course an outboard.

Our friend Alison- over from Oz to visit her aged father in london come over for a few days...

Quick trip through Marsellian for lunch on the way to takew Ali to Montpellier airport.

                                                         -- my plate of course.!!

Been in Beziers now nearly 4 weeks now - we are settling onto boating life and ONLY have another 4 months 👍👍👍

Now we are planning some cycle trips in Spain and around France -- but that will be another blog...

😀😀😀

                                                        

                                                      We thought this might work for us ....